In Praise Of My Bed Analysis

The three poems I wrote each describe some struggles that have either happened in my past or are happening currently. I honestly felt somewhat calmed by creating these poems. I tried to incorporate some of the elements we have discussed in class and some of the techniques we have studied. My first poem was a haiku. I started with inspiration from Lawson Inada’s “Listening Images”. The next poem I wrote was an ode. I started writing this as a joke, but as I continued, I realized that this was a big part of my life. I took inspiration from Meredith Holms “In Praise of My Bed”. The final poem I wrote isn’t a specific type of poem. It was inspired by the rapper Kendrick Lamar’s latest album called DAMN. It tells a linear story of the relationship between two high schoolers that go off to separate colleges.

It was written in the classical style with the 5-7-5. 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the middle, and 5 again in the final line. It is also present tense which stays with the traditional haiku form. I took inspiration from Inada and “Listening Images”. I knew that I wanted this poem to be personal. I used a question in the last line to help establish that. I took the idea of asking the reader a question from the Miles Davis portion of “Listening Images” “3 valves, tubing.../ How many feelings?” I really drew from how Inada used so few words but conveyed so much. I knew that this was also something I needed in my haiku. The words that I choose are very important, especially in this form. The power of the words used is everything. Inadas use isn’t quite as personal as how I used the question, but I always found this particular part of “Listening Images” to be the most