Entry 1: Đặng Thu Trà

Item 1: Poem

Brotherhood

© Gerry Anderson

I walk slowly down the streets paved with sadness,
Addicts begging for favors and pleading for change,
Desperation plagues their dark hollow eyes
And their hearts, they are empty and I
I silently cry.

I see in parks the children that are playing,
Smiles and joy lights up their faces with glee,
Laughter fills the air with song and delight,
Their hearts are full with love and trust in their eyes,
I silently cry.

I cry for the lost, the rich and the poor,
Whose hearts have grown bitter and cold,
For what could have been in their life is now gone,
And left is the empty high of a drug that's unknown,
I silently cry.

I pray for the ones who have given up hope,
Hope for a future of love, faith and joy,
I pray for the lonely the sick and the lost,
That someone would take the time to reach out,
I silently hope,

I hope for a future, a better tomorrow,
For people who need compassion and care,
I hope that bitterness melts with the touch of a heartbeat,
I hope for the love that we can give one another,
For are we not really everyone's brother?

Source: Brotherhood, Meaningful Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/brotherhood#ixzz1mAN8SDpY
Family Friend Poems

Rhetorical devices:

1.assonance: eyes – I – cry, delight – eyes – cry, gone – unknown, another - brother

2.repetition: I silently cry (3 times), I silently hope, I hope for

Message:

Brotherhood is really a meaningful poem which expresses honestly the feeling when someone loses a relative because of drugs, especially here is the brother. Watching his life was destroyed slowly till dead is so painful that touched the author. A reader who has experienced the same situation left a comment: “I love my brother with all my hear, it hurts so bad to not have the power to heal him, to not have a way of get him out of his misery”. Moreover, the poem is also a message about dreams and hopes. No matter how hard the life is, it will be better if we never give up. Love is everywhere and there are many people need our willingness to share and help them. Brotherhood, it’s not only the relationship between two children in a family, but also the compassion among strangers.

Item 2: Picture

Rhetorical devices:

Irony: there are more and more people who are addicted to being online. The bird who is also on-line doesn’t understand why they feel so great. The difference between “online” and “on-line” makes the picture so funny.

Message: Being online and surfing the Internet is not really interesting because you will be still alone, virtual world makes your life lonely and empty

Item 3: Idiom

Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you

Message:  In our life, we always expect for sharing and helping. However, it’s necessary to receive something when you gave someone at least your time although it is only respect. Furthermore, let’s choose a true friend to be kind.