Quiero Verla Feliz

Quiero verla feliz;
Quiero verla reir.
Que la llenen de besos,
Que le cumplan deseos.
Quiero verla feliz.

Quiero verla feliz;
Quiero verla sentir.
Que vivan por ella,
Que le bajen estrellas.
Quiero verla feliz.

Quiero verla feliz;
Quiero verla subir.
Que logre sus metas,
Que construya nuevas.
Quiero verla feliz.

Quiero verla feliz;
Quiero verla hasta el fin.
Que confíe en el Señor,
Que se acerca lo mejor.
La veré; ya la veré... Feliz.


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The Beautiful Art of Poetry

Pic by: http://www.stendhalfestival.com/poetry.html

A popular yet anonymous quote states that there is not a worse blind than someone who does not want to see. If we could interpret this quote by going deeper than its simple denotation, we might empathize with the whole meaning of seeing further than an eye could see –in other words: even a blind person could see without using his physical vision. Similar to this quote, poetry is all about digging deeper into the meanings of its words, and observing beyond a simple sight. In order to recognize the beautiful art of poetry we should accept and appreciate that even if a poem is no longer than a few words, it could have contrasting significations between individuals. Using George Gordon, Lord Byron’s ‘She Walks in Beauty’ as an example; basing on its speaker’s tone, diction, and symbol, we will see a clear idea of how poetry art works.

The definition of poetry given by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary also provide us the meaning of the poem’s speaker: “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.” This definition makes us believe that anyone could write poetry, as long as it creates any kind of emotion in another person. The speaker of the poem does the work to create those emotions. For instance, the speaker of ‘She Walk in Beauty’ makes anyone fall in love with his statements of the exquisite elegance of the lady he is describing, and the way he compares her with the beauty of the night: calm, sweet, and pure. Although we cannot describe at best George Gordon’s speaker, we could have the impression of a gentlemen in love; moreover, a wise man who knows how to win a lady’s heart by just using his diction. 

The diction (word choices and order) expresses the appropriate combination of meaning and emotion; poets choose their words for clarity of meaning (denotation), sometimes for its effect (connotations), and other times just for the way they sound (rhythm). According to Barbara F. McManus, in her article, Tools for Analyzing Poetry, we need to “Pay attention to their specific effects in the poem (speaking about diction), how they contribute to the poem's meaning. In many cases the poet will use diction and syntax in unexpected or deviant ways (poetic license).” McManus states that poets don't bend the “rules” of language just because they can; in a good poem, there is always a reason for unusual uses of language. Likewise, Gordon follows the traditional way –what we know as closed form: he follows standard rules of grammar and syntax (sequence, order, and arrangement; the word order and sentence structure) with a regular rhythm and rhyme scheme. For example, his sentences finish having an order or arrangement –like some artists use in their song (ab, ab, ab). In addition, Gordon uses many symbols to illustrate us his ideas embodied in the image without having to state them. 

Poetry is an art, and it comes with many elements, one of which is: Symbolism. The Symbol is an image transferred by something that stands for or represents something else. Bedford St. Martin website states that a symbol works in two ways: “It is something itself, and it also suggests something deeper.” In addition, the article makes a good point by stating there are no symbols with absolute meanings, because of their nature. Then, they conclude with “It is better to begin by asking what they could mean, or what they have meant.” In brief, a symbol could be a person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond –and usually more abstract than its literal significance. For instance, we might state that Gordon is clearly describing one specific woman’s beauty through his symbols. However, if someone sees beyond Gordon’s diction, this person could say the author is speaking about death –perhaps, for some people –like Emily Dickinson (in ‘Because I could not stop for Death’), death could be kind, serene, and elegant. On the other hand, another person could say that Gordon is talking about love and the way “She walks in beauty” –how it comes into our life and smiles at us, and makes us see its beauty like the intensity of a crystal-clear night. 

As John Ciardi states in his book, How Does a Poem Mean, “Learning to experience poetry is not a radically different process from that of learning any other kind of play…One of the real joys of the play-impulse is in the sudden discovery that one is getting better at it than he had thought he would be.” Ciardi’s definition has been providing a genuine knowledge of the art of poetry since its publication in 1959. The beautiful art of poetry could transform any false rumor of what it does mean, into true appreciation of what it does evoke in its audience. 

Poetry could be charming and in the same way intense. It could make us believe in anything; it could set us free. Poetry could be fun, and enjoyable. Anyone could understand and learn poetry; furthermore, anyone could make poetry. For, even a blind person could see, without using his physical vision –there is not a worse blind than someone who does not want to see. There is not a worse ignorant than someone who does not want to learn –especially, when it comes to learning poetry.

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Ciardi, John. "How Does a Poem Mean." CSU. California State University, Northridge, n.d. Web. 1959. .

"Elements of Poetry." Virtual Lit. Bedford St. Martins, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. .

McManus, Barbara F. "Tools for Analyzing Poetry." College of New Rochelle. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. 2007. 

"Poetry." Merriam-Webster. Encyclopedia Britannica Company, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. .

Conquistando a América

Porque así lo quería y deseaba,
Siete meses habría sido aislada.
Su camino recto escondía pasto:
Mojado de rocío, añorando tacto.

Un conquistador se aproximaba;
Una intensa noche era esperada.
Tres decadas tomó en descubrirla,
Y tres años para poder conducirla.

Del oeste al este la contemplaba,
Y del sur al norte fue incendiada.
Introdujo su barca a firme tierra.
Conquistando así la nativa fiera.

Su Voz

Su voz es adictiva;
Juega con mi anatomía.
Acaricia mis oidos,
Descontrola mis sentidos.

Su voz es seducción;
Mas él no es mi perdición.
Hoy me siento sin salida,
Yo que fui tan precavida.
Su voz... Su voz es ilusión;
Taquicardia al corazón.
Besos nunca jamás dados,
Ni mi cuerpo lo ha observado.
Su voz es tentación;
Yo, mezcla de contradicción.
Si me lanzo en paracaídas,
O regreso a mi normal vida.

Su voz es adictiva;
Juega con mi anatomía.
Acaricia mis oidos,
Descontrola mis sentidos.

Happily Ever After

Pic by: http://happiness-one-quote-time.blogspot.com/2013/03/carry-on-luggage.html

With over 76,600,000 web definition results on Google, this website generalizes the concept of happiness as “the state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” Happiness is to be at peace with ourselves, and to show respect for every person, no matter the age, ethnicity, or color. Happiness is enjoying every single blessed day like it is the last one on earth. Why does bringing happiness into our lives seem so hard to define? For instance, while some people parallel happiness with money, others say it may come with the age, and others associate happiness with the love for their families or affairs. 

Money is like the breeze that embraces us for a while; then in a blink of an eye will leave us without a trace. In the Times Magazine article, “Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Be Happy?” written by Belinda Luscome, the economist Angus Deaton and psychologist Daniel Kahneman found that 85% of Americans felt happy each day. However, the society keeps buying themselves happy moments, by spending and wasting their money on fancy and materialistic articles, or traveling the world just trying to fulfill emptiness in their mind and heart. On the other hand, Deaton states that “High incomes don’t bring you happiness, but they do bring you a life you think is better” (Luscome 2). The reality is, money could buy only those happy moments, but it might leave us as empty as we were before our purchases. Therefore, we should not keep ignoring that we could find happiness even in the smallest detail life would bring us, at any stage of our age.

As Nicholas Bakalar states in his article “Happiness May Come with Age, Study Says,” a large Gallup poll found that people get happier as they get older. The article reveals a strange and realistic way that elders perceive happiness when they reach their 80s. Therefore, could our age define our happiness? Most young people tend to confuse happiness with the pleasure of having what they desire. However, when they become older, they laugh about that immature way of thinking. According to Andrew J. Oswald, a professor of psychology at Warwick Business School in England, who was interview by Bakalar, “It’s a very encouraging fact that we can expect to be happier in our early 80s than we were in our 20s…And it’s not being driven predominantly by things that happen in life. It’s something very deep and quite human that seems to be driving this” (Bakalar 2). Although, some elders could lament of not doing much in their early life; perhaps, they might not have major studies, save enough money, or fail in parenting. On the other hand, others had found happiness in themselves or through someone they loved.

Happiness is similar to love; they walk hand in hand like best friends walk through the park on a sunny day. Christians believes that a partner might bring his wife happiness, by demonstrating his appreciation and love to his woman. As the Holy Bible states, “If a man has recently married, he must…stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married” (Deuteronomy 24:5). On the other hand, love could not lead us to happiness because when a couple is divorcing, their love and passion could be transformed into anger and unhappiness; this transformation could live for a while, or decades. Although, Christians says that when we believe in God, contentment seems easy to find. However, it does not matter if person loves to follow a religion in order find happiness; when a person loves what they do or fell in love with someone, he would be as happy as a recently fed baby.

To sum on, happiness is not define by being rich, getting older, or loving someone. For, money would not buy our happiness; it just confuses us with happy moments we may buy at some clothing store, travel agency, and etcetera. We might be happier by the time we get older, but why do we need to wait for so long? A person could give us the affection, love and pleasures that we might need; but those might not guarantee our happiness after all. The real definition of happiness is our personal view of life. In addition, happiness is in us; it is in how we love ourselves for who we are and what we might have under any circumstance. And that is the true meaning of living happily ever after. 

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Luscome, Belinda. Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Be Happy? TIME Magazine. TIME INC, 2013. Web.

< http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html>

Bakalar, Nicholas. Happiness May Come With Age, Study Says. The New York Times, June 1, 2010. Web.

< http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/research/01happy.html?_r=0>

Holy Bible, New International Version. Deuteronomy 24:5. NIV. Biblica, Inc. Bible Gateaway, 2011. Web.

< http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+24%3A5&version=NIV>

Holy Bible, New International Version. 1 John 4:8. NIV. Biblica, Inc. Bible Gateaway, 2011. Web.

Holy Bible, New International Version. Ecclesiastes 2:26. NIV. Biblica, Inc. Bible Gateaway,  2011. Web.

< http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%202:26&version=NIV>

Dancing in the Rain

Image via: http://www.nanis.it/

In the memoir, Hole in My Life, by Jack Gantos, when Gantos was at the Federal Prison in Ashland, Kentucky, he had to learn the importance of meting good friends who listen, support him, and guide him to make wiser decisions in his life. Gantos had the opportunity to meet Mr. Bow, the food service worker, and Mr. Casey; three worthy influencing people. Like Gantos, we could find good friends even if we are under the badness circumstance.

The first day Gantos entered the Federal Prison in Ashland, Kentucky, Mr. Bow spotted lice in his hair; as consequence, he had to put him on a private yellow cell (Gantos 154). Gantos described Mr. Bow, who was the physician’s assistant, “a big man, with a head as wide as his shoulders” (Gantos 161 – 162). Mr. Bow’s good-man appearance made Gantos caring about him. When Gantos was lice-free, he did not want to live around the others convicts, thus, he asked Mr. Bow for a job. Mr. Bow offered him a job as the X-ray tech; also told Gantos that he could live in the same private area and become part of the hospital staff if he accepted (Gantos 162 – 163). As many months went by in prison, Mr. Bow and Gantos had stick to each other, and had a good relationship.

After spending a few days in prison, Gantos was feeling like “a cricket trapped in a box” (Gantos 158); when the food service worker saw him walking around his cell and felt sorry for him. For this reason, the worker brought Gantos a pad of papers, envelopes, a pencil, and some books, including The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky. Thanks to the food service worker, Gantos began to use the Karamazov as his journal (Gantos 158). And thanks to the food service worker, Gantos could send his first letter to the judge and told him to reduce his sentence to time served, also explained he had lice, “fully realized his mistakes”, and had been “scared straight” (Gantos 158 – 159). Gantos did not mention the food service worker again neither his name, however, this person sneakily had one of the major roles in Hole in My Life.

The last helpful person that supported Gantos in the penitentiary was Mr. Casey: “A young and yet beaten down by the brutal atmosphere and the frustration of trying to help people in pretty hopeless situations” (Gantos 190 – 191). When Gantos was desperate for getting out of prison, he planned every escape possible but no one good enough to make it come true. Until one day, his former caseworker, Mr. Wilcox, retired, and he met the new one: Mr. Casey (Gantos 190). Mr. Casey was the one who typed up Gantos’ school application, wrote a check for the application fee, and sent it back to the school (Gantos 192). Perhaps, Gantos could not have got out of prison by time, without Mr. Casey’s priceless help.

Sometimes life put us in a very difficult situation and made us feel like we are under a heavy storm. Then, by God Mercy, we could find good friends who support us, even if the storm did not seem to stop. When those friends guide us and we learn how to manage the situation, feels like we are dancing in the rain. Does not matter if we are in jail, like Gantos was, it is how to learn to dance with those friends during the rain that made the situation easy to handle.



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Gantos, Jack. Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. Print.

Building Credibility



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What would happened if an English-student wrote a skilled article but no matter how many pages he had written, his professor told him it was still missing credibility? As defined by Google, “Credibility is the quality of being trusted, convincing or believable.” In the next comparison of the articles “Why Don’t We Complain?” By William F. Buckley Jr., and “The Bystander Effect,” by Dorothy Barkin, both authors have the same central idea of trying to persuade the readers to speak up when circumstances occurs. However, we will see how well they build credibility in their argument, by using personal experiences or newspaper articles as evidence, quotations, and their rhetorical strategies.

In William F. Buckley Jr.’s article, “Why Don’t We Complain?” Buckley Jr. uses several personal-experiences as evidence. People say that anything in large amounts is harmful and/or has a negative effect; Buckley went off the limits. For instance, Buckley introduces his article by telling us his experience about one below-freezing day that he was inside of a steamy-hot train. He states that no one complained about it. Buckley explains, “The conductor had nonchalantly walked down the gauntlet of eighty sweating American freemen… not one of them had asked him to explain why the passengers in that car had been consigned to suffer” (Buckley Jr. 1). Buckley Jr. continues arguing about his experiences inside of a movie theater, a café, an airplane, and on a line at some ski repair store in Pico Peak, Vermont. On each one of the example given by Buckley, he states that people, especially Americans, instead of complaining about a situation, they are “expecting someone else to take the initiative in going back to speak” (Buckley Jr. 2). Buckley might get his readers tired of his complaining of why we do not complain. In addition, to encourage his audience to do not be afraid to speak up, Buckley uses too many personal experiences, and just a few researches to enforce his argument.

In contrast with Dorothy Barkin’s article, “The Bystander Effect,” the lack of researched sources as evidence in Buckley Jr.’s article, made his argument lose credibility. In Barkin’s article, she hooks the audience by putting us in four different situations, and makes us think about how we would react if they happened. Barkin explains that “Bystanders are often reluctant to intervene in criminal or medical emergencies for reasons they are well aware of” (Barkin 2). Then, on each situation given by Barkin, she states the percentage of people who react like good Samaritans, while the majority tends to abandon the person in danger and/or stay away from an injustice. Later, Barkin tell us about the brutal murder of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese. According to Barkin, Genovese’s tragedy was a shocking crime that outraged the nation. She uses lots of researches details while she continues explaining when, how, and who was involved in Genovese’s tragedy. Barkin makes her audience believe in her, and take actions when an injustice occurs. Barkin number-pointed her sources and she added quotations and interviews through her article.

Like a fish in water, quotations have to stick to its owner (even if the expression was said by Jane or John Doe). When William F. Buckley Jr. quotes an editor of a national weekly news magazine, he left us with big questions. For example, who was this editor? When his article was written? And, in what news magazine did he work for? Buckley explains that this unknown editor mentioned how only twelve protest-letters (against an editorial stance) were sent to the news magazine, and that he explained, “So few people complain, or make their voice heard…we assume a dozen letters represent the unarticulated view of thousands of readers” (Buckley Jr. 4). The information given by Buckley might be true; however, how do we know? Once again, Dorothy Barkin scored more credibility points than William Beckley Jr., when she writes citations and quotations made by bystanders in her research.

Dorothy Barkin writes about how Kitty Genovese shouted “Oh my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!” while she was being stabbed by an unidentified man. Barkin makes reference about how the bystander in Genovese’s murder said they were “afraid”, “tired”, “did not want to get involved”, and even “thought it was a lovers’ quarrel” (Barkin, 4). Barkin writes about the cruel rape of a woman, another incident that happened nine years later in Trenton, New Jersey. According to Barkin, a witness of the incident said, “We thought, well, it might turn out to be her boyfriend or something like that” (Barkin 4). Barkin article posted on the Townsend Press website, clearly shows how she makes reference on every statement or information she had made (by numbers placed at the right-side). Unfortunately, the website seems to have something wrong in order to link Barkin’s sources. Barkin uses more than thirty references on her article. However, she does not stop there; she also built credibility by delivering rhetorical strategies to her readers.

Although both authors use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, William Buckley Jr. appeals more to reasons: Logos. Buckley makes his point clear from the first paragraphs of his article, “Why Don’t We Complain?” In which Buckley Jr. states that “From one end to the car to the other, as we rattled though Westchester Country, we sweated; but we did not moan” (Buckley Jr. 1). In almost every paragraph of Buckley Jr.’s article, we could read about how he argues about Americans. For instance, he says, “we are reluctant to make our voices heard, hesitant about claiming our right…we are afraid that our cause is unjust, or that if it is not unjust, that it is ambiguous; or even that, that it is too trivial to justify the horrors of a confrontation with Authority; we will sit in an over or endure a racking headache before undertaking a head-on, I’m-here-to-tell-you complaint” (Buckley Jr. 2). Like most Disney-Pixar movies; Buckley wants us to speak up, to fight for our rights, and not be complacent under any circumstances. On the other hand, Dorothy Barkin appeals to the emotions, beliefs and values of her audience.

In the fourth page of Barkin’s article, when she was talking about Genovese’s murder, she mentions that “The same question was on everybody’s mind –how could thirty-eight people have done so little?” By sharing this information, Barkin persuades her audience to think as victims and take action as heroes. She states, “If you find yourself witnessing an emergency with a group, remember that everybody is waiting for someone else to do something first. Is you take action, others may also help” (Barkin 5). Then, Barkin make us think about the unfortunate, tragic moment of Kitty Genovese, by concluding with, “Imagine what it feels like to need help and have a crowd watching you suffer and do nothing” (Barkin 5). Barkin made her voice heard; the way she uses Pathos, make her readers feel touched by her persuasion.

When we are writing an essay or discussing an article, if we do not know how to make our audiences believe in what we have to say, our paper would not satisfy them at all. Even if our essay is ten-page long of well-written, extremely-professional vocabulary, we need to give evidences to our readers. For example, give our readers some modest amount of our personal experiences, and enforce our argument with articles and researches. In addition, we might need to add quotations, citations, and/or interviews; and of course, give credit to each person mentioned in our paper. We must include Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, as strategies to persuade our audience. Even tough, we might need to apply the phrase introduced into modern language in the late twentieth century, “Fake it till you make it.” We must build credibility in our writing, if we want to make our readers believe in our words.




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Barkin, Dorothy. “The Bystander Effect.” Understanding Ourselves. Townsend Press. Web
http://www.townsendpress.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/writing%20and%20motvn/vv_ch14.pdp

Fuller, William F. Buckley, Jr. “Why Don’t We Complain?” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 64-70. Print