‘an afternoon nap’ by Arthur Yap explores the lacunae in the modern education system and how it results in anxiety and stress in students.
the ambitious mother across the road
is at it again. proclaming her goodness
she beats the boy. shouting out his wrongs, with raps
she begins with his mediocre report-book grades.
‘First Day At School’ by Roger McGough is an interesting poem about a child’s experience on their first day. They are lost, confused, and feeling left out throughout the day.
‘Interview’ by Daya Dissanayake describes the societal pressures put on all workers. These pressures requires one to change in order to find happiness.
‘Muse’ by Meena Alexander is a poem about the poet’s muse or source of inspiration. The poet recalls meeting and being positively influenced by a girl in her youth.
‘Sadie and Maud’ by Gwendolyn Brooks is a poem about finding happiness, dealing with sexism, and society’s expectations. It features the stories of two sisters-Maud and Sadie who take different paths in life.
Duffy’s ‘Teacher’ is about a teacher whose teaching has the power to infuse life into the mundane and dry figures of the book. This piece is written in admiration and love for her teaching.
Gary Soto’s ‘Teaching English from an Old Composition Book’ is about a teacher instructing some Mexican-American immigrant students in a night school. Soto portrays their harsh living conditions and the struggle to cope in a new culture.
‘The Conway Stewart’ by Seamus Heaney describes a pen the speaker received in his youth and how it symbolized his family and his new life.
‘The Heart Block Poem’ is a short, four-line poem that was written in order to help medical students and medical professionals remember the degrees of heart blocks.
‘The Railway Children’ by Seamus Heaney is a beautiful poem about the imagination of children. Specifically, Heaney conveys and experience from his youth.
It’s much more than the dry figures to study or embracing the moist air of nature. In ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,’ Walt Whitman emphasizes the importance of studying nature that can tap into deeper thoughts and knowledge.