Good Times

This poem is written from the viewpoint of the eyes of a young uneducated child. Having the speaker of the poem be a child makes the poem more personal, making the reader be able to celebrate with her. The Childs language is crude, in sentences such as “the lights is back on”, and “they is good times.” The last two lines however seem to be spoken from the same child as an adult, telling her own children to think about “the good times” when the bad times come. There is no particular rhyme scheme, this poem did not need one. It created its own rhythm with the use of repetition.

The use of repetition is a key literary device in this poem. The word “is” is repeated several times throughout the poem. There is emphasis on this word not only because it is repeated several times but also because it is used grammatically the wrong way. Using the word “is” incorrectly throughout the poem could give the reader a sense of life for the child, and her education. It could also be repeated because the speaker wants to keep the “good times” in present tense. The word “and” is also repeated several times throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the word and is used for the girl to tell how everything on this day is finally turning around for the better in her life and for her family. They finally got some money to pay off the bills and it was time to celebrate. In the second stanza she lists everything they are going to do to celebrate.

The syntax of this poem is unique. There are no periods, commas or exclamation marks used even though this young girl is talking about a very exciting time in her life. What is great about the poem is that it needs no punctuation to get the same energized message across. “Oh these is good times good times good times.” (lines 12-15) The repetition and rhythm of the poem paint a clear picture of excitement all by themselves. Just glancing at the poem without reading it tells a lot about it. The lines are short and brief. I know when I get excited about something that’s really big in my own life I don’t have big long sentences to say. The way the poem is designed is much like a young child would say it.

I liked the two poems written by this author that the book provides. I looked up a little bit about the author and her poems made even more sense than they did before. She grew up in a ghetto town, and wrote her peoms about her life and family. I could picture a small child that is used to the lights being out and strange men coming over and upsetting her parents. But then all of a sudden they have power and the man is gone and her whole family is smiling and celebrating. This poem describes a specific time, but is one of many times im sure within her life. I could picture from the language that she probably lived in the south, and that the times were hard. Although the girl is very excited throughout the poem, when I read it I had mixed emotions. I was happy for her family and for their temporary financial stability, however, it makes me feel bad for all of the things I take for granted.