Light

You won't be able to catch it

It will disappear before you can touch

But you will still want to check what is left
It is just a gust of wind

You won't be able to see it 

It enjoys to play hide and seek

Once you think you have caught a glimpse

It is just a shadow of the moonlight

You won't be able to recall it

It will be taken away by a messenger called time

Once the time past

It will leave you a mind full of confusion

It is the simplest word to utter

It is the sweetest piece to taste

It is the hardest treasure to keep

It is the sharpest sound to hear

Analysis
The word "it" in this poem implies love. Therefore, the poem is about how dynamic and untraceable love could be. There are four quatrains in this poem. Each of them is categorizing the characteristics  of love. This poem features personification in that love itself can not disappear or enjoys playing hide and seek; it is the people who fall in love do so. By using the personification, the writer is able to give the object or feeling-love human qualities. Also, in the line"It is just a gust of wind", it features the usage of metaphor. 

The Beauty

Oh, the Beauty!
How graceful can you be!
Walking at such a peaceful pace
As if nothing can ever be hurry

Oh, the Beauty!
How distant can you be!
Giving the Earth an indifferent glimpse
As if nothing can ever persuade you to stay

Oh, the Beauty!
How attractive can you be!
Swinging across the space freely
As if nothing can ever hinder you

Oh, the Beauty!
How freezing can you be!
Talking with needles in your words
As if nothing can ever prove you wrong

Oh, the Beauty!
How lonely can you be!
Staying alone in the palace above the clouds
As if nothing can ever drag you to fall

Oh, the Beauty!
How real can you be!
Or shall I say-
How illusory can you be!

Analysis
The Beauty in this poem is referring to the people who are indifferent and ignorant to the mundane
world. This poem expresses the writers points of view toward this group of people, maybe including herself. However, not all of the remarks made are positive. There are six quatrains in this poem. One of the important features in this poem would be allusion in "Staying alone in the palace above the clouds". The palace here is referring to heaven or heaven like space. It is suggesting people who does not show much engagement in the society, are expected to be found in their own imaginary world where they will feel loneliness.

Dine under the Pine

Pure Pair of Pearl
Dazzling light shine
With a Sweet and Slight Swirl
Dancing under the Pine

Birds twisted the line
Singing Sad Songs Sore
Under the Pine, the Lady Dine
Biting her heart and swallowing the dark yore

Analysis
The poem is forming a image of a lady dining under a pine tree. From the last paragraph, it can be inferred that the lady is recalling her sad memories from the past. The poem has two quatrains. This poem features several literary devices, such as alliteration at the very beginning of the poem "Pure Pair of Pearl". The usage emphasizes the decorations that the lady wear, which could possibly reveal more of her character. The poem also features the usage of imagery, especially in the second stanza where it becomes clear that the image is connected to the topic. This poem also rhymes in ABAB BCBC. Symbolism is also presented in this poem in the line"Biting her heart and swallowing the dark yore". This line symbolized the lady's sad memories. In the line"Birds twisted the line", the repetition "i" is a usage of assonance.

Lock of my shadow

No matter where you go,

my shadow will follow you

No matter what you do,

my shadow still covers you

Sitting on the piano bench，

you wonder why am I smiling

Cutting the tree branch,

you wonder why am I giggling

Day by day, you let the music daze

One by one, you polish the wood shine

Bouncing between the keys-black and white-like a maze

Your eyes are dark as wine

You are someone closer than a friend,

you are someone further than a friend

Analysis
The poem is written for a friend of the writer. Both of the structure and the rhyme pattern follow the rule of English sonnet. There is an example of simile in the line"Your eyes are dark as wine". The simile used here presents a clear image of how the friend's eyes are like in the writer's mind.

The Lemon

At the bottom of my bag
lies a twinkling tiny lemon
Fresh and pure it paints the air
I lay my hand on the rough little piece
It is giggling with a muted sound
Sliced open with a knife
the lemon cried- cha-cha
Leaving tears in the plate
reminding me of a old bitter-sweet taste

Analysis
The poem is about a type of fruit and its taste, colour, size and sound. There are 9 line in this poem. The poem features the literary device- personification. For example, in the line"Fresh and pure it paints the air".

Sonnet 18

By William Shakespeare



Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest: 
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Analysis
This poem is about the comparison between the  lover to the summer's day. The poem follows the format of English Sonnet. The writer passionately expresses his love by using examples of hyperboles, such as, in lines "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" and "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee".

In the Silence of the Morning

By Peter Duggan

In the silence of the morning
When air is soft, and still
There’s a kind of mystic feeling
Oh, the way it makes me feel!
I just want to be in silence
So I sit and close my eyes
And look into my ‘me’ ness
And let it make me wise.

It doesn’t matter what the weather
How the moon it be, outside
If it’s raining, if it’s snowing
I open my heart wide
Which leads me to the looking
That I’m always going to do
That has taken my persona
And created me brand new.

In the silence of the morning
My eyes all closed to light
I let the light come into me
And I feel it, though so slight
The tiny mystic whisper
That is ‘me’ and always will be
In the silence of the morning
I am looking straight at ‘me’.

Analysis
The poem is about the writer's meditation in morning. This poem is an example of a ballad. One of the examples of literary device used inthis poem would be symbolism in line "I am looking straight at 'me'". The 'me' here is representing the writer's inner self which is different from the general term 'me'.

Windigo

By Louise Enrich

You knew I was coming for you, little one,
when the kettle jumped into the fire.
Towels flapped on the hooks,
and the dog crept off, groaning,
to the deepest part of the woods.

In the hackles of dry brush a thin laughter started up.
Mother scolded the food warm and smooth in the pot
and called you to eat.
But I spoke in the cold trees:
New one, I have come for you, child hide and lie still.

The sumac pushed sour red cones through the air.
Copper burned in the raw wood.
You saw me drag toward you.
Oh touch me, I murmured, and licked the soles of your feet.
You dug your hands into my pale, melting fur.

I stole you off, a huge thing in my bristling armor.
Steam rolled from my wintry arms, each leaf shivered
from the bushes we passed
until they stood, naked, spread like the cleaned spines of fish.

Then your warm hands hummed over and shoveled themselves full
of the ice and the snow. I would darken and spill
all night running, until at last morning broke the cold earth
and I carried you home,
a river shaking in the sun.

Analysis
The poem is about a legend of the First Nation people. There are five stanzas in this poem. The poem is written from the first-person narrative, and it is written from the perspective of a demon. This poem features personification in the very beginning, in the lines "when the kettle jumped into the fire" and "towels flapped on the hooks". By using personification in this stanza, the writer creates a mood for this poem.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

By Maya Angelou




The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

Analysis
The poem is the writer's appeal for freedom for "the caged birds", which in this case is the slaves. There is no continuous rhyme pattern in this   There are six stanzas in this poem. This poem features the usage of imagery, especially in the forth stanza. The imagery is decorated with mood-indicating adjectives

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.

Analysis
The poem is about the writer's view on the social  and her determination in rising for her race. There are approximately 8 stanzas. The use of metaphor and similes
 in this poems shows the writer's powerfulness and determination in rising. There is a simile in the lines "Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room." The metaphor plays a more important role in developing the theme. One of the example would be "I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide."