Here's another poem I have selected. When I came across this poem, I had no idea that I was familiar with any of Ms. Kasischke's work. However, after reading about her, I realized that she was the author of The Life Before Her Eyes,one the most intriguing books I have read in the past 5 years. It opens with a Columbine-type shooter confronting two best friends. He tells them he will only kill one of them, and then asks them, "Which one of you should I kill?" One girl responds without hesitation saying, "Kill me." The story then moves on telling the life of the other girl in flashforwards and flaskbacks. I won't give anymore of the story away.Poetry Blog Instructions: Begin by reading some background information about Ms. Kasischke at the Ploughshares website. Next, go to the Poetry 180 website to read through the poem. Now explicate the poem and blog about the literary features and theme.
Socratic Seminar Questions:
Prepare a detailed response to the following:
1. When the 37-year-old woman in Kasischke's poem thinks back on her life, how does she view this incident from her 13th summer? Does she have regrets? Does she feel she missed an opportunity, lost a chance, or received a blessing in disguise? Cite quotes from the poem to support your answer.
2. What does this poem say about the choices one makes? Cite quotes from the poem to support your answer.
3. Discuss the literary elements used by the poet. What is the theme of the poem? How has the poet used the literary elements to effectively communicate the theme?
4. Prepare one of your own questions and the response to bring to the discussion.
72 comments:
this ones a little wierd, it dosn't really have any thing to do with a bike ride even though there are things about bikes in it there is nothing about the person riding the bike and is mostely about just the girl and what she thought about her self and became of her in the end.
when i read this poem i got that it was about a women who once when she was young going to meet up with a group of boys, but never did and now that she is older is now regreting that she missed out on a great oppurtunity.
in reply to the first comment...i think it is about a bke ride and how in everyday experiences its a road towards your future.
i feel that a heavy theme topic for this poem is beliefs (if that is one). she stuck to what she believed, and what she felt was the right thing to do, even though it didnt start that way.
It seemed a lottle confusing at first but i think she is talking about what she thought could of happened to her if she made a different decision. It did seem like she made the right decision but she woont really know what would have happened unless she were to talk to those boys today.
I thing this girl regreted for not having gone there to meet the older boys, b/c she lost the opportunity to be with them and know them better.
I don't really understand the poem. But all I got from it is the main point of choosing a path to grow, the author thinks he has chosen a right path and those kids hanging around the street are still suffering in the wrong path of live.
i dont really understand what the author is trying to say in the poem, i dont get the message of it, but i guess it is about the memory of her childhood
i think this is maybe about a girl that got taken advantage of
i think the girl regreted for not going there to meet the older boys,and she had missed out on a lot of great stuff.
I think thats the poem is about a women who is having a reflection on something that happenned when she was younger and regreting not doing something that she wished she did.I honestly dont really understand it.
i dont really get the poem, but i think that the woman is talking about maybe about her past.
this poem was kind of confusing. it starts off with a girl saying that in the padt two older boys asked her to go on a bike ride with them, and she said she would but then chose not to go for a certain reason..i got confused when she started talking about the other girl that saw her..it might it sound like she actually ended up going..i think a good theme for this poem is think before your actions.
This poem is about a woman talking about when she was a young girl and being invited to go and ride bikes with boys.its a little confussing to see if she really wanted to go and is regreting it or if she wanted to go, but didn't because she thought they wouldnt show up. She thinks about what would have happened if she went and if life would have been different then it is now.
I think the theme topic for this poem is morals. But im not really sure if she did actually go, becuase it mentions her riding with them and the other girls watching. It sounds like the author is glad that she didnt go, becuase the boys are doing nothing with their life.
FROM READING THE POEM I GOT THAT THE THEME OF THE POEM WAS SELF PERSERVEIRENCE. SORRY FOR CAPS.
The poem seems like short story,but it has impact and is strong what makes it a poem.
It is about an over protected girl that wants to geow up fast and show to her friends how independent she is.
i think she thought she could have had an oppunity & possibly regretted that she didn't take the chance. it shows that when you have a oppunity, then take that chance before it will never come again.
this poem [in my words] translate thats she probably was a girl who didn't have too many friends and wanted to fit in. so when meeting the two boys, they wanted to have sex with her, and even though she gave the number to them, she didn't show up, because afterwards she wasn't that type of girl to do that stuff [they thought she was]. then she thought of the possibilities of if she did go:the good situation and the bad situation. and she is now remembering this moment in her childhood.the theme to this is most likely that to think before you do, cause each desision in your life could end up for the good or worse.
this poem [in my words] translate thats she probably was a girl who didn't have too many friends and wanted to fit in. so when meeting the two boys, they wanted to have sex with her, and even though she gave the number to them, she didn't show up, because afterwards she wasn't that type of girl to do that stuff [they thought she was]. then she thought of the possibilities of if she did go:the good situation and the bad situation. and she is now remembering this moment in her childhood.the theme to this is most likely that to think before you do, cause each desision in your life could end up for the good or worse.
asmith2cerra
This poem, is...about fate, and how it can be controlled in some way. She would have never REALLY known what would have happened if she took that bike ride.
I think this poem's main theme is that people (especially girls...) should think carefully before they do something. And also, you should not make a motion if you feel a little weird or some danger or something like that. In this poem, the danger was that the writer might be raped by the boys. I think she doesn't regret that she didn't go on the bike ride.
i think this poem is talking about how this lady missed out on a great opportunity and now regrets it, also she daydreams about what it would have been like to be riding with the boys and everyone looking at her.
tiffany ruan cerra:this is about when women was young going to meet up with of boy, but never did and now she was older, and i think about a bke ride and that she missed out on a great oppurtunity. and this poem have very strong topic. she woot realy know what would have happened unless she to talk to those boy.
the poem is talking about the author's feeling to the socilety and her life. the two boys then become two men are the symbol that the feeling of the author's idea about the soeity and herself and people
i think the poem is a about how the girl thinks about what could have happened or whats she wanted to have happened if she had gone with the older guys. she thinks about if she had made the right choice in not going. then at the end of the peom she says something about the boys still waiting at the Stop-n-Go waiting for her growing old not doing anything. so i think she decides that she made the right decision in not going with them.
i think this poem shows how a girl missed out on a opportunity to hang out with the guys, and she feels like she wont get that opportunity again, but then shes happy she didnt go because her life would be very different then the life she lives today. i think the message in the poem is think before you act.
First of all, i think that what she really means by saying "ride a bike" is that the first steps you take with boys are like the ones you take when you start riding a bike, the desitions she had to make and how careful she had to be about those guys was the same care she may had to have with a bike.
I think that's also the main idea, show how she remembers those things, how she remembers the fact of being.
I think that this poem is mostly about a concited girl....
I feel that the girl in this poem is really trying to show how she feels, by talking about what she would have thought would had happened to her if she was with those 2 older boy. I believe she was smart when she didn't go with them beacuse she probably already knew what those boys wanted so she was good with her thinking. She knew that they are cute boys but she also knew that she wasn't going to have a good relationship with them. All girls need to think before they do
HMMM...lets see...i think that this poem is about someone who was invited to go with some oolder boys...but she didnt...and she is older remembering back then..wondering what would have happened if she went with them..and yeah...i think that she regrets that...yeah thats how I FEEL...YADDDA
HMMM...lets see...i think that this poem is about someone who was invited to go with some oolder boys...but she didnt...and she is older remembering back then..wondering what would have happened if she went with them..and yeah...i think that she regrets that...yeah thats how I FEEL...YADDDA
she seems to be a women who is taking back or regreting something she could of done but didnt do and she might feel either very upset or see it as a good thing... because she sees that when your young you dont know what is going on you think that everything you want is correct and now as a women she realizes what could of happened but now realizes what would of happened! she might be refering to her as a child when she speaks of her mother working in the poem. or her remembering her bike ride could of been that she realizes a long trip in her life from her childhood to her maturing and thinking clearly about things! but who knows?
this poem to me was about choices and how one choice can change your whole life. If the girl went with the two older boys she could of had the best day of her life or the worst.
i notice that this poem has alot of pauses compared to other ones i read and that i guess u never now how something feels like unless u try it.
This poem was confusing, but when i broke it down i understood what it is trying to teach us. The peom was about the girl when she was 13 years old she didn't think before doing something. But later she recives the gift of knowledge. So later on this poem theme teaches us to do the right chices.
I think the theme topic of this poem would be the longing for childhood. It seems that as she wipes the table she regrets the fact that she didn't go on the bikeride with those boys because she'll never know what would have happened. She longs for her childhood again so she could have taken the risk or even multiple risks of doing things only young adults are known to do.
I think the main purpose of this poem is to show that life happens and you may take decissions and you can regret about it... the writer is regreted because she didnt get that ride when she wanted to do it.
On my opinion the girl did miss on that opportunity of going with the boys, but at the same time she remembers the gift that she had because if she had gone, it would have turn out worse because in the poem she says that "she will never love her self again". So this tells us that she maybe did the good choice of not going with them because it would have turn out to be something bad.
maybe the gift that the girl had was her conscience. She sometimes wasn't aware of it.
the author is pondering what might of happened if she had gone with those older boys on that bike ride. the thing is she will never know because she never went. if you never experenced it you will never of known how it turned out. furhter she realizes that as time had gone by, those boys are also older and they will never know that she was thinking of them so long after the event.
everyone does this. the most uneventful things in life are what can change us forever. we are left later thinking of what might of happened had we lived or not lived such events.
i didnt understand the poem that much i didnt get if the girl got raped or if it was just a thought if she went with the boys
this poem had several different meanings and ways to view it. the socratic seminar today really helped me to understand the other views
yes this poem doesnt look like a traditional poem it is and it has the same kind of meanings. i think the meaning of this poem is the loss of innocences becayse she gave her number and was going to go hang out with older guys.
I think that the poet want to tell about his feeling when he was teenager.He is describing his passion for riding bike which he still remember at the age of 37.
Nicoleb3Henry
First off, I really liked this poem.I think this poem demonstarates to us girls, that we might take our youth for granted. It also demonstrates knowledge
and wisdom. The womam in the poem was tempted to go hang out with the boys, but something inside of her stops her from going, perhaps she felt that if she would of gone she would of been judged by the other girls in a negative way.Or,
something bad might of happened.On the other hand, she could of made som great friends, but it's something, she'll never know.
i think the poet is telling that when she was thirteen, she met with guys, she went for a ride with them but, she never saw them again.she thinks that it was her best afternoon of her life.which never comes back.and later she is regretting herself.
to me the poem was weird because it really not about a bike ride.
I FEEL THE THE POEM IS SAY SHE MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN RAPED OR THAT SHE HAD SEX WITH THEM OR THAT SHE IS THINKING OF WHAT WOULD HAD HAPPEN IF SHE WENT FOR A BIKE RIDE WITH THOSE OLDER BOYS
i belive that her innocence was some how taken away possiblly by rape and i'm still unsure of weather or not she did bike ride with the older boys.
In this poem it seems like the girl got raped because she says that she had bits of glass and gravel
ground into my knees and that she'll never love herself again. and i think she says that for that reason.and at the same time it seemed confusing to me because i don't know if she actually went with the guys.
Anthony Gutierrez 5 Henry
i think this is about a girl who early in her life hadto make a decison and now looking back she doesnt regret doing it
in the poem it sounds like he girl either fell off hr bike or she might have gotten raped.she said she dont love herself or something like that and talking about boys growing up.that gives me a idea that the boys were immature and raped her.
I understood she wanted to go for a bike ride with older boys so that she can look real cool... but now that she is 37 she starts to remember what happened when she went on the bike ride with the boys she starts to regret for going with the boys... She Regrets for getting raped...and for going with the boys and now working as a waiter...
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i think this is a poem about the lady remembering her past and wondering what would happen if she would have went twith the older boys
The poem has no repetition, ryhme and rythm. The literary form used in this form was imagery. In the end, the girl regretted her decision for not meeting out with the older boys.
this poem was sort of confusing at first, but i think the woman was looking back at the offer she had and had a scenario in her mid about each way she could have gone. if she had gone with them i think she might have gotten raped, or at least thats was my interpretation about her in a vacant field with glass on her knees.
why is the woman thinking so far back? i wonder what made her think about her teen years, what incident occurred that brought her back that far?
I think that the girl is describing her feelings as an adolescent and how she was thinking smart when the older boys asked her to go on a bike ride alone with just her and them. I think that she was thinking that something bad might happen and that is why she decided not to meet them at the stop-n-Go.That's why she says that she was not as dumb as she they thought she was and that is why she gives two different scenarios of what could have happened. She also feels that she wasn't wise either because she missed out on going on a bike ride because she was afraid of what could have happened.
When the author says: “…God lives like music in the sky and sounds like a sunshine harpsichord” is making a important comparison between the girl he is talking about and the way “God” lives inside each one of us, that means that although you cannot see God as you cant see music or the sounds of an instrument s/he still exists and s/he lives within each one of us, that is why I think the author is not only focusing on beauty and love, he is also managing topics like religion, school system, and things that maybe we don’t usually notice because we are so used to them that they lose importance like playing, imagination, telling people you really love that you care about them and the way the author is telling us all those things is by using imagery of shiny things like, glass ,magic, blonde , sunshine harpsichord, the sea, and finally love and I say “love” because love makes your heart shine.
i think the older boys took advantage of the little girl. she was able to remember this because it made an impact on her life.
i think that she should have gone on yhe bike ride bacause she would have had fun and enjoyed her self
i think the woman wonders what it would be like if she met with the boys but knows she made the right choice
the mood chances from when she thinks about how she should have went. But also she is happy that she didnt go because she thinks of all of her good times.
the mood chances from when she thinks about how she should have went. But also she is happy that she didnt go because she thinks of all of her good times.
i believe that this peom is about a horrible decision that a girl made when she was younger and now that she is older she is now realizing her bad decision and that i also believe that the girl ended up getting raped. what gave me this idea was that there were bits of glass and gravel ground onto her knees and that she would never love herself again.
I think that she may regret not taking the bike ride even though the way she describes it sounds like she had taken the ride. it just goes to show, that if you have an opportunity dont let it pass you by.
this poem has a deeper more understanding meaning to me. i think i tells u that if u try and grow up to fast, u will crash and burn. u are not ment to do things ur not ready for. by trying to grow up fast u miss the asspects and the things u need to learn first.
"Bike Ride With Older Boys", by Laura Kasischke, to me is a poem about how this girl desires to ride around on a bike with older boys so she will be admired by her peers. Then when the chance comes she doesn't go because of the fear she might get raped.
"Bike Ride With Older Boys", by Laura Kasischke, is a poem about how a young girl was goin to meet up with a person but that perosn never showed up and now as she is older she wonders what would of happen if she met that person and she realizes how weird life really is.
You write very well.
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