When I read this, I immediately thought of the mother who was attacked. In the first 83 pages, Joe describes how lifeless his mother is compared to how she used to be. She is isolating herself, saying very few words, and not eating. I feel like the treelets represent the mom because both the mom and the treelets are getting very little nutrients and sunlight. They're not receiving a lot of the basic things they need for survival. I feel like the "North Dakota winter" is the aftermath of the mom's attack. It's dark, cold, and dreary and Joe doesn't think she's going to get through it. He is hopeful, but he's not sure. This could also be a little bit of foreshadowing because the treelets persisted through the winter, so maybe the mom will make it out too.

Totally random connection, but there's a restaurant I've been to in the Bahamas named "Nippers". I've never heard another place or another person named/be called that before, so it's interesting that the name existed in the 1850s. The word nipper refers to a) a child, especially a small boy, b) pliers, pincers, forceps, or a similar tool for gripping or cutting. In this story, i like the man that is called nippers fits the "child and small boy" version of the definition. even though he's not the youngest of the three, he seems to act more like a child than Ginger Nut. Based on his description he seems impatient and gets annoyed over little things like a little kid would.

I liked this short story, but I don't know why exactly. I found the Dad's character very interesting, and him dressing the pole up was kinda weird. Especially when he dressed it up as Death after his wife died. It became almost like an alter or memorial instead of a decoration of sorts. It started off as kinda wholesome when he would decorate it for holidays, but then it went downhill. It seems to me like the Dad is very isolated and decorating the pole is his only outlet. A line that stood out to me was "We left home, married, had children of our own, found the seeds of meanness blooming also within us." which is on the second page. I don't really know what the speaker means by meanness. The definition of meanness is "unkindness, spitefulness, unfairness", so maybe it means that they became frugal with their belongings like the speaker's dad was, but I'm not positive. Maybe the speaker didn't understand why their dad acted that way until they had children of their own.

This line is repeated in other amendments in the constitution. I think this is significant because it highlights what our country is all about. We are a country founded by the people for the people, and that has been made known in our important documents. The word necessary also stood out to me in this amendment. This amendment was ratified and added to the constitution in 1791, after the American Revolution. At the time, it was necessary for the Americans to be armed with a militia because that's how they won their independence from the British. It was necessary then, and some argue that being armed isn't necessary now, and others still argue that it is.

This line stood out to me because it was the only line in the poem that stayed the same in both translations. The spelling stayed the same and so did the punctuation. The first translation was difficult for me to understand because it was it was using spellings I wasn't used to, and it used words I had never heard of, like "beleeueth" in 13:7. This line stood out to me because it was very straightforward and to the point. When you grow up, you move on to more mature things (usually), and start to alter your values. This line is something we have all experienced and will continue to experience as we continue to get older.

When I read and listened to the song, I wondered who the "you" was in the song. As I continued reading the song, I learned that she was talking about herself, and that her body is the garden (I think). The song is about how she's growing as a person, and in some ways how she's not. It is a much more somber toned song in contrast to the lively Hamilton one. Bridgers uses similar sounding words in her song to create a rhythm (taller and water), but not to the same extent of the writers who wrote Guns and Ships. You can definitely tell that this song is written more like a stream of thought because it sounds very smooth and it is less choppy. As the song ended, I'm still wondering what Bridgers wanted because as far as I know, that wasn't answered in the song. I could've missed it, but I'm looking forward to see what my classmates thoughts are.

I absolutely loved this song. Whoever wrote this did a phenomenal job because the word choice creates a unique rhythm and pitch, and it also tells a story in a catchy manner. I haven't seen Hamilton before (that will change after I finish this assignment), so I wasn't sure what to expect when I read/listened to the song. I knew it was about a historical figure, but I had no idea how in detail they writers went when crafting these songs. The fact that they can follow a set rhythm and pattern, and also tell a very detailed story is amazing to me, and I look forward to listening to the next song.

ingenuitive: the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful

I really liked Yeats' use of this repeated line. In the first stanza, it seems to me like he is going to Innisfree in his mind, but in the last stanza I think he is going to Innisfree in reality. I think this because the first 2 stanzas are are describing what he would do if he lived there, and in the last stanza I picture him standing on the other side of the road about to cross over to it in real life.

This line stuck out to me because I like how Rosetti addresses the portrait by the woman that is portrayed in it. It makes the piece of art seem more alive, and she really enhances this feeling throughout the poem. She is so descriptive of the painting, and it really brings the painting and the poem to life. It really makes me wonder as a reader who the woman in the painting is, and where the narrator's found it. I also wonder what Rosetti means on lines 7-8 about "every canvas means the same meaning". I'm looking forward to hearing what my classmates think about it.

after reading this poem, i was almost positive that I knew what jumpschool was, but i wanted to double check. as i suspected, jumpschool was a training program for the military to train their soldiers how to jump out of planes and helicopters in times of war. based on my interpretation of this poem, i can infer that the narrator's brother is graduating from jump school because people are watching and his parents are taking pictures. i can tell that the narrator is nervous by the quote he used at the top and the last line of the poem. the narrator also mentions how his brother was wreckless in his youth, so maybe the narrator is unhappy about his brother joining the ariborne division because he views it as wreckless too.

When i read this poem, it seems to me like the narrator doesn't like winter. For starters, the poem is titled "In drear-nighted December" which doesn't exactly scream happy thoughts. It seems to me like the narrator is not mad at the brook and the tree, but he is maybe disappointed because he believes they are both too happy, too lively to be in winter. Keats writes that they must not remember how they looked or felt in summer, or else they wouldn't be happy at all. They would be dreary like the narrator and dreary like a cold night in December.

cleaving: (v.) to split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain (Google). This choice of word really made my skin crawl if I'm being honest. It produces great, but disturbing imagery of his brain tearing in half. It makes me wonder what the author realized or thought of that blew his mind like this, if that's even what is happening. I'm not quite sure what's going on yet, but it sounds like the author is having trouble wrapping their head around something.

The first thing I thought of when I read this poem is "who or what is she?" Is it his spirit, his slumber, a love interest perhaps? I'm not sure, but the words he uses to describe "she" are beautiful and rhythmic. I like how Wordsworth uses a rhyme scheme. It helps the poem flow better, and it made me feel relaxed when I was reading it.

according to Merriam Webster, the definition of apparition is "an unusual or unexpected sight, a phenomenon, a ghostly figure." i thought the use of this noun was quite interesting in the context of the poem. At first, I wasn't quite sure to why she used this word because I expect people to be at the metro. I expect to see faces there. They usually look like regular people just moving to and fro. Unless you're in NYC. Some of the people there can definitely be described as an apparition. As I continued to read the lines of the poem, I began to think about the ghostly version of the definition. maybe ezra pound was describing the people at the station as ghostly figures, floating through the station while barely being noticed and barely noticing others.

Swaddling means to "wrap (someone, especially a baby) in garments or cloth." according to google. it is a verb