Name: _____________________________
Class Period: __________
Date: _______________
Teen Poetry
Daddy’s Little Girl
From the other side of the world he bought me a “kimono.”
It was beautiful; he had one too.
In them, we pose, he kneeling and I learning.
He holds me as if I were glass:
A China doll not to be shattered.
His chin to the crown of my head,
I am a princess.
Around us are the pieces of my parents’ marriage.
The Sony television that lasted till this day,
The solid, wooden bookcases that still stand,
And books on the tables, everywhere.
Three years later in the same room
My parents sat, faces sober and drawn,
On opposite ends of the room.
Shelves, television and books between them,
A great, yawning distance.
My mother took the books,
My father stole the bookshelves.
My mother bargained for the television.
Father fought for the table.
And Mother got the children.
Erin - Connecticut – 17
_____
Just because I love darkness
Doesn’t mean I’m depressed
Doesn’t mean I can’t love
Doesn’t mean I’m blind.
Just because I love my Mom
Doesn’t mean I’m not a rebel
Doesn’t mean I can’t love others
Doesn’t mean I’m a mama’s boy.
Just because I act psycho
Doesn’t mean I need medication
Doesn’t mean I can’t be compassionate
Doesn’t mean I don’t cry.
Marcel – 16
Joker
You would be surprised
To know that the funny man
Is also a sad man
Like a clown fallen from his stilts.
But this is his career
Never will the joker feel secure in a serious
environment
He will keep telling jokes
Never will a joker feel secure with his insecurities
He will keep telling jokes
In the process of getting myself out of a hole
A hole I dug for myself
A bottomless pit
I will die…
Like the product of a pun
A misunderstanding
The saddest joke…
A clown lying by his stilts, full of regret.
Michael – 16
Brown
It's strange because i never liked the color
brown, but as i gaze into your eyes, i can't help but fall irrevocably
in love with the creamy, smooth, rich color
of mocha coffee, and i hesitate in
turning away
from you, because i don't know
if i can function completely without
the caffeine that is your eyes.
Megha - California
Daddy’s Little Girl
1.) Why include the story of the kimono at the beginning of the poem? What’s the
purpose?
2.) How would this young woman describe her relationship with her dad? What about
her mom?
3.) What poetic devices do you notice? What purpose do these devices serve?
4.) Look at the bolded verbs at the end of the poem? What do you notice about the
diction here? What is the purpose of this word choice?
_____
5.) What do you think is the significance of the title? (Hint: It is an underscore.) Why
does the author choose to do this?
6.) How does the poet use anaphora in this poem? What purpose does it serve?
7.) What is this young man saying about himself and the way people see him?
8.) What is the speaker’s tone throughout the poem?
Joker
9.) What is the extended metaphor used throughout this poem? Why is this a good
comparison for this student? What is this student saying about himself?
10.) Why does the student indent certain sections of this poem? What might be his
reason for this?
11.) Look at the use of pronouns here. Why does the writer switch from “he” to “I”?
12.) What is the speaker’s tone throughout the poem?
Brown
13.) Why do you think this poet breaks her lines where she does? (This technique is
called enjambment.) Does this create choppiness to her poem or does it improve
the fluidity of the piece?
14.) What poetic devices does this writer use when describing the eyes? Is this
effective? Why or why not?
15.) Any thoughts on why this poet chooses not to capitalize “I”? Why might she have
made this strategic choice?
16.) Examine the imagery in this poem. What do those words add to the overall tone of
the poem? Provide a specific example to support your answer.