Poem 1: The Drifters Melody

Poem

The time soon comes for parting,
And our time is at an end,
The rest of your life is starting,
And we have no time at all to spend.

You knew one day you'd have to go,
But thought you'd have more time.
We can't reverse time's one-way flow,
But at least you'll have this rhyme.

You had your shining moments,
Upon this life's darkened stage,
And in my book of wonderments,
You'll never be just another page.

Like the exploding of a star,
You've changed me in and out,
Your light will travel with me far,
Past when all other lights go out

About the Author

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Personal Response

The Drifter’s Melody is a poem written by Megan R. Bokowski. The poem gives intricately complex details about her and her friend’s parting friendship. I absolutely appreciate this poem. It’s so simple yet incredibly significant.

The poem is easy to comprehend and read. At the first stanza, I instinctively thought it was a poem dedicated to a friendship coming to its end. I kept reading it until I stumbled upon the last stanzas. In general, the poem is actually about a person, specifically a friend, which made such a huge impact to her life. Be it good or bad, the friend changed the poet’s character. I assume that the impact was a positive outcome since the poet narrates compliments about the friend. An example is, “Your light will travel with me far, past when all other lights go out.”

I can exactly relate to this poem. I do have a friend that made such an enormous footprint in my life. She was there for me constantly. She was there when no one was. She’s a person you can absolutely rely on. She’s a person that takes big responsibility to what she does. She gives her full effort to everything at hand. She was a sister I never had. Being a very intellectual person, it was only natural that she was an over achiever. Without a doubt, I knew she was my inspiration. I tried to follow most of her footsteps. But I still tried to make my path different from hers. I wanted mine to be unique and original. Over time, she graduated from high school and departed to the United States to pursue her career to work under the military, precisely the Air Force. We parted from there. Until now, we still keep in touch. Our friendship is still there, but it’s not as strong as it was before.

“You had your shining moments, upon this life’s darkened stage, and in my book of wonderments, you’ll never be just another page.” Those lines were my favorite. Once I was done reading it, I was in deep awe. I felt a tug at my heart strings. I was touched. The friend must be really lucky to have such a sweet and caring friend. I would.

TP-Cast/Rhetorical Triangle Analysis

Title: The Drifter's Melody is self explanatory. I believe that the poem will talk about parting away with his/her friend, or maybe even a loved one. A family or relative maybe.

Paraphrase:
It's time to part away,
Our time is at end,
Your life is starting,
There's is no time to spend at all

You knew you'd have to go,
But you thought there will be more time.
We can't undo time flow,
But you'll have this rhyme.

You had your glorious moments,
Upon this stage,
And in my book of wonders,
You'll never be another page.

Like a collapsing star,
You've changed me in and out,
Your light will travel with me,
Past when all other lights can't.

Connotation: 
1. Structure -- quatrains in each stanza. Rhyme Scheme -- ABAB ABAB ABAB ABAB Meter -- Iambic pentameter  Punctuation: period and commas.
2. Speaker - A friend, Audience -- a friend he's saying goodbye to.
3. Figurative - symbol (your light will travel with me far) allegory (Upon this life's darkened stage)
4. Imagery - Sight (like the exploding of a start) 

5. Repetition - NONE

Attitude: selfish, honest, caring, appreciative, thankful.

Shifts:
1st quatrain (Lines 1-4) - It talks about how they're parting; how one of their life is starting.
2nd quatrain (Lines 4-8) - The speaker says that they don't have any time to spend together but she assures him/her that this poem is for him/her.
3rd quatrain (Lines 8-12) - The speaker describes the friend's life. How she had her moments in her darkest times of her life. She said that she'll remain forever in her heart.
4th quatrain (Lines 12-16) - She talks about how the friend changed her positively. She explains that her friend's light/spirit will forever guide her when other's won't.

Title: I was kind of correct with my first answer. The poem did talk about parting from her friend. But the poem also had a positive outcome. She briefly describes how her friend drastically impacted her life. She explains how even though the friend struggles through her most difficult times of her life, she still manages to shine and overcome those struggles. I believe the poet's friend is her inspiration. The friend made such a huge turning point in her life that she changed for the better.

Theme: A friend come and goes, either he/she changes you for the better or worse.

References (APA-6)

Bokowski, M.R. (2007). Family and Friends Poem. Goodbye Poem for Friends. The Drifter’s Melody. Website. Retrieved from
http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/poem-about-saying-googbye-the-drifters-melody