Amy Winehouse
They tried to make me go to rehab,
I said ‘No, no, no’.
My most famous song.
Maybe I should’ve gone then I wouldn’t
Be laying here with alcohol poisoning.
Curse my daddy for thinking I’m fine.
I’m now a member of the 27 Club.
I didn’t realize it was such a popular
Club until I joined.
Back to Black
became the UK’s best
Selling album of the 21st century,
I was listed at number 26 on VH1’s
100 Greatest Women in Music.
And another Grammy to add to the list.
All of this after I passed of course.
Damn my love for the bottle.
Along with my list of awards, there’s
My list of arrests, charges, and assaults.
I even spit on Pippa Middleton,
Take that Princess Kate.
I always had Mary Jane and
Aunt Nora at my side.
At least three arrests for possession,
Why do I insist on taking them out.
Sleeping past noon was a normal
Routine until July 23.
My bodyguard tried to save me
But I was already black and this
Time I wasn’t coming back.
Three bottles of vodka, that’ll do it.
More than five times the legal
Drink-drive limit. They tried to make
Me go to rehab, I said ‘No, no, no’.
(Aunt Nora is a slang name for cocaine)
I can't think of a title yet
One of the best moments of my life
Was on the tennis courts in Marietta.
It was my junior year of high school.
I'd been to the courts many times before,
But this time everything was different.
I swore I was on top of the world.
Megan and I had just won the league for the team.
I'll never forget the look on my father's face,
Or the feeling I had watching the ball that I, me, had hit
Bounce right underneath my competitor's racket.
I knew exactly where I had wanted to hit it,
That was the only thing on my mind.
I get goosebumps every time i think about it.
It was the first moment my coach had ever
Told me she was proud of the game I played.
I'd never felt so connected to the world before.
When I close my eyes I can still hear Megan's
father cheering, I can still smell the park.
It's so real when I go back in my mind.
It's funny when you're in high school and think
You're on top of the world, you don't realize
That we were too young to really be connected
To the world.
Final Paper
For my final paper i'm going to use the topic of chances. I'm using the poems "Hap" by Thomas Hardy, "Casino" by Denise Duhamel, "Reasons for Attendance" by Philip Larkin, and the poem "Dive For Dreams" by E.E. Cummings. I think the topic of chance is really interesting because it's not something you can control, it's completely out of your hands, it's just something that could happen in the blink of an eye and everything is different. Thomas Hardy's poem "Hap" just means shit happens, you don't always see it coming. "Casino" by Denise Duhamel is about the tragic escalator accident her parents were involved in while in Atlantic City. "Reasons for Attendance" by Philip Larkin is about a man deciding whether or not to go into a strip club or not, what would've happened if he'd taken that chance and actually gone in. The last poem "Dive For Dreams" by E.E. Cummings is about taking chances and trusting your heart. All these poems are about taking risks in life or what happens after chance happenings.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI like your topic, "Chance." You're going to have to work hard to avoid cliches, though. Hardy's poem, despite our joking in class, is much more interesting and complex than you give it credit for.
I think a good way to organize your paper might be to look at how these poets address chance differently.
As for your poem about tennis, I think this is a really good topic, but the poem is full of language that's somewhat blank. By that I mean, this feels like a prose piece, and phrases like "top of the world" and "I get goosebumps" are things everyone says. What's your individual experience like? If you'll never forget the look on your father's face, describe it for us.
This poem can be alive.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteYour poem on Amy Winehouse is curious. I think this can be really good, but I don't buy that Amy Winehouse would talk about herself as if she was an entry in an encyclopedia.
You have to empathize with her to make this a believable speaker. You can do this! Put yourself in her situation and write from that experience.
Could you start with "I spit on Pippa Middleton" and go from there? Say that a couple times to yourself. What's the attitude in that voice? Write out of that attitude.
Cool idea.
Dave