The Street -Steven Dobyns

          I enjoyed this poem a lot. The tone seems to be bitter and critical, like the reader is 15 feet tall,

looking down through the glasses on the tip of his nose at the people on the street.
         
          There isn't any rhyming at all, and it doesn't flow like most poems do. It doesn't seem to be a

poem at all until the very last line, where he ties all of the people's lives together in a way. He tells

individual stories about the 9 people he sees, each of them interesting by themselves, and then at the

end he addresses them as a whole.

          The first sentence brings you deep into the poem immediately. "Much as he bears the burdens of

his life" really starts making you think about the personal life of the carpenter, and all of the other

characters in the story. It's obvious from the beginning that Steven doesn't just want you thinking about

what the people are doing, but who they really are.        

          My favorite section would probably have to be the lines about the little girl. I like the imagery of

her spanking her red ball, telling to behave. I wonder if maybe her parents spank her, and perhaps she is

imitating them.

          The insight of the poem is in the last 2 paragraphs. The people just go about their lives without

noticing one another. they are so busy thinking about themselves that they never see each other. I have

been to Chicago a few times and I would agree that in the city, everyone seems so involved with

themselves and their own lives that they can barely see what's right in front of them-- two inches in

front of their face, even!

          Also, the art piece is a perfect accompaniment to the poem. I pictured the scene almost exactly as

it is shown in the picture.

What Do Women Want? -Kim Addonizio

          First off, I definitely hear some rhyming going on in this poem, and a lot of emotion. I could 

practically hear the ego dripping out off of the words. 

          The first line really creates a mental picture right away. You see a beautiful woman in a beautiful 

dress. As the poem goes on, you can imagine her strutting down the sidewalk of a familiar street, not 

giving anyone or anything a second glance. You see her turning up her nose at the rest of the world.

For me; however, I saw her alone. She doesn't mention it specifically, but I get the notion that she was 

alone to begin with and that when she is buried in that red dress, she is alone at her funeral. Many 

times, having a lot of confidence attracts people, but I feel that in this case, it drove everyone even 

further away.

          I don't think that the art piece goes with the poem at all. The woman in the picture looks relaxed 

and almost sultry. She appears as if she is waiting for someone. She seems quiet and self conscious; 

vulnerable maybe.

          Overall I like the feeling of the poem. I think It has a strong message. On the other hand, I don't 

like the title. I don't think the title does the poem justice. If a poem is going to have any title, it needs to 

be something that intrigues the reader. I find the title to be unrelated to the content. Unless, of course, 

Kim is trying to imply something by this title. Perhaps she is implying that all women want this. If not, 

then the title is very disappointing. If, however, she did mean to imply that all women want a red dress, 

then that leads me to wonder what the red dress could represent. Maybe the insight of the poem is that 

every woman has a certain outfit that makes them feel like a million bucks. I know I have one... or 

three, but who's counting?