Link to "Come Sleep! Oh Sleep":
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45160 Well would you look at that, I am writing about a poem that isn’t from Richard Blanco! That’s because our class is trying to widen our poetic horizons, so each student is analyzing something new. This poem is called “Come Sleep! Oh Sleep” by Sir Philip Sidney, and it is about the benefits of sleep on our mental health. The first thing that I noticed was the title. This time, we had to pick our poem from a pre-made list, so all we could see was its title. It turns out that it is quite difficult to choose a poem based on its title alone, so it definitely encouraged me to make some first impressions. I usually don’t like to judge a book by its cover, but when I read the title “Come Sleep! Oh Sleep”, it reminded me of a lullaby that one would sing to children to help them fall asleep. That small hint of nostalgia was enough to make me choose it as the one I am analyzing today. I am happy to say that it was a lot deeper than I initially imagined. The next thing I notice is the structure. It is a rather short poem with only one stanzas to give it a sense of unity. It seems to have no real chronological order, because it is more about the description of sleep rather than the explanation of the process. In this poem, Sidney reflects on the positive aspects of sleep in everyday lives. He calls it the “certain knot of peace” and “baiting place of wit,” because it gives us time to check out from the rest of the world and be alone with our thoughts. He also called it the “balm of woe,” and since balm is considered a healing remedy, this line represents how sleep can subdue our sadness for a short time until we awake. He then goes to say how it affects different types of people, like how sleep is both a “poor man's wealth” and a “prisoner’s release” . A poor man does not own much, so he will treasure what he has, and that includes sleep. A prisoner has many rights and privileges taken away from him, but he still has his sleep. This allows them to dream about things that make them happier than they feel in their current position, giving them the happiness they need where they otherwise would not have without sleep. As the poem continues, the speaker talks about the relationship between himself and sleep. He asks sleep to be a “shield of proof” to protect him from the “fierce darts” of despair in order to make the “civil wars...cease” in his mind. This makes me think that Sir Philip Sidney was going through quite a rough patch in his life when he wrote this. He was probably plagued with depression and anxiety about the outside world and was just longing to go back to sleep. I think we've all been there before. Life can get rather unbearable at times, but sleep is only a short-term solution. Sidney’s diction caught my eye toward the middle of the poem. He used phrases like “smooth pillows” and “sweetest bed” to indicate how tempting it would be just to go back to bed and not deal with the world that day. I also enjoy his contrast in phrases like “deaf to noise” and “blind to light,” which describe how sleep keeps us from hearing and seeing our responsibilities and issues. Even though they are right there waiting for us when we get back up. Although this poem is different from the other poems I'm used the reading, I really enjoyed how relatable it was. I have trouble getting up in the morning when I know something unpleasant will happen, and this just describes it perfectly. That is what makes having anxiety so difficult. because it can keep you from getting that well deserved rest.
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This poem was also created by the one...the only...Richard Blanco! I’m so glad that I am still able to write about his fascinating work. It is fun to decipher his poems like an intricate puzzle with infinite possible solutions, but only one reveals the true picture it was meant to display. I hope to get as close to Blanco’s true meaning as possible, but only he knows the real reason he writes these poems. This particular poem is about the passing of time in more ways than one. He describes the way things physically change in the world around us, but also in the way we change as a society.
The first thing I notice is the poem’s structure. It is rather short compared to Blanco’s other poems, but looks can be quite deceiving. I also notice that he didn’t split the poem into stanzas either, giving it a more unified effect. It is his way of telling a story that flows well enough for the reader to get this message. The title itself is pretty straight forward. The “Photo of a Man on Sunset Drive” part indicates the subject Blanco is discussing, the “1914” indicates the year the photo was taken, and the “2008” indicates the year Blanco was comparing the picture to. There is a lot of time between those years, so there is bound to be many physical and mental change to compare the times to. Blanco first describes the picture in detailed imagery. He mentions a shack by a dirt road with “crates of avocados and limes, white chickens” and a “man under the shadow of his straw hat.” The reader gets a sense for the time period back in the early 1900s. Life seems so simple back then when we compare it to what we deal with today. Blanco realizes that this man in the photo would never see the products of the future. He wouldn't see “streetlights” or buildings that rise “taller than the palm trees.” As the poem comes to an end, the point of view shifts to first person. Blanco knows that the man from 1914 will never see him “trying to read his mind across time.” It seems to make Blanco quite solemn. My favorite line is the last few when he says, “both of us, looking down the road that will stretch on, for years after I too disappear into a photo.” He realizes that he too will be stamped into a certain time period, only being known by a picture hanging on a wall. Link to "Since Unfinished":
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/56068 The poem “Since Unfinished” by Richard Blanco is about the passing of time and the memories we obtain as life goes on. It follows Blanco’s personal story with both the good and the bad moments in his life. The first thing I notice is the pattern. The poem is broken up into six stanzas, each starting with the line “I've been writing this since...” followed by descriptions of memories Blanco made at that stage in his life. The idea of “writing” actually translates to the act of memorizing. Blanco has been “writing” down these memories in his head since he was a very young child. Since each stanza represents a pivotal moment in his life in chronological order, it unites the stanzas as a story rather than scattered ideas. The first stanza is the beginning of Blanco’s story; therefore, he starts recalling his first memories as a young child. He uses childhood references that are familiar to most people, such as learning to “make green from blue and yellow” (6-7) paint and how to cut little paper “snowflakes” (8) to decorate the classroom. These references resemble the fact that our brains were once an empty cavity, ready to be filled with any information, no matter how simple. He also addresses his grandfather and the sweet memories he used to share with him. This fond memory represents his childhood innocence. The second stanza takes place when Blanco is a little older. He is old enough where he is starting to watch his “father shave” (18), but young enough to still need his mom to pull splinters “from my thumb” (21) and kiss “my blood” (21). Blanco seemed to be a very happy and hopeful young child. Even the sad moments, like when he got splinters, could be considered happy because his mother was there to care for him. That is what makes nostalgia so interesting; it can evoke feelings of happiness and sadness at the same time. The third stanza is where the poem shifts. It no longer has the happy and innocence tone that the first two stanzas have. Blanco seems to be a teenager at this point, which can be a difficult and confusing age for most people. It is the age we begin to try and form our identity. In this case, Blanco is finding out about his sexuality, but well can tell it wasn't well received by his traditional family. Blanco admits to sleeping with a woman because of his “father’s wake” (24), which was probably the referring to the negative reaction his father would have had if he didn't show interest in woman. Poor, young Blanco also had to deal with constant bullying from his grandmother, as she kept calling him “faggot” whenever she saw him. Although many people put him down in his life, he still spent his years “with a martini and men I knew I couldn't love” (31). It must have been a very difficult time for Blanco growing up, but it made him into the intelligent and inspirational man we know today. That is why it was so important for him to recall this hurtful memory in his poem. It was an important turning point in his life that he needs to “write down” in his head like the rest of his memories. The fourth stanza has an interesting shift. This time it isn't obvious what age he is, but from what I can tell, he is most likely an adult. He has learned a lot about the world and is just taking it all in, whether it is catching the “insanity of the stars” (35), “watching the snow come down” (37), or lying down and “asking nothing of the sky” (42). The tone is slightly depressing this time. Blanco describes the falling snow as “fallout from a despair I had no word for” (38-39), which could very well represent his fragile mental state as a young adult in an unfair world. This stanza also doesn't contain any of his friends or family, which brings about a sense of loneliness and despair unlike the other stanzas. The fifth stanza is a happier stanza than the fourth one. Blanco used some really descriptive similes and metaphors to give the reader a sense of serenity as they study “the tiny leaves on the oaks dithering like moths” (45), or the “eon-old fieldstones unveiled of snow” (46-47). This could indicate that this was a peaceful moment in his life, where he wasn't pegged with sadness and despair like before. He is happy with the fact that his memories are “perfectly unfinished” (51-52). Even though he is growing older, he feels hopeful for the future and all of the experiences he hasn't had yet. The sixth stanza is about old age, and how life comes full circle. This stanza represents Blanco in present day. Since he wrote this in 2012, he would have been around 43 at the time. That is normally the age when things start to slow down. He describes his “knees aching more” (56), his “eyes started seeing less” (55), and his favorite activity being “on the porch” (59) where he “sits to read and watch the sunset” (60). These things are many signs of old age. Because he has seen and done so much in his life, he is content with staying at home and appreciating the little things of nature. He even recalls his grandfather again like he did in the first stanza, which reveals that this cycle of remembering will keep going. It is a poem that is “unfinished” because you can read it over and over again without end. It represents how we constantly remember people and events from our life, so no matter what, we will always have unfinished memories through our life until we die. This poem was very simple, but went deeper than I imagined at first glance. That's what I really like about Blanco’s poems, because you learn a lot about him as a writer and about yourself as a person. He has this certain style that portrays meanings that are a little cryptic, but not so hard that a high schooler like me couldn't decipher. He doesn't use ancient words or allusions to confuse the majority of readers like other poets, because he wants his message to be heard and understood, and I deeply respect that. I look forward to studying more of his poems throughout the year! Thank you for reading my analysis, props to you if you made it through it all. :) **Side Note** Memories are common theme in two other Blanco poems I have covered on this site as well, such as “Burning in the Rain” and “The Island Within”. However, those poems are about very specific memories rather than all memories, like this poem here. If you would like to, you can view my thoughts on “Burning in the Rain” and “The Island Within” on my blog page. link to "Burning in the Rain":
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