A Pact ~ Ezra Pound

I make truce with you, Walt Whitman --

I have detested you long enough. 

I come to you as a grown child 

Who has had a pig headed father; 

I am old enough now to make friends. 

It was you that broke the new wood, 

Now it is time for a carving. 

We have one sap and one root-- 

Let there be commerce between us.

~A Pact - Ezra Pound

Contextually, Pound wrote a paper named "What I feel about Walt Whitman" which made apparent his extreme dislike of Whitman several years before writing this poem.

In this poem it seems he is, albeit begrudingly, retracting his former strong opinion of Whitman. Some of his words, such as "...as a grown child," and "...old enough now to make friends." suggest that he has gained maturity since writing his article. Not to mention his  "I come to you as a grown child Who has had a pig headed father" highlights his evolved view of Whitman as a paternal figure, admitting Whitman to be somewhat of a source of inspiration.

"It was you that broke the new wood" implies that Whitman paved a new way for poets such as Pound, however he turns around and backhandedly says "Now it is time for a carving." So he admits to Whitmans' having a role in his own career, but even so implies that Whitmans' work is inferior to his own which refines the art into something that is viewed as much better, such as a block of wood compared to an intricate wood carving.The backhanded compliment conveys the sense that Pounds' negative opinion of Whitman will never truly change. despite his progression from a strong loathing to a less severe dislike.

Fire and Ice ~ Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire, 

Some say in ice, 

From what I've tasted of desire 

I hold with those who favor fire. 

But if it had to perish twice, 

I think I know enough of hate 

To say that for destruction ice 

Is also great 

And would suffice

~ Fire and Ice - Robert Frost

This poem is designed to be easily understood and uses words with broader meanings than what might be picked up on first glance. Fire, ice, and desire are all words that are applicable to more than than just their literal definitions. This not just leaves more room for interpretation but lends deeper meaning to the seemingly direct poem. By attaching fire with desire, and ice with hate, the speaker implies that the two ways that the world is to end are both as a result of the human condition. Continuing with that, the narrator is referring to extremes. Fire and ice are opposites. Fire representing an excess of passion and conflict while ice represents a lack of. The world ending from one or the other signifies imbalance. Regardless of how it ends, imbalance will be the ultimate cause as an excess anything is destructive. 

The Art of Being Empty ~ Rupi Kaur

"emptying out of my mothers belly was

my very first act of disappearance

learning to shrink for a family who

likes their daughters invisible

was the second

the art of being empty is simple

believe them when they say

you are nothing

repeat it to yourself

like a wish

I am nothing

I am nothing

I am nothing so often

The only reason you 

know you're still alive is 

from the heaving of your chest"

~The Art of Being Empty - Rupi Kaur

The vocabulary contained within this poem is relatively simple. The diversity between this and everyday word choice is not significantly obvious. The tone gives the impression that the narrator is perhaps feeling defeated, or resigned to being "nothing." Two particular things that stand out are the usage of the words "emptying" and "heaving."

The definition of 'emptying' as stated by Dictionary.com is to make empty; deprive of contents; discharge the contents of: to empty a bucket. This is an awfully apathetic way to describe ones' birth, which falls into line with the rest of the poem. The narrator does not feel loved, valued, or acknowledged by her family and even states in the poem "...a family that likes their daughters invisible..." This implies that, as a daughter, her birth must not have been too celebratory an event. As the first line, "emptying out of my mothers belly..." sets the tone for the proceeding lines and does so in a manner much more fitting with the rest of the text than if the narrator had said, for example, 'My mother giving birth to me...'

The other word, 'heaving,' is defined as meaning to breathe with effort; pant: He sat there heaving and puffing from the effort. by, again, Dictionary.com. "...the heaving of your chest." Not 'from your heart beating in your chest' or another version which would indicate a specific difficulty with controlling ones' emotions, but rather 'heaving,' as in a difficulty breathing. The narrator speaks of a family where women are second class, where they are oppressed. Oppression doesn't offer much breathing space. This could imply that the effort and weight of being empty, or invisible, is strenuous and takes a toll on the narrator.




*As this is the first one I've ever done, I have no idea if this is even remotely the way I was supposed to go about this but I'm going for it*