Poems

Anastasia Williams

Mrs. Sauer

Am. Lit/ 4th hour

9 October 2012

Everyday Discoveries

Life happens at a such a quick pace everyday that many miss the new discoveries that occur. Cornelius Eady is an American poet who wrote about a regular hour in a day and it’s treasures in “A Small Moment”. Some say that everyday is the same but if you look at life like Cornelius you may find that it is quite different.

In “A Small Moment” Cornelius writes out an experience that is done within a few minutes. He starts the poem describing himself walking into a bakery and explains his thoughts as he enters. On this day he finds that the baker is making some new “toast with cheese”(l.3) and he as well as the other customers want to know what it is so he asks the baker and he makes one of the discoveries that makes life interesting. Next he finds himself flirting with the baker and thinking about how it is almost spring until now not knowing how close spring truly is (l. 1-21). Cornelius discovers that small acts make each day different.

Throughout his poem, Cornelius tells the reader of his small discoveries. Although they are not grand discoveries or ones that are talked about amongst others, they are the type that helps a person enjoy life. His first discovery of the bread that he smells walking in is the most obvious of his discoveries, but there are many more in this quick poem. He starts to think about how close spring is, “Spring with five to ten degrees to go”(l.19) and that in itself is a small revelation, one that happens often as we realise how close upcoming dates are. He also finds himself flirting with the baker, which although find is a funny word for this situation, it is something that occurs often. This is because we do not alway realise what we are doing until after we do it. Through these findings Cornelius helps the reader make life connections and allows the reader to find new discoveries every day.

Everyday you uncover new things and forget about them just as often. The things you discover may be factual, beautiful, interesting, annoying, or even yummy but they happen everywhere. Some of the best discoveries are not even thought of as discoveries, like learning a new joke. A joke is a story that creates laughter by allowing those listening to find why the punch line is funny, they are taught so fast that many do not even realise they are learning anything, especially in America where we use humor as a way to destress. It is important to remember the discoveries made throughout the day to get excited for the new findings of the next day.

Finding something new will not always be obvious but you can always come upon interesting information. Cornelius Eady’s time at the bakery in “A Small Moment” may not have felt like a time of discovery but once you review what has happened you are able to see the many new things found. Our lives as Americans are full of discoveries and we should use these discoveries to our advantage.

A Small Moment

I walk into the bakery next door

To my apartment. They are about

To pull some sort of toast with cheese

From the oven. When I ask:

What’s that smell? I am being

A poet, I am asking

What everyone else in the shop

Wanted to ask, but somehow couldn’t;

I am speaking on behalf of two other

Customers who wanted to buy the

Name of it. I ask the woman

Behind the counter for a percentage

Of her sale. Am I flirting?

Am I happy because the days

Are longer? Here’s what

She does: She takes her time

Choosing the slices. “I am picking

Out the good ones,” she tells me. It’s

April 14th.. Spring, with five to ten

Degrees to go. Some days, I feel my duty;

Some days, I love my work.

Anastasia William

Mrs. Saer

Am/lit 4th hour

7 December 2012

Discovering the Moon

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been many discoveries that inspire authors. J. Patrick Lewis wrote a poem about our discovery of the moon. In "First Moon Landing" Lewis wrote about a discovery which had a great impact. From this poem it is easy to think about the triumphs and discoveries that impact daily life.

In the "First Moon Landing", J. Patrick Lewis describes Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s day at Earth’s moon. Although America did not actually discover the moon when the ship landed, as it is visible from Earth, it found new substances from “the dusty ocean”(15-16). These new findings Buzz and Neil found help us daily, scientists use these samples to understand how the world came to be and as we live on Earth this is important.

The type of discovery Buzz and Neil find in Lewis’s First Moon Landing is a type found by experience like finding the truth to a sport. I started cheerleading in eighth grade, and I believed that I was going to have fun but I did not realise how much work went into the sport. I took Buzz’s advice and had “‘a look around,’” (7), I went to the very first practice and found what cheer ment to the performers. It is sport so you need to be in shape in order to lift people up, dance, and jump around at games for two hours straight. Discovering that cheerleading makes you work is the reason I am still enjoying cheer today.

As an American Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s names are well known because of the discovery they made that affected history. We have made many scientific findings because of Neil sinking “his heel into the dusty ocean,”(14-16) both indirectly and directly. From the rocks we discovered that the moon is at least 4.4 billion years old, and that anything is possible if you just take an adventure and immerse yourself into the research. Americans have continued to keep this can do attitude and have continued to make astronomical discoveries, we have now even sent space vehicles to Mars.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s trip to the moon has affected all Americans. J. Patrick Lewis’s, First Moon Landing, highlights the most exciting parts of their voyage to the moon and how discoveries can be made everywhere. No matter what you do you are making a discovery of something more in depth such as the work in a sport or what Mars is made of. Life is about making every discovery a “big leap”.

First Moon Landing

Two highfliers,

Buzz and Neil,

Said they couldn't

Wait to feel

Just what kind of

Moon it was - -

"Take a look around,"

Said Buzz.

Open the hatch

And out the door,

Down the ladder

To the moonlit floor.

After he had

Sunk his heel

Into the dusty

Ocean, Neil

Knew what a lovely

Moon it was - -
"One small step . . .

Said Neil to Buzz.