P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E

I am so ready to get out of here. I want to go home now. This food is nasty and this place smells like old people. I never want to get sick again. I feel great but the doctor says my body isn’t done healing yet. Bullshit. He just wants to rack up some more of my parents’ money! My mom taught me a new word today. P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E. She said it means to wait quietly without complaining. So I guess she wants me to shut up! But how much longer must I wait? I have been here for three weeks now. I feel like I’m breathing better, but my tests says otherwise. Patience. What will I gain from being so patient? I just don’t get it. I have friends waiting for me to come out and play. I have homework that I need to get HOME to do. I have to feed my goldfish. I need to leave this hospital!!

According to Webster’s Dictionary, Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean preserving in the face of delay without becoming annoyed or upset. Patience is mentioned several times in the Bible. It reads that patience is better than pride. It is also refers to it as one of the fruits of the spirit, meaning it is critical to life. The book of Proverbs reads…. “Love is Patient”. Love conquers all, and in order to have love with another, there must be fortitude to hold on.

I cannot wait to graduate! This is my fourth year in school now. Graduation day can’t come soon enough. So many of my other friends have already graduated and started their careers. But not me! Sometimes I feel left out, but I know there are many other people who haven’t completed school in exactly four years. The work load is overwhelming, and it is often hard to balance my life and school. But I saw this ad today and it read, “All Great Achievements Require Time”. I guess I must be patient. My time is coming soon.

Anything worth doing is going to take hard work, patience and persistence. Patience is what so many of us lack. It is one of the most valuable virtues in life. It is a desirable quality that many people never possess or never even want to possess. Patience means to be steadfast and tolerant. Not all can do this, and for this reason people do not always get the best results in life. All good things come in due time. The lack of patience causes one to settle for less.

Today is my eighteenth birthday. I thought on my sixteenth birthday my parents would surprise me with a brand new car! But that didn’t happen. So now that two long years have passed, I have saved up enough money to purchase my very first car. I work everyday after school and I am proud to say that I did this on my own. I am starting to feel like an adult. Since I decided to wait and save up for two whole years, I have more money to get a more luxurious car. It took a lot of patience, and I have made many sacrifices, but it’s going to be worth it in the end!

Don't Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine

This was the most interesting book we have read all semester. I could relate to most of the topics Rankine discussed in the book such as the media, death and racism. This book was written in lyric essay form. She was very discreet in her writing and even provided images which helped to create an emotional appeal to the reader. For example, the section when she began to talk about how you don't remember because you don't care really touched me. I could totally relate to this. She talked about how the President didn't even know about the incident in which some black men in his own hometown were dragged to death. She stressed that the non reporting was one of the negative aspects of the media. Rankine also provided pictures from that devastating scene in Texas. The pictures said it all. They were so powerful and only made me more upset that the story did not get the media attention it deserved. And why?....because they just don't care! But one of the most powerful quotes in the book was, "Cornel West says this is what is wrong with black people today—too nihilistic. Too scarred by hope to hope, too experienced to experience, too close to dead is what I think."
But I feel that this not only goes for Black people, but this is true for people of all races.

The book was compelling right from the beginning. Chapter one started off talking about the relationship between hope and loneliness. There were alot of open ended questions in this section, causing the reader to think deeply about the subject. I felt that she was trying to make the point that no matter what, life ends in loneliness. She used death as an example. And this is really when her writing became relatable.

Rankine is indeed a great writer and I plan to read more of her work in the future. This book was full of lessons. One of the most important one was to maintain hope. Through all of the negativity in the media, government, and racsim, we still must sustain hope. Like Rankine stated in the book, "hope is the same as breath—part of what it means to be human and alive."

Dialogue

"Where have you been?"
"Around"
"Where have you been Sarah?!"
"Good night mom!"
"Young lady don't you dare come into MY house and disrespect me like that!"
"Well you know what, I will just leave"
"Get in here!"
"Don't pull on me! I'm a grown woman!"
"No you are 18 years old! No where near grown!"
"Please don't start!"
"Why is John dropping you off at 5am!"
"Why are you waiting up at the window for me like I'm ten years old!!"
"Let me make myself clear, until you start paying bills around here you WILL respect the rules of my home!"
"And if I don't?"
"Then pack your stuff and leave!"
"You ain't said nothing but a word"
"Sarah get back down here!!!"
"No mom! I can't take this anymore! You treat me like a child! You give me NO trust at all!!!!"
"You have to earn my trust"
"Well I don't have time for that"
"Well you know what Sarah , GET OUT!!!!"
"No Problemo!!"
"You will be back"
"Don't count on it!"
"You are real big and bad now, but just wait till that no good man of yours get tired of laying up with you. He is gonna find him some new fresh meat and kick you to the curb. And guess where you will be......right back here with your mama!"
"Whatever! You don't know John like I know him"
"That's the same thing I told my mom when I was with your father. And two days later he left me hanging when he found out I was pregnant."
"Well I'm not you!"
"You're right."
"You're more stubborn and naive. Which scares me every night. Take care.
"Have a good life!!"

Two months later

...knock knock

"Well look at what the wind blew in. How nice of you to come visit me today."
"I'm not coming to visit. I need a place to stay."

Rodrigo Toscano's Performance

I did not enjoy the Rodrigo Toscano reading like I thought I was. The Dreamland Theatre was not big enough to accommodate all of the students that attended. I was in the back with no view, but after the first reading I managed to push my way closer to the front. I would have to say that the first piece had a few funny lines in it, but I thought that it was too long. It was so long that it became uninteresting. However, I did like the fluctuation of their voices as they read the poetry. The second reading was confusing to me. I did not understand any of it. It was weird. I really don't have much to say about the second piece honestly. I was lost. Nevertheless, the third and final reading was the best reading of the night. Toscano and a young lady recited "Balm to Bilk". It was read almost exactly the way we heard it in class. Again, the voice fluctuation was incredible. The alliteration and repetition helped the poetry to flow. Although I am not a fan of this genre of poetry, I feel like Rodrigo Toscano made the words in his poetry come to life. His poetry is definitely an example of Poetry in Motion!

Although it was quite different, I liked how the Evenson short story was broken into different stanzas. It seemed like a play more than just a short story. Evenson was very descriptive as to what he was experiencing and what his thoughts were as he took upon the new internship. The short story also seemed like a journal he kept while at the internship. I thought the short story was unique and fun to read. This short story was a narrative from a first person point of view.

I didn't really care for the Thalia Field piece. It was all over the place. It was talking about so many random things. The story was about a woman who went to visit the psychiatrist, but refused to open up and express her feelings. So instead of communicating with the psychiatrist, she just thought of random things. Although the language in this short story was quite boring, the imagery and metaphors made the piece interesting. For instance, " I feel my cheeks burn as if they might peel off and fly toward the window, striking against it, a terrifying wet bird." This is an example of a similie and imagery. Another sentence that I loved was, "I could sell the rights if I could simply tell the story."

Pain

tears
drop
continuously

like the raindrops on an April night
dark as a cold winter night
desolate
no one to hold

so alone

afraid to move
paralyzed by the thorns of your tongue
bleeding within

torn

red drips on the bathroom floor
screams heard through the closed doors

exploited, manipulated, degraded, hated
scarred internal external

This is not love

tears
drop
continuously

Tiffany Hancock

City Eclogue Response #3

I also took notice that Roberson discussed political issues in his poetry. In "Sit in What City We're In", Roberson refers to the Civil Right Movements' sit ins. This is an era that he lived through, and through his poetry it is evident that he is very passionate about discussing these events.