Tonight I feel the stars are out_x000D_ to use me for target practice.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a feeling of vulnerability and introspection under the vastness of the night sky.
Yusef Komunyakaa's quote reflects a profound sense of exposure to the universe, suggesting that the speaker feels as if they are being observed or judged by the stars. The imagery of stars being used for target practice implies a feeling of uncertainty and the challenges one faces, indicating a struggle between the beauty of existence and the pain of personal experiences.
In practice
This quote could be used in a poetry reading to highlight the emotional weight of feeling small in the vastness of the universe.
Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape.
It wasn't a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction.
We have to embrace the good over the bad. That has to be one's personal project.
I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that's the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human.
I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No, it was the poetry.
Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky
America is a poem in our eyes; its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres.
Or from Browning some "Pomegranate," which if cut deep down the middle Shows a heart within blood-tinctured, of a veined humanity.
The unpurged images of day recede; The Emperor's drunken soldiery are abed; Night resonance recedes, night-walkers' song After great cathedral gong.
Fly not yet; 't is just the hour When pleasure, like the midnight flower That scorns the eye of vulgar light, Begins to bloom for sons of night And maids who love the moon.
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