This poem is about how children age. When the mother first lets her child ride on her own, she expects her to fall down because she's so young. The mother underestimates her child because she makes it along fine. More threatening diction is used to create that paranoia the mother feels, like "pumping," "sprinted, "wildly," "flapping," and "wobbled." The poem is also one sentence only, which it all one fluid thought. The lack of periods establishes a very fast speed. When people panic, they both talk and speak faster, which is exactly what the mother is doing.
I agree with Nick, this poem is about how children age and it is also about how our parents watch over their child as they grow older. To parents we'll always be their little boy or little girl so they always want to watch over us and be there to protect us when or if we fall.
The mother is unsure of what will happen and is nervous about not being right by her child's side and not being able to be there with her child every step of the way. Diction such as "wobbled", "crash", "waiting", "breakable", "screaming", and "waving goodbye" are nervewracking words especially for a parent. But those words combined with words such as "beside you", "catch", "grew", "laughter", "flapping", and "waving", which create more joyous warm feelings, create a loving concerned tone.
This poem really reflects on how quickly time goes by. I think the mother is very sad to see her daughter go away, but yet is so happy that they got to share all these memories together. However, I think the mother is very nervous about her daughter leaving because I think she has always been scared for her, as seen when she says, "I kept waiting for the thud". She also says that as she grew up she became " more breakable", which is ironic because as you grow older you become stronger. I think what she meant by this is that as he grew older she became more vulnerable to heartbreak and more mature things. I think the fact that she says "the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye" shows that her daughter may have taken her for granted. It isn't described as a very emotional goodbye and I think that the daughter didn't really appreciate what the mother has actually done for her, or the mother doesn't really appreciate what the daughter has done for her? I also agree with Nick's point about the lack of punctuation. the fact that it is only one sentence shwos how the mother is in a paniced mode and she is scared about her daughter leaving. The main literary devices are imagery, diction, and figurative language. -Katie
This poem is about a mother who has to cope with her daughter leaving home. The image of a child riding a bike for the first time is a metaphor for a mother's fearfulness for her daughter ,who is probably heading off to college. The anxious and uneasy, yet silly words of "loping", "wobbled", and "thud" shows that the mother views her child always as her little girl, in need of nurturing and protection, and she even shelters her from pain by describing it with childish words like "wobbled". I agree with Katie that its odd that she says "while you grew smaller, more breakable with distance" because when you grow up you become stronger and less breakable but when you mature, you are exposed to more mature things. When the mother remembers seeing her daughter "pumping for your life, screaming with laughter", she realizes that she has raised a strong and fearless daughter that doesn't need her protection anymore.
The tone of this piece is both nostalgic and bittersweet. The speaker is full of fear for the child's future, however she knows that her child will be fine. The bicycle is a metaphor for all of the achievements that the child has accomplished. Like how she rode the bike past the curved path of the park, she accomplished so much more than her mother had expected. Like Nick said, the middle of the poem "I kept waiting" till the end, the structure mimics how worrisome a parent always is for their child. Their always expecting the worse and the short breaks of the lines create a sense of uneasiness. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the lines "pumping, pumping for your life, screaming" caught me off guard on the first read. It made me picture a hospital scene at an ICU. Does anyone see this?
This poem is very sentimental as the mother reflects back on a memory to relate the daughter to leaving home. She relates her riding away on her bike for the first time to leaving home for the first time. The specific description of the daughter on the bike, "screaming with laughter..hair flapping," as she rides on, "the curved path of the park," show how well the mother vividly remembers this happening, which shows how much she cherishes the moment with her daughter, giving the poem a sentimental tone. Also, as the mother feels so much joy from watching her daughter make progress, "pumping for [her] life," it shows how much her daughter's happiness means to her. Lastly, the imagery and personification of the, "handkerchief waving goodbye," add to the sentimental feel of having to say goodbye.
This poem is about how children age. When the mother first lets her child ride on her own, she expects her to fall down because she's so young. The mother underestimates her child because she makes it along fine. More threatening diction is used to create that paranoia the mother feels, like "pumping," "sprinted, "wildly," "flapping," and "wobbled." The poem is also one sentence only, which it all one fluid thought. The lack of periods establishes a very fast speed. When people panic, they both talk and speak faster, which is exactly what the mother is doing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick, this poem is about how children age and it is also about how our parents watch over their child as they grow older. To parents we'll always be their little boy or little girl so they always want to watch over us and be there to protect us when or if we fall.
ReplyDeleteThe mother is unsure of what will happen and is nervous about not being right by her child's side and not being able to be there with her child every step of the way. Diction such as "wobbled", "crash", "waiting", "breakable", "screaming", and "waving goodbye" are nervewracking words especially for a parent. But those words combined with words such as "beside you", "catch", "grew", "laughter", "flapping", and "waving", which create more joyous warm feelings, create a loving concerned tone.
This poem really reflects on how quickly time goes by. I think the mother is very sad to see her daughter go away, but yet is so happy that they got to share all these memories together. However, I think the mother is very nervous about her daughter leaving because I think she has always been scared for her, as seen when she says, "I kept waiting for the thud". She also says that as she grew up she became " more breakable", which is ironic because as you grow older you become stronger. I think what she meant by this is that as he grew older she became more vulnerable to heartbreak and more mature things. I think the fact that she says "the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye" shows that her daughter may have taken her for granted. It isn't described as a very emotional goodbye and I think that the daughter didn't really appreciate what the mother has actually done for her, or the mother doesn't really appreciate what the daughter has done for her? I also agree with Nick's point about the lack of punctuation. the fact that it is only one sentence shwos how the mother is in a paniced mode and she is scared about her daughter leaving. The main literary devices are imagery, diction, and figurative language.
ReplyDelete-Katie
This poem is about a mother who has to cope with her daughter leaving home. The image of a child riding a bike for the first time is a metaphor for a mother's fearfulness for her daughter ,who is probably heading off to college. The anxious and uneasy, yet silly words of "loping", "wobbled", and "thud" shows that the mother views her child always as her little girl, in need of nurturing and protection, and she even shelters her from pain by describing it with childish words like "wobbled". I agree with Katie that its odd that she says "while you grew smaller, more breakable with distance" because when you grow up you become stronger and less breakable but when you mature, you are exposed to more mature things. When the mother remembers seeing her daughter "pumping for your life, screaming with laughter", she realizes that she has raised a strong and fearless daughter that doesn't need her protection anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of this piece is both nostalgic and bittersweet. The speaker is full of fear for the child's future, however she knows that her child will be fine. The bicycle is a metaphor for all of the achievements that the child has accomplished. Like how she rode the bike past the curved path of the park, she accomplished so much more than her mother had expected. Like Nick said, the middle of the poem "I kept waiting" till the end, the structure mimics how worrisome a parent always is for their child. Their always expecting the worse and the short breaks of the lines create a sense of uneasiness. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the lines "pumping, pumping for your life, screaming" caught me off guard on the first read. It made me picture a hospital scene at an ICU. Does anyone see this?
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very sentimental as the mother reflects back on a memory to relate the daughter to leaving home. She relates her riding away on her bike for the first time to leaving home for the first time. The specific description of the daughter on the bike, "screaming with laughter..hair flapping," as she rides on, "the curved path of the park," show how well the mother vividly remembers this happening, which shows how much she cherishes the moment with her daughter, giving the poem a sentimental tone. Also, as the mother feels so much joy from watching her daughter make progress, "pumping for [her] life," it shows how much her daughter's happiness means to her. Lastly, the imagery and personification of the, "handkerchief waving goodbye," add to the sentimental feel of having to say goodbye.
ReplyDelete