Reading Response Week #3

Second Reading Response from Week #3

My Friend's Divorce: By Naomi Shihab

   To me this is an extremely emotional poem. It's not one that suppose to be read in a soft, slow voice. When I read it I feel like I need to be frustrated, on the brink of a chaotic emotional break down... Like every line is short because the amount of emotion in each line makes up for the lack of words. I really like that about this poem! Plus, it's turning an ugly subject, like divorce, and turning it into flowers. You never see the word "divorce" in the poem or any of the words we put on the board when the class was discussing emo poetry. Just flowers and a garden, something completely unrelated to what most would call a life changing event. "Plant them in her new yard... and see how they breath" when they had been taken out of the reach of oppression. The friend wants to get the divorcee out of those oppression hands, but instead of saying "Oh! My desperate friend in need!" she talks about digging up flowers. Uprooting and movement, instead of desperation and sappy crap.