by Shreya Krishna

From the tender age of five

I had always admired you

Your rich sound

Like voices singing

Resonating so magnificently

Your gentle melody

Which can illuminate any darkness

Just like glowing fireflies

 

Your texture is so familiar

Of smooth and polished wood

Smooth like obsidian

Yet bright of cherry wood

 

And when my bow glides over you

Like a majestic eagle soaring

Everyone’s breath stops

Awed by your beauty

 

You are precious like a feather

From a rare peacock

Always bringing joy

To all in your presence

 

You have always been with me

Through my wins and losses

Reassuring me to try harder

Just like a friend who only wants

The best for me

 

You help me fulfill my dreams

Achieve my goals

And dare me to reach for the stars

Like a rocket shooting into space

 

You are my safe haven

My outlet to relax

You will always be there for me

And me for you back

 

1. The type of poem I published was an ode.
2. I chose my violin as the subject of my ode because it means a lot to me. I have been playing it for a long time and it has become an important part of my life so I feel it should be appreciated.
3. The tone of my poem is heartfelt, admiring, and appreciative. This is because throughout my poem, I express my gratitude for my violin. For example, in the phrase “Resonating so magnificently,” the word “magnificently” shows my admiration for it. The phrase, “You have always been with me,” is very heartfelt because it shows that I have a deep connection with my violin.
4. The theme of my poem is that when someone does something for a long time, they form a special connection and bond with it. For example, the phrase “Just like a friend who only wants the best for me,” shows that I have a special bond with my violin. The phrase “You will always be there for me and me for you back,” also expresses a similar message.
5. One example of figurative language is, “And dare me to reach for the stars like a rocket shooting into space.” This simile contributes to the tone and theme development because it brings the sense that with my violin, I have endless possibilities and have no limits. It also compares my violin to a rocket. Another example of figurative language is, “Reassuring me to try harder just like a friend who only wants the best for me.” This simile contributes to the tone and theme development by relaying the message that my violin makes me want to improve and do the best I can. It also compares my violin to a friend. One more example of figurative language is, “And when my bow glides over you like a majestic eagle soaring.” This contributes to the tone and theme development by giving the reader an image of a bird flying as well as comparing my bow to an eagle. The word choice “majestic” also gives an admiring feel to it.
6. One revision I made to my poem is by removing the line, “Which can put me to sleep,” that was originally after the line, “Your gentle melody,” and replacing it with, “Can illuminate the darkness just like fireflies.” This is because I thought the use of figurative language would improve that stanza rather than what was previously there. Another revision I made to my poem was adding, “like voices singing,” after, “Your rich sound.” I made this revision because I thought that appealing to the sense of hearing would be a nice addition to that line. One more revision I made was to add the line “And dare me to reach for the stars,” before the line “Like a rocket shooting into space.” I made this revision because I felt it sounded better with it there than before. I also thought the use of figurative language seemed more complete with that line added.
7. It was both easy and difficult to write this poem. At first, I could easily brainstorm ideas and get a general sense of what to include in my poem. It then got more difficult as I tried to incorporate effective figurative language into my poem because I wanted the figurative language to smoothly fit in.
8. I am pretty satisfied with my final draft, because writing odes are new to me and I think I have done a pretty good job conveying my overall message.