Poetry Analysis

Friend-zone by Dylan Garity

We, as guys, have all been in this place at some stage. A relationship limbo that exists when a girl is so close to you that she tells you everything and considers you as one of the girls or her brother. This is all fine unless you want something more to transpire between the two of you. That is where the idea of the “Friend-zone” comes into play. Dylan Garity is the poet who wrote the Friend Zone and finally brought this figurative plain-of-existence in our subconscious to reality. We have all been, “intimate with the friend zone,” with one girl or another. This poem talks about how it is to be in this, “magical home away from home,” but it also raises the points about how the only times people want to act like, “a decent fucking human is if [they] get something in exchange.” It also mentions how monsters do exist but before you can see the monsters, you have to, “recognize its shape in your own skin.” The mood of the poem starts of as a jocular piece but becomes very serious as it discusses the real issues of rape. The theme would be how people seem to only be nice to others if they want something in exchange. This poem was a very good one and I liked how he worked in the friend-zone idea because I have also been there before.

Cuz He’s Black by Javon Johnson

Racial stereotypes and oppression are getting into the mindset of our children. So much so that black children already assume that when they see, “ 5-0, [they] gotta hide.” This is the problem that Javal Johnson confronts in his poem Cuz He’s Black. This poem deals with the issues that are faced when racism comes into play. It also deals with how racial profiling can end up being the cause of many deaths and unjust prosecutions. To the extent where for black people, " routine traffic stops are more like mine fields." and cops driving down the street feel a lot like "low-flying planes in New York City." The mood of the poem, yet again, starts of in a somewhat jocular manner but takes a serious turn. The theme would be how black children are forced to grow up too quickly because of racial profiling and stereotypes. The poem was a very well written masterpiece and I fully enjoyed it because of its very serious message and the passion that the poet was reciting it with.


 Touchscreen by Marshall Davis Jones
"IPhone IMac IPhone IChat. I can do all of these things without making eye contact." We are becoming a society that is too immersed in technology. To the extent that we don't even have lives outside of the social media that we are a part of. Touchscreen ,by Marshall "Soulful" Jones is a poem that mentions the different instances in which we decide to "face Facebook" instead of looking for physical social interactions or actually facing books. We have reached a stage where, "[Our] world is so digital" that we can't even "hear mother nature over all of this tweeting" that we do. "But we are so powerless" against the allure of the digital world when we have "3,000 friends online" yet only a few that you "can count in real life." The mood of this poem is a semi-serious one that also has elements of satire and humor to explain what we have become. The theme is that we shouldn't live lives that are only online, but rather lives that are out o the digital world. I enjoyed this poem because of the way it summed up how most people do tend to spend their time nowadays.