by Tim M

Fresh roasted beans

soaked in scalding water.

Passing off their character

to a dark mixture

Bitter,

yet pure.

Through the gate,

fragile and thin-

and into the mug.

Add sweets to taste,

the feeling is as warm as a hug.

Easy to make,

yet easy to fail.

It carries an intriguing history

and akin to music,

universally understood:

Americano,

Black,

Iced,

Frappe,

Cappuccino,

Each related.

But unique,

like humans.

1.) I chose to publish an ode.

2.) I wrote an ode to coffee because it is very helpful in keeping me awake during the day.

3.) The tone of my poem is appreciative.

4.) The theme of my poem is that coffee is as unique as ourselves.

5.) a. An example of figurative language in my poem is “passing off their character to a dark mixture.” The type of figurative language in this sentence is metaphor because the taste of coffee beans is being compared to the character of a person. This contributes to the theme because it relates to the idea that each person is mystery. b. Another example of figurative language are the lines “akin to music, universally understood.” This is also a metaphor because coffee is being compared to music, the latter being regarded as a universal language. This adds to the theme because it implies that coffee is prevalent across the globe.

6.) One revision I made to my poem is adding the line “fragile and thin” to visualize the coffee filter, which is referenced as a gate of sorts. Yet another revision to my poem is removing a line that read “only to be discarded.” This references the coffee beans that would be thrown out with the filter, but I chose to delete this line because it contradicts the tone of my poem.

7.) My poem was relatively easy to write because I frequently had ideas pop into my head, however I struggled to translate said ideas into text.

8.) I am satisfied with my final draft because it meets the requirements in the rubric for the assignment and because the message it conveys can be interpreted in multiple ways.