Nopakit Lerthirunvibul 11E Lost But Not Found In that desolated barren backyard, I dug.

With my hands I ploughed the desert, Plunging down, scooping up the sizzling sand, Rocks rasp as they scatter from pudgy fingers. Alas my hands grasped a smooth round solid, Claymore I say, ripping it from Earths grasp. The fiery sun scorched upon the turquoise Hilt as I flung it, for pipes were common. Scorch and stung, my weary eyes swept for gold glint, My palms tugged the ground, flayed they maybe. I kept digging, for the pounding heart drummed, Inch under that wealth sat snuggly in Earths arms. Deeper I dug, a weary hap-less miner. The wind mocked, flecks of sand bullets struck Searing my ached side. I was futile, In my efforts, yet fortitude hauled me on. At all times I was the sun, ever constant To return day, retreat the shadowed night. Not to warm up the lofty divine sky, But to search, lowly ground for heavens gems. 20 15 10 5

Ive often wondered, why now I dont dig, That sturdy drive of determination, A childs exuberant nature, Perhaps buried deep beneath piles of my past. I ponder; perhaps if an inch under I dug, In which museum would such riches sit warm. But not that such thoughts are important, for I value what I lost, not what I never found. 25

Nopakit Lerthirunvibul 11E Rational

In order to write a pastiche that follows the style of Seamus Heaney, I have chosen distinctive features which represent his poetry and incorporated them into my own poem. My intent was to recreate a personal experience, which reflects on the influences of a childhood environment upon my upbringing. Like many of Heaneys poems, I chose to convey the tactile and unique experience I had with the environment and the regret of not having such an experience anymore in my current days. In poems such as Personal Helicon, Heaney often reminiscences about the past, providing feelings of nostalgia and realization that things are now in a way different. This is the main essence of what I am trying to capture in my poem Lost but Not Found through using techniques and styles similar to his. Heaney often writes to trigger senses, recreating an almost exact experience of that moment in childhood. Through particularly vivid imagery he succeeds in pulling readers into his past, guiding us through the eyes of his younger self. In my attempt to imitate this, I chose to write based on the sense of touch, particularly on the harshness of digging in order to emphasize closeness and really getting into the environment. To highlight the tactility of the experience and evoke such a sense in the readers mind, I selected words that are strong in touch to describe how things felt such as Scooping up the sizzling sand (3), which is also combined with alliteration to emphasize the feel of the heat. The imagery I used tried to portray the sense of digging. For example, the phrase My palms tugged the ground, flayed they maybe, (10) presents the harshness and pain so the audience is able to visualize the effort of a younger me. Personification has also been used, to bring the Earth alive as shown in the text Earths Grasp (6) and The wind mocked, (14). This brings out the childhood imagination, every single thing a living organism on its own. Ambiguity is an essential part of Heaneys poems which he creates through the use of Symbolism. In his poem Limbo, lines such as The sign of the cross (14) and Christs palms, unhealed (19) are used to symbolize religion. Such symbolism often requires deep thought from the audience in order for them to understand what Heaney is referring to as he is not direct. In my own poem, symbolism has been used in a similar way in order to stir thoughts of the readers. The constant reference to the act of digging, shown in the text I kept digging (11) and Deeper I dug (13) are quite ambiguous and are not understood on the first read. What is later on understood is that digging symbolizes the sense of being close to the Earth by actually getting into it. I also aimed to create a sense of the past being something to treasure, by inserting the idea of a Claymore (6), something used in medieval times that is now of great value in the present. As an anti-thesis of the sword, pipes were used to symbolize something in the present which is of low value expressed in the line for pipes were common (8). The structures of Heaneys poems generally do not follow a set meter or rhyme scheme, requiring just the basic of having two stanzas. These two stanzas however, are applied very effectively in order to introduce a turning point and a reflection on the topic in his poem. Like Heaney, I applied the same structure where the first stanza presents the childhood experience, the second is a nostalgic reflection on such an experience. In the first stanza, actions and emotions of the moment are described as shown in the text I kept digging, for the pounding heart drummed, (11) to let the audience put themselves into the experience. The second stanza brings the audience to the present day, presenting my realization and reflection presented in the line Ive often wondered, why now I dont dig (21). This stanza also creates conclusion, where I present the true core message that the real treasure was the experience itself when I state I value what I lost, not what I never found. (28) Overall, I believe that I was successful in accomplishing an imitation of Heaneys poetry. Heaneys style of ambiguous reflection on the past is what makes his poetry unique, and I was able to capture some of that essence in my poem through using techniques such as vivid imagery, symbolism and the application of two contrasting stanzas. What I found that worked best for my poem is the intended ambiguity, in order to make the audience put consideration into the issues presented in my poem. This allows the audience to connect to my poem in a similar way in which Heaney does in his works, though on a lower scale of strength. The poem overall was hard to write, as the readers do not share the same experience. I had to write in such a way that would engage them on a level that would clearly create the sense of how my relationship with the environment has changed.

Nopakit Lerthirunvibul 11E