"The Golf Links"

1. Golf Links: a "links" is the oldest type of golf course; typically found near coastlines or "links" between land and sea.

2. Sarah N. Cleghorn: A female poet of some note, born in Virginia in 1876, and, most notably, recognized publicly by Robert Frost as a poet of import

This poem is a clever juxtaposition that, at first, seems to be merely a comment on child labor. However, when one examines the switched roles of the men and the children as 'switched' rather than depressing, he or she is able to see a second comment on the role of children and of men in society and how that role is changing. Being a rather short poem, this is subject to a rather short analysis. However, the impact is truly one of thought-provoking brilliance. The use of the archaic term "golf links" is undoubtedly due to the era in which the writing occurred. This poem, most impressively, ended very simply and without call to action. The world is as it is, and Cleghorn seemed to want to leave it that way--up to interpretation. And so I will leave this.

"I Remember the Room was Filled with Light" by Judith Hemschemeyer

I am taken aback by the sheer honesty present in this poem. Judith Hemschemeyer writes in the voice of one truly remembering a scene with great symbolisms. "They were still young, younger than I am now." Not exact, nor excessively vague, this reading, when read aloud, sounds like the memory of any reader. What's most incredible is the dramatic impact that this very neutral scene had on my emotions as a reader: upon finishing the final line, I was filled with a feeling of contentedness and nostalgia--even despite the fact that I, when I was younger, hated being the messenger between fighting parents, even on the beginning of the end of an argument. Maybe these feelings are a wish about the children that I have--maybe I hope for them to look after their parents, like children should. Maybe I hope just to be involved in the lives of others--to be needed. Isn't that what we all want? I mean, there are instances of thought in which solitude is preferred in the heat of a frustrating moment, but I think this poem really conveys the feeling of being needed and acknowledged by a higher power--in this case, the girl's parents--and that is a very meaningful set of emotions. One that must not be forgotten as we become that higher power.