At first, nothing
by Larry J. Knight, Jr.
There was no way
to know how blind I was-
lost in my own, youthful,
self-deluding ignorance,
alone in the world
without a course.
My ears,
unfamiliar with the sound
rejected it at first,
found it alien,
foreign,
and without
a sense of knowledge,
I continued to exist
in that place
isolated from the universe,
deaf to what could only
be described as other worldly.
And then, I opened,
allowed myself to succumb
to the notes, and
with placement of needle
in a groove
on a record,
one singular act,
my life changed-
I became un-tethered,
grew wings,
rose to a summit
within the notes,
within the sound of brass
and bass
and percussion...
I was changed;
no longer isolated
in my self-imposed desert
I was free from chained imprisonment,
free, to roam the sky.
Copyright 2008 Larry J. Knight, Jr.
Leave a post with your interpretation...try to hit the center of the 'poetry' dart board...I DARE YOU! Leave your name and class...
5 comments:
A person discovers themselves in the art of jazz music, but before that the sound of it was foreign to them. the theme is discovery& finding themselves in music.
The non-traditional poem, "At First, Nothing" expresses the feeling of someone not wanting to capitulate to the gravitating and influential force of music. The poem includes the following,
"My ears,
unfamiliar with the sound
rejected it at first,
found it alien,
foreign,
and without
a sense of knowledge,
I continued to exist
in that place
isolated from the universe,
deaf to what could only
be described as other worldly."
This shows the poet feeling as though the things he's indulging are "foreign". Not only does it show that, but it also shows the poet unwilling to accept or even try to acknowledge the music. This is comparable to real life situations, especially as students, because when entering a class, teachers would hope that they are ready to learn, but in all actuality they just want to bell to ring. It takes a while for students to gain interest in class because sometimes the things being presented to them are “other worldly", and as the poet feels, they don’t want to succumb to it.
The story shifts drastically when the poet includes,
“And then, I opened,
allowed myself to succumb
to the notes, and
with placement of needle
in a groove
on a record,
one singular act,
my life changed-
I became un-tethered,
grew wings,
rose to a summit
within the notes,
within the sound of brass
and bass
and percussion...
I was changed;
no longer isolated
in my self-imposed desert
I was free from chained imprisonment,
free, to roam the sky.”
This is the most significant part of the story, because it is when the poet finally begins to become open and realizes that it is okay to digest new things. The poet mentions that he “grew wings”, which is an example of a metonym. When one hears the word wings they most likely thing of birds. Birds have the most freedom in the world, and this would cause one to think that the poet wants to show characteristics of freedom in the piece. The poet feels that he is free once he allows himself to actually enjoy the music. When the poet says he was “free from self-imprisonment” he is displaying that the entire time he was the one who was locking the shackles on his legs. He was the one that was foreign to the entire situation, and he didn’t want to allow himself to accept this new experience.
Daesha Roberts
Pre-AP English I Honors
Period 4B
The speaker finds liberation in the discovery of music and finds out that they have been missing out on things and life. The speaker also discovers that his life has meaning again, when he said that he grew wings and was free to roam the sky. this poem is similar to Pablo Neruda's "Poetry" in the sense that both are about discovering their full potential when finding some form of art.
Rebeca Leon 3A
The poem "At First, Nothing" expresses the feeling of a person that was blind before they experienced the joy that music could bring. An exaple would be,
"There was no way
to know how blind I was-
lost in my own, youthful,
self-deluding ignorance,
alone in the world
without a course.My ears,
unfamiliar with the sound
rejected it at first,
found it alien,
foreign,
and without
a sense of knowledge,"
This example from the poem shows the poets way of life before they experienced the "foregin" thing that is music. The poet calls the music an "alien" meaning that this music is unfamilar to the poet.Before the poet even dicovered music he was living life like a robot, just doing things like everyone else.
"And then, I opened,
allowed myself to succumb
to the notes, and
with placement of needle
in a groove
on a record,
one singular act,
my life changed-
I became un-tethered,
grew wings,
rose to a summit
within the notes,
within the sound of brass
and bass
and percussion...
I was changed;
no longer isolated
in my self-imposed desert
I was free from chained imprisonment,
free, to roam the sky."
There is a shift in the poem when the poem says, "And then, I opened..." At this point the poet has discovered the thing he was missing most in his life which is music. This is the most important part of the poem because the poet begins to change his ways. The poet no longer feelings like a slave, he feels more free.
A person feels trapped and find solice and freedom in jazz music.
Post a Comment