Meghan's Review of Alana's Poem!

Alana’s Poem

Alana’s poem reflects on her past, we can see inside her head. Almost like a flashback, she can compare her bad memories, to the good that she is trying to replace it with.

I really like the structure of your poem and how it flows, it has a rhythm to it. I like lines 8-10, mainly because you give thoughts and specific events, you let people really understand what it is that is haunting you, which makes the poem so much more interesting. It really helps us empathize/sympathize with you. After, line 17, “I realize how much I care”, I really like the contrast here, it changes the whole tone of the poem. It goes from a negative to a positive, almost as simulatin the contrast in between the stories. My favorite line in the poem is “I’ve been in hell, and I’ve walked through heaven’s door”, it shows the struggle in the poem, it shows a deep emotion. It makes you understand that you are able to get through anything. It is a sign of hope. My English teacher in high school always told us to look for the “Aha” moment in a poem, where you understand exactly what the reader was trying to get across. For me, this was the “Aha” moment, as I said before gives you hope, as well as insight. It is a point of contrast. The title is also unique, it fits the poem perfectly but the phrase was never used at any other point in the poem. I found that really interesting and I liked that a lot. The imagery is also wonderful. “My mind a still lake” This is a perfect description it shows the seriousness of everything that has happened and makes you understand how what happened previously could not be forgotten.