Elizabeth Palacios
FQWIS HA16
November 5, 2018
Poetic Response Paper
The Views on Bullying
A little fun fact about me is poetry has been my escape for allowing my repress emotion to unleash. Anything that is on my mind or is troubling me, I like to write it down in my journal. Writing poetry is a self-care technique that has benefited me positively and would highly recommend it. I did construct some rhythm poetry; however, I never have gotten out of my comfort zone to write another type of poetry. This assignment has allowed me to do so; I decided to experiment. Constructing poetry in other forms wasn’t as complicated as I would have thought it would have been. I picked bullying as my topic because it was an issue that many kids; including myself, undergo in elementary to even when they enter the workforce, occurring as a daily routine. Many don’t understand the real damage bullying has on one another, often viewing this issue as harmless teasing. As a result, many will overlook the topic and not address it. If it was harmless, would it affect children’s mental and physical health negatively?
When I was writing the three poems, I wanted to write each piece from different points of view. In “To All the Bullies,” a bystander witness bullies abusing kids that are physically weaker than they are. Instead of reporting the act, he tries to understand the mind of a bully on their reason to harassing, advising them to stop harassing and seek help. When I started writing, I was unsure about the message I wanted to convey to my readers. I went online for inspiration and came across a poem, titled “Bullies” (Jgarner, Power Poetry) it helped develop my poem. The poet used a rhythm scheme of ABAB; the speaker was encouraging the schoolboy or girl to stand up for themselves. However, I could have made another poem advising kids to stand up to their bullies. However, I wanted to be different; I wanted the readers to view bullies as damaged victims that have distress emotions, and not only should we seek help for the little guy but as well for the oppressor. I began my rhythm poem with a question, to lend my piece in a direction, to focus on the bullies and advise them.
In the next poem, “Stay Strong Soldier” the persona is a brave kid who undergoes bullying daily. Even though he stands up to his oppressors, the social issue is not being addressed in school, allowing other bullies to continue to torment. The war is not over; he must continue to return to an unsafe environment and be brave once again to defeat another group of bullies that try to harm him. This poem was different from what I am used to writing, and even though it was different, it was my favorite from all three poems. In this poem, I was experimenting, and the results were noteworthy. I used an extended metaphor to compare a child battling the war of bully in their school to a soldier in combat. As one can see, the child programs positive words in his mind to strengthen his confidences and self-esteem is the under armor a soldier wear to protect them from the bullets. Also, the bullets a soldier withstands symbolizes the nasty, mean words that bullies attack their victims. This poem has a deeper meaning than the other two that I have written due to its structure and use of literary devices.
Lastly, in “The Cycle,” it is a short list poem conveying the message of the origin of bullying, and the endless cycle that effects one child after another. I began the poem with a real event that occurred in the fourth grade. I participated in bullying with a few classmates, that were making fun of an obese kid. At the time, I viewed them as cool, I craved for their acceptance and wanted a sense of belonging. As I enter the next grade level, Karma hit me hard. As I discussed in the poem, I was bullied by two schoolboys. Even though the first two lines reflected what I had experienced, I masked my identity by using third person point of view. After these two lines, I started to list out the old bully and the new bully. Enabling the readers to see a pattern that is occurring, only to lead up the root of bullying. I constantly repeat “The cycle continues” to empathizes that nothing is being done to put an end the cycle, allow the cycle to continue. I decided to end the poem with a question, to make the readers think of the numerous children undergoing this problem, questioning if it will ever end.
My overall thoughts on the assignment are it had led me to experience new writing styles. For example, using extended metaphors and constructing a list poem. I enjoyed it because I was able to see my potential and creativity that I underestimated in myself. As well as, it was an assignment that I usually do in my free time. However, it was different from my poetry. I would often discuss events or challenges I encounter and express my emotions. In this assignment, it allowed me to demonstrate my thoughts on a social issue; bullying, topics I have never consider discussing.
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