Poems

Book Poems

The Boy in the Striped Pyjama's Poem Freedom by Ambrose Bierce

And toll her knell.
Rowdy, Rough, Rolling in her cry. And when the sovereign people cast The votes they cannot spell, Upon the pestilential blast Her clamors swell. She crys out like a hyena, Her pain is big and loud with an animal's roar For all to whom the power's given To sway or to compel, Among themselves apportion Heaven And give her Hell. Onomotopoeia- Chingalingling Simile- She crys out like a hyena. Metaphor- Her pain is big and loud with an animal's roar Allteration- Rowdy, Rough, Rolling in her cry. Symbol- Freedom, as every schoolboy knows. Rhyme Scheme- abab Out There's Poem

Freedoms Plow by Langston Hughes When a man starts out with nothing, When a man starts out with his hands Empty, but clean, When a man starts to build a world, He starts first with himself And the faith that is in his heart- The strength there, The will there to build.

First in the heart is the dream- Then the mind starts seeking a way. His eyes look out on the world, On the great wooded world, On the rich soil of the world, On the rivers of the world.

The eyes see there materials for building, See the difficulties, too, and the obstacles. The mind seeks a way to overcome these obstacles. The hand seeks tools to cut the wood, To till the soil, and harness the power of the waters. Then the hand seeks other hands to help, A community of hands to help- Thus the dream becomes not one man's dream alone, But a community dream. Not my dream alone, but our dream. Not my world alone, But your world and my world, Belonging to all the hands who build.

A long time ago, but not too long ago, Ships came from across the sea Bringing the Pilgrims and prayer-makers, Adventurers and booty seekers, Free men and indentured servants, Slave men and slave masters, all new- To a new world, America!

With billowing sails the galleons came Bringing men and dreams, women and dreams. In little bands together, Heart reaching out to heart, Hand reaching out to hand, They began to build our land. Some were free hands Seeking a greater freedom, Some were indentured hands Hoping to find their freedom, Some were slave hands Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom, But the word was there always: Freedom.

Down into the earth went the plow In the free hands and the slave hands, In indentured hands and adventurous hands, Turning the rich soil went the plow in many hands That planted and harvested the food that fed And the cotton that clothed America. Clang against the trees went the ax into many hands That hewed and shaped the rooftops of America. Splash into the rivers and the seas went the boat-hulls That moved and transported America. Crack went the whips that drove the horses Across the plains of America. Free hands and slave hands, Indentured hands, adventurous hands, White hands and black hands Held the plow handles, Ax handles, hammer handles, Launched the boats and whipped the horses That fed and housed and moved America. Thus together through labor, All these hands made America.

Labor! Out of labor came villages And the towns that grew cities. Labor! Out of labor came the rowboats And the sailboats and the steamboats, Came the wagons, and the coaches, Covered wagons, stage coaches, Out of labor came the factories, Came the foundries, came the railroads. Came the marts and markets, shops and stores, Came the mighty products moulded, manufactured, Sold in shops, piled in warehouses, Shipped the wide world over: Out of labor-white hands and black hands- Came the dream, the strength, the will, And the way to build America. Now it is Me here, and You there. Now it's Manhattan, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Boston and El Paso- Now it's the U.S.A.

A long time ago, but not too long ago, a man said: ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL-- ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS-- AMONG THESE LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. His name was Jefferson. There were slaves then, But in their hearts the slaves believed him, too, And silently too for granted That what he said was also meant for them. It was a long time ago, But not so long ago at that, Lincoln said: NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGH TO GOVERN ANOTHER MAN WITHOUT THAT OTHER'S CONSENT. There were slaves then, too, But in their hearts the slaves knew What he said must be meant for every human being- Else it had no meaning for anyone. Then a man said: BETTER TO DIE FREE THAN TO LIVE SLAVES He was a colored man who had been a slave But had run away to freedom. And the slaves knew What Frederick Douglass said was true.

With John Brown at Harper's Ferry, Negroes died. John Brown was hung. Before the Civil War, days were dark, And nobody knew for sure When freedom would triumph "Or if it would," thought some. But others new it had to triumph. In those dark days of slavery, Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom, The slaves made up a song: Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On! That song meant just what it said: Hold On! Freedom will come! Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On! Out of war it came, bloody and terrible! But it came! Some there were, as always, Who doubted that the war would end right, That the slaves would be free, Or that the union would stand, But now we know how it all came out. Out of the darkest days for people and a nation, We know now how it came out. There was light when the battle clouds rolled away. There was a great wooded land, And men united as a nation.

America is a dream. The poet says it was promises. The people say it is promises-that will come true. The people do not always say things out loud, Nor write them down on paper. The people often hold Great thoughts in their deepest hearts And sometimes only blunderingly express them, Haltingly and stumblingly say them, And faultily put them into practice. The people do not always understand each other. But there is, somewhere there, Always the trying to understand, And the trying to say, "You are a man. Together we are building our land."

America! Land created in common, Dream nourished in common, Keep your hand on the plow! Hold on! If the house is not yet finished, Don't be discouraged, builder! If the fight is not yet won, Don't be weary, soldier! The plan and the pattern is here, Woven from the beginning Into the warp and woof of America: ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGH TO GOVERN ANOTHER MAN WITHOUT HIS CONSENT. BETTER DIE FREE, THAN TO LIVE SLAVES. Who said those things? Americans! Who owns those words? America! Who is America? You, me! We are America! To the enemy who would conquer us from without, We say, NO! To the enemy who would divide And conquer us from within, We say, NO! FREEDOM! BROTHERHOOD! DEMOCRACY! To all the enemies of these great words: We say, NO!

A long time ago, An enslaved people heading toward freedom Made up a song: Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On! The plow plowed a new furrow Across the field of history. Into that furrow the freedom seed was dropped. From that seed a tree grew, is growing, will ever grow. That tree is for everybody, For all America, for all the world. May its branches spread and shelter grow Until all races and all peoples know its shade. KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! HOLD ON!

North of Beautiful's Poem Author Unknown I knew it when I saw you For the very first time I was in for trouble Of the very best kind

I see the way you look at me Behind your marble screen Piercing through my confidence With the eyes of a forgotten Queen

Trust me when I say I know you I've been with you for years I've danced in your joy I've howled in your tears

I was there when you were in love I've seen you win and lose I've watched you walk alone in torment I've seen the abuse

I wish I could protect you Keep you safe and dry If the darkness tried to fall on you I'd hold open the sky

You don't need me to save you You're as tough as I've ever seen You're strong enough to tak'em all on You are beautiful, powerful and free

The mighty sun in all its glory And the brightness with which it shines Is forced to sit in jealousy Of the light within your eyes

You are lovely to me I submit, I forfeit, I cease In you I found my heart again My love, my soul, my peace

Even if I never know you As a lover or a wife You will always be the angel He sent to save my life

Your gaze has broken through The wall I built in pain That kept me from feeling What little hope remained

Loving you has torn away The bindings and the chains I am grateful Lovely One For the freedom love attained