James Apo Assignment 2

Scarce

1.)

There isn't enough time in a day

To accomplish everything you want

But pile on classes and homework galore

How could you also maintain a social life?

It's a constant competition to be #1

But what about those who are not?

To those who work and work all day and night

At the end are just a number.

Freshman year is not too bad

Nor is sophomore or senior

But that junior year can be rough,

it will make you or break you, good luck.

With so much pressure,

requirements,

expectations,

failure seems like such a better option.

However success is still lurking

In the shadows of possibility 

With your teachers' help and maybe your friends

Along with your self, you can overcome it.

So study hard,

do your homework,

ace your tests,

and apply to the college of your dreams.

High school is just the beginning,

college will be harder,

but you have at least been prepared

for the grueling process.

2.)

My poem discusses the hardship of keeping up with all the things a high school student must keep up with in order to maintain a successful path paved for them. The tone is very interrogative as well as unsure, but it ultimately ends with a hint of optimism. My diction choice of "lurking" when referring to "success" and "shadows" when referring to "possibility" add on to my unsure tone, claiming that you can succeed but it is all up to you. In the 4th stanza, with the syntactical choice of going back to back lines with just one word, I demonstrate the quick and multiple obstacles that can obstruct your success in high school, in a sense overwhelming the already questioning reader at this point. By providing an allusion for each year of high school, it emphasizes my experience to know how each year went and the audience would have to be in a similar situation to understand and relate to that. The end of that allusion stanza speaks to the reader in a slightly condescending way, and adds to the unsure tone I was trying to create. The last two stanzas sum up all the negativeness into a ball of hopefulness. The imagery helps the reader envision what they will have to do and ensures them that although it will not be easy, that they will be ready.