The Day Lady Died By Frank O'Hara

This poem is a collection of happenings on a seemingly mundane day, a day that is so mundane in its beginning that the only note-able reference O'hara makes about the day is it is 3 days after Bastille Day. He gets a shoeshine, he buys a poetry magazine, he goes to the bank. Then he buys a newspaper and becomes aware that Billie Holiday has died.
In his memory he is transported to being in a bathroom and hearing her sing from outside, and his breath stops, which symbolically is almost his moment of silence for her passing. I found this poem amazing. It shows how strongly an Artist can effect a person, and how their passing is so noteworthy that it can transport a person back in time to a place where that artist effected them.
I think another point has been made in this poem, simply that life goes on. As cliche as that sentence is, the bank was still open, the tellers were still present, the man was still there to shine his shoes, and yet the world- in his eyes had suffered a very notable loss.
I myself was not a major fan of Michael Jackson, but I would imagine there are many people out there in the world who could write a poem very similar to this for him. Not even being a fan of his, I know exactly what I was doing when I heard of his passing, my recollection of it is actually so vivid, its almost eerie. I also know there are many people who can tell you exactly what was going on around them when John Lennon died. I found this poem to be a beautiful moment of silence for an artist who's passing turned a mundane day in his life to one that he will never forget.

Blog about "The One Girl at the Boy's Party.

The "One Girl at the Boys Party" uses a mathematical metaphor throughout the poem. I believe this is to portray how members of the opposite sex at a young age are as complicated as math problems to each other. Mathematics is considered a universal language, but that is only if you understand it. The poem is seen from the eyes of a mother after she drops her daughter off at a pool party, and because of the mothers age and experience, she is able to understand the complexities that go on between the boys and the one girl there, and is able to calculate the situation to get a deeper understanding of their interaction through a mathematics  equation.

This poem made me think of how parents always think they know what other children are going to do to corrupt their child or how theyre going to behave around the opposite sex, and in their "because I said so" moments they feel they understand everything in such a way that it is as concrete as mathematics. I disagree with this only because (to continue with Olds metaphor) a lot of variables exist in every given situation, ecspecially their childs ability to exponentially suprise them, by not allowing themselves to be negated by the pressures of their peers or to be defined in terms of concrete numbers.

I also found it slightly odd that she brought such sexual references  into a poem about a girl young enough to wear a bathing suit "with hamburgers and french fries printed on it" and referencing the boys "curve of their sexes". I guess this was to portray how early parents worry about their children behaving in a sexual manner, but I still found it very uncomfortable how blatantly she refers to the sexuality of young children. 

The Fish By Elizabeth Bishop

Reading this poem at least to me, it seemed that the fisherman found a kinship with the fish. Looking at it's battle scars, the five hooks hanging from its mouth "Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering" from the previous perilous situations the fish had found itself in its life, it seemed very similar to the trials and tribulations a human must face and overcome in their own. "Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper", is like how humans acquire wrinkles throughout their journey through life. After examining the fish, and seeing the way it has aged, noting the proud accomplishments the fish has gained in its lifetime the fisherman says "I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat". This is where I think the fisherman found kinship with the fish, noticing all its been through in its life they probably saw a reflection of their own life, and with this new found relation to the fish-this new respect, everything around the fisherman becomes "rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!". It's within this revelation and in celebration of their similar hard fought journeys, the fisherman lets the fish go.