Writing the poems, “My brother and I,” “Cupa e Babagjyshit,” and “Stranger,” was a challenging and enjoyable assignment. Even though the poems were different from each other, a response to another poem, a response to a current social issue, and identification, all of them are connected to me and to who I am. Through these poems I tried to persuade to the audience my feelings and thoughts toward different topics. Overall, I believe I did a good job writing them and I am satisfied with the outcome.
The sonnet “My brother and I” is a response to a current social issue, stereotypes. The article by The New York Times “Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box” suggests that giving separate toys to boys and girls is the start of stereotypes and that it shapes children’s personalities. This article stood as an exigence for my poem. In fourteen lines I addressed this issue and tried to fade away the idea that girls are not equal to boys. “Brother” symbolizes the male gender and how they are viewed by society. Throughout the poem I tried to clarify differences made between boys and girls starting from the toys and then argued that women are equal and so much more than the opposite gender. The rhyme AABBCDCDEEFFGG develops a rhythmical poem and helps to persuade the message of the poem to the readers.
“Cupa e Babagjyshit,” an elegy, is a response toward the poem “Footsteps of Angels” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Rather than responding to the poem, I continued the theme of death by connecting it to the hardest death I faced, my grandfather’s death. “Cupa e Babagjyshit” (grandpa’s girl) expresses my purest feelings, regrets, and struggles I am facing to get over my angel’s death. The hyperbole “From the voice that melted my heart” highlights his importance to me. “I could see skies in your eyes. . ./ Now your eyes watching me above the skies. . .” are my favorite lines. Despite their contradiction, they exhibit the unwanted truth. The rhyme addressed throughout the poem creates a more emotional and powerful poem.
The identity poem, “Stranger,” is a poem dedicated to my motherland, Albania. It shows my patriotic side and how being far away makes me feel as a “Stranger” when I am back to Albania. I chose to do a free verse because my thoughts and emotions were unable to be put on a specific structure and rhyme. The word “shqipe” means eagle but based on a long state history it symbolizes Albania. The usage of anaphora “where” in the first stanza emphasizes why my motherland is so important to me and clarifies the reason why it hurts to be an outsider. I decided to end the poem by making a promise to my motherland because I believe devoting myself to be a better “daughter” makes the poem more persuasive.
Even though I think I didn’t meet all the requirements of the poems type, sonnet and elegy, the usage of syntax and lexicon in the poems, “My Brother and I,” “Cupa e Babagjyshit,” and “Stranger” revel the essence of my heart and my position toward different topics. It was challenging to choose the right vocabulary and put so many thoughts in short lines, but I enjoyed working on them and I believe it was the best I could do.
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