Analyzing poems is like baking chocolate cake
But you forget the cocoa and it doesn’t fully bake
Examining a poem is like fin’lly leaving school
But riding on a bus with noisy kids who think they’re cool
Annotating poems is like singing for a crowd
But hearing yourself sing a wrong note very, very loud
Dissecting any poem is like hearing that last bell
But knowing that a test is next (you didn’t study well)
Explicating poems is like going on a date
But finding out your date is boring, ugly, and he’s late
Beating up a poem is like lying on a beach
But then your skin gets burned and all your clothes get wet or bleached
Scrutinizing poems is like getting your first car
But getting in a wreck before you get out all that far
Analyzing poems is destruction at its best
Like watching birds who try to fly but fall right off the nest
Copyright © 2011 by Karen Kappen. All rights reserved. No portion of this poem may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
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