Project 2
I heard a Birds wings flap — when I swam
The Crashing of the Waves
Was like the howling in the Air
Between the Gusts of Wind
The gazes around — had rendered them useless-
And Laughs were gathering firm
For that last Wave — when the Parents
Had said — it’s time to go -
I watched by Sandcastles — Washed away
What parts of me be
Gone — and then it was
There was a Bird -
With Grey — repetitive flapping strokes -
Between the air — and me -
And then the Car door opened — and then
I could not see the sea
I heard the Plane’s hum — when I stepped aboard
The Buzz of people
Was like the Buzz of a City street -
Between the Buildings in the Sky
The People around — had only thought of themselves -
And Engine was building up
For that last Push — When the Pilot
Be witnessed — in the Sky -
I willed my Anxiety — to go Away
What makes me be anxious
Unknown — and then it was
There was a Plane -
Across the Sky — parallel to my own Plane -
Between the clouds — and me -
And then the Plane turned — and then
I could only see the sky
I thought Emily Dickinson’s poem was interesting because of the different perspective she used, and how rare I feel it is to see a literary piece written by someone while on their deathbed. I think it’s refreshing to see, so that’s why I decided to choose her work to modify. I tried to make sure I used the same punctuation, but an issue I faced was that some of the words I chose instead of hers were multiple words, so I had to figure out what to modify. I tried to keep the same theme in my modified work, though I obviously couldn’t write about dying on my deathbed, so I decided to use situations that I feel like most people remember. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about POV and Voice tools because I think it’s interesting to think about something through someone else’s perspective, as we do in this exercise.