London
by: William Blake

" In every cry of every man, in every infants cry of fear, in every voice, in everyban the mind forg'd manacles i hear"

These lines are about how in the crys that the writer hears his realizes that they are trapped by themselves and cannot do anything to help them become free. All of the bad thoughts that they were thinking would come together as in oneself. as the writer hears the crys he is imagining evrything that could be happening but might not be happening.

The writer is saying that when you hear these people crying all you think is what is happening, is someone hurt? When you hear someone cry you dont know if someone is hurt or not but thats all you think. The writer is imagining all of the bad in the world even if it isnt necessarily happening right now.

Derelict is the vocabulary word i chose because it means abandoned and in this poem the children are abandoned.

Pushing Back
By: David Lee Garrison

"A girl about my age rode a tricycle on the sidewalk pedaling barefoot with her head down, singing as her thin legs pump and the concrete go by"

This part of the poem means that out of everything that the little boy and his father encountered, this is the one thing that he remembered. He probably felt that she was happy just in singing and riding her bike, there was nothing else that she needed to make her happy just her bike.

He also probably thought that this was special for the culture that she was. I also think that this is the only thing he remembered from the trip because it is really the only thing he can relate to. On their trip they went to many places and they saw many things, some were educational and some were fun.

They went to many museums and learned many things but i dont think he understood the museums very well. I think he got confused on what he saw because its too adult for him. Although he didnt understand the museums he really understood the little girl riding her tricycle because he can picture himself doing the same thing right at that time.

Getting By

Getting By
By: Gary L. Lark

"Ive planted trees and cleaned toilets for the park and i never left the woods" "Forty years later and im still getting by"

This poem is about how some people are happy just living the same way over and over again. Some people like living day by day and only thinking about the next day and nothing after that. This man is just settling for where he is in life and is not trying to obtain anything more.

This man loves just getting by even if its not the best thing in life, he is just happy with what he has and he doesnt need anymore to be happy. He is content with what he is doing with his life just by living everyday the same way and trying to survive with the money he has.

This man has been living like this for forty years and he does not want to change now because he is finally happy where he is and he doesnt want anything to change. He could not be any happier even if he had a million dollars because he would know that he didnt earn it and that wouldnt be right for him.

Yesterday

Yesterday

by: W.S Merwin

" Oh I say, the feeling again the cold of my fathers hand for the last time"

This quote i think means that this is the last time he will ever touch his fathers hand because he is leaving the world and he will never see his father again. i think this quote is also talking about the past and how his father lost his father the same way. that is why the narrator does not want to leave him because he knows that he will never see him again. I think the fathers hands being cold symbolizes how peoples hands are cold when they are sick or dying.

I think because he will never see him again he does not want to leave right away, he wants to cherish the last time he spends with him. He will wait with him no matter where else he has to go because he knows that this is more important than anything else right now. I also think his father told him stories of how he didn't visit his parents in the past and he regrets it now. the narrator does not want to be in regret that is why he will do whatever to spend time with them.

Autobiography of the cab driver...
by: Rebecca McClarahan
"They say if you can survive the summer in the heat, your a true native"
this quote is talking about how people in the past could not afford air conditioning or fans and they had no choice but to stay in the heat. There was nothing else that they could do but suffer through the heat. No matter how hot it got they had to stay there because they didnt have the choice to leave and go somewhere cool.

They are saying that if you were one of them who had to live there and did not really have a choice you can live in the heat today. Most of the people in the world today can not survive very well in this heat because they are so used to being pampered by cold air. They are saying that you can tell that those people were not true natives because they do not try, they would rather spend money on being cool then try to live in the heat the way the natives did.

This quote is also saying that it was about 100 degrees outside and just by being out there watching people you can tell who belongs there and who doesnt. The people that do not care how hot it is belongs there and were from there. The people that stay inside when its that hot out, you can tell are not from there because they can not deal with it the way the natives did.

Sonnet
By: Billy Collins
"But hang on here while we make the turn, into the final six where all will be resolved"
This quote is saying that in a sonnet the final six lines is where everything becomes better. all problems are fixed at the end of a sonnet. Sonnets are always about a problem that someone has but towards the end of the sonnet the problems will end in someway, you need to have patience and wait for it to be over and become resolved. He's playing with the structure of the sonnet. happiness will find you.
Love at first sight
By: Jennifer Maier
"And next thing you know they are building bird houses in the garage"
I think this means that birds are like humans and how instead of having little birds, humans are having babies. When two people see eachother they know they are in love and everything after that just happens so fast. And after that happens they are most likely with eachother forever.
Highway Five Love Poem
By: Ruth L. Schwartz
"A dozen wise and ponderous cows suddenly spurred to run, to gallop, even down a flank of hill"
I think this is saying that all of the animals are not happy being themselves, they want to do things other animals can do that they can't. They are jealous of eachother and they want to be ableto do what others can. They feel neglected because they can't gallop or run. They want to be involved in their group. They are tired of being left out because they are different. They also don't want to be sold like the other animals.

To Luck
"we were told never to put our faith in you", he is saying that he was told never to believe in luck which is wrong because you should always believe in everything. you should have faith in everything even if you dont have luck all the time it is still there. everything God made is real whether you believe it our not and when you stop having faith in Luck then thats when you lose luck.
The summer day
"this one who flung herself out of the grass", i think this is talking about how beautiful nature is and how each animal looks different and moves different. the grasshopper is unique because it is an animalthat chews side to side and jumps out of the grass unlike other animals who cant hop or jump. it also has a unique color that makes him blend in with the grass. she is also saying live life to the fullest.
Late for summer weather
"he a dirty sweater, she an old blue coat that fits her tight", i think its saying they are kind of poor and that all they can afford. those are not summer clothes because they dont have enough money to buy summer clothes and thats why they are late for summer. they also like to relax and hang around doing nothing.