Favourite poet and poems

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor€”
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Langston Hughes was a dark skin American, his life in America was not as good as the whites. His poems perfectly described his poor life in America. He wanted to commit suicide for many reasons, but ended up not dying. His relationship with his father was bad, Hughes once convinced his father to provide money for his study in Columbia University. Hughes later said that, prior to arriving in Mexico again: “I had been thinking about my father and his strange dislike of his own people. I didn't understand it, because I was a Negro, and I liked Negroes very much.”

Hughes worked various odd jobs, such as poet, columnist, dramatist, essayist, writer and so on. Langston Hughes was a great American writer. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes stressed the importance of a racial consciousness and cultural nationalism devoid of self-hate that united people of African descent and Africa across the globe and encouraged pride in their own diverse black folk culture and black aesthetic.

While in grammar school in Lincoln, Illinois, Hughes was elected class poet. Hughes stated in retrospect he thought it was because of the stereotype that African Americans have rhythm. "I was a victim of a stereotype. There were only two of us Negro kids in the whole class and our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry. Well, everyone knows — except us — that all Negroes have rhythm, so they elected me as class poet." During high school in Cleveland, Ohio, he wrote for the school newspaper, edited the yearbook, and began to write his first short stories, poetry, and dramatic plays. His first piece of jazz poetry, "'When Sue Wears Red", was written while he was still in high school. It was during this time that he discovered his love of books. From this early period in his life, Hughes would cite as influences on his poetry the American poets Paul Laurence Dunbar and Carl Sandburg.

Langston Hughes was a very straightforward man who spoke his mind when needed to. He could express himself, his life very clearly onto his poems. He did not regard other people’s views towards him. He wanted to speak blatantly.
Langston Hughes’s poems always had a meaning behind a poem; he always had a reason for writing it. His poems went beyond just plain writing; he wrote poems to show his opinion towards a particular subject.
Langston Hughes was a brave and great man that influenced others to follow his footsteps. His contributions to poetry would never be forgotten.

cited from:http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes

Figurative Language in Poetry

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.


1. How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
Hyperbole: I rise
Simile: like hopes springing high
2. Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
I like the poem because it is wonderfully structured. The poem rhymes very well and it is very meaningful, it shows us the strong persistence of the author and that is where it is somewhat touching. Besides, although the poem is long, it is very easy to be understood. She also tells us that even though she may be defamed by someone, she will also remain persistent. The surrounding gives her the courage as said in the poem “Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes springing high, still I'll rise.” The poem is indeed good, it teaches us to be persistent as well as describing to us the beauty of nature.

Confessions of a game addict

I am a game addict. I love to play video games, computer games and even phone games. I always spend my time playing games and let time passes meaninglessly. My mother always scolds me but I never listen to her. For me, time passes really fast. My studies are bad and I never change. I cannot resist from playing games and always rush to finish my homework and assignments the last minute. As a result, my works are never acceptable. My teachers always have a bad impression in me.

When test period is coming, I will be sitting motionlessly, holding a book, pretending to study. Actually, I am thinking of games and cannot focus well. Whenever I receive my test paper, I will look at it, totally blank, do not know how to answer. I do not dare to look at my test marks, I will hide it somewhere that my parents could not find.

I do know that this a bad habit, I hope I can turn over a new leaf.

My favorite character in Village By The Sea

My favorite character in Village By The Sea is Hari. He has to take over his father's role as a care-giver and earn money for his family.He has to stop school and work in order to earn money. Life is very tough for him as a twelve year old kid. After many difficulties he faced in his hometown, Thul, he went to Bombay for a better life. With the help of his friends there, Jagu and Mr Panwallah, he was able to earn money more easily than Thul.

He worked very hard there and didn’t have a proper shelter for him. He even have to sleep in the park and the policeman guarded him at night. He is not very used to Bombay as it is an urban area. He is not comfortable with the large amount of cars travelling to and fro every day.

When he felt homesick, Mr Panwallah will comfort him. He even taught Hari the skill of mending watch that gives him an advantage of earning more money in future. After earning enough money to support his family, he came back to his hometown. He planned to run a watch mending shop and own a poultry farm.

The part I like in Village By The Sea

Village By The Sea is a book describing about the rural life of an Indian family. The part I like most in this story is when Hari's father turned over a new leaf and stopped his bad habit of drinking. The story starts with a poor Indian family which the mother is ill and the father is a drinker. The son, Hari, and the daughter, Lila, had to take over their parents' role and stopped school. Having an ill mother and two younger sisters to take care, life is not easy for Lila as well as Hari, having to earn money to support the family.

The change happens when Hari went to Bombay for a better life. The mother became more ill and the situation is getting worse. This is when the father turns over a new leaf. After the mother is recovered and Hari earned enough amount of money, the family members lived together happily.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat, this is because city has more leisure compared to the dull and boring countryside. We can have better communication systems than the countryside. We can do a lot of things like surfing the Internet, watch movie, communicate through the phone and so on.

Educational level in the city is better than in the countryside. We can have more varieties of food in the city. There are better homes to stay than the old and fragile houses in the countryside. City is well-developed than countryside so that cars will be able to travel easier on the broad and flat road compared to the narrow and unstable aisle for cars. Business opportunities are more than the countryside as more services are needed to run the city. Less people will be jobless and more people will be successful in their carrier.

Lastly, I would want to add in that although city is better than the countryside, city comes from the countryside after years of development.

Longest holiday

This is the longest holiday. It is two weeks more than Malaysia's holiday. But whether we used the holiday wisely or not, depends. Before the holiday, many teachers told us to use the time to buck up weak subjects, are we doing that?

Holiday is too long, I prefer short holidays every month, or else, nothing to do. Time passes really fast, a blink of the eye and two weeks is over, everyday slack, play facebook games, I believe most of them are like that.

Few days ago, I went overnight in my grandmother's house for three days. And I played PS2 with my uncle. It is almost once in a blue moon staying overnight there. It is nice there, more things to play.

This holiday is not very useful for me, only makes me even more slack. Do you agree?