Response 1

Kim Addonizio- "What Do Women Want?"

I enjoy this poem a lot; the speaker is dominant and headstrong. She knows what she wants and how she wants it. The speaker wants to be noticed and to be viewed independent. She doesn’t care about being judged but she does want people around her to acknowledge her power. She describes her surroundings, the hardware store, the not so fresh coffee shop, and the pigs with slick snouts, to be on a lower level. She doesn’t want her existence to be succumbed by these onlookers and their respective way of life. With her revealing red dress, she wants to rise above the rest. Yes the poem is scandalous, but when you look past that fact, the poem is empowering. We all have passions and wants in life, what’s wrong with chasing them?

On a side note, the artwork provided portrays an insecure women. I don't find the image to be fitting for the poem, but it does provide an interesting contrast and deeper meaning for the poem.

Stephen Dobyns- The Street

The Street by Stephen Dobyns is a quirky poem, but very enjoyable too. His descriptions of people on this particular city street are mini stories. All these mini stories compile into one vast incoherent universe. These people all have their own stories yet no one has a life intertwined with other people on this street. I love how all these people can be so wrapped up in their selves that life outside them doesn’t faze them. So much goes on around us everyday: most of it goes unnoticed due to self-absorbed behavior. In the end, all these people make up something more, regardless of how little they know it. Its sad how we shut out all these things going on outside of our lives. All the people Stephen Dobyns describe seem so lonely. The accompanying artwork is fitting for this poem.