Conformity and Rebellion- Rhoman James

Rebellion Sailors, chanters and politicians Proselytize our new dimensions Warriors, weavers and priest-drawn blood Sanctify our new haven. The sun comes up We chop wood Toolerize and gamify our fun Still the same man under the same sun. And for millennia The new is suppressed Marked as devilry To keep us meek. Feeling crazy today Going to have my say But first I'll impregnate The Chief's chief lay. This poem is referencing how in our society we follow all of these rules set by certain people, we try to make it fun so that it isn't so tedious and unbearable but we have to do it. He said that "the new is suppressed" because when the younger generations try to do something different in our society, the traditional leaders tend to shoot that down very fast. They consider these revelations "devilry" and they outlaw these actions. The author does a very good job addressing the many variables that contribute to our conformation.

Rhyme- Rhoman James

The whiskey on your breath A Could make a small boy dizzy; B But I hung on like death: A Such waltzing was not easy. B We romped until the pans C Slid from the kitchen shelf; D My mother’s countenance C Could not unfrown itself. D The hand that held my wrist E Was battered on one knuckle; F At every step you missed E My right ear scraped a buckle. F You beat time on my head G With a palm caked hard by dirt, H Then waltzed me off to bed G Still clinging to your shirt. H The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH, contributes to the constant feeling of this poem. I see this poem from a daughters point of view talking about her abusive father. The fact that this rhyme scheme repeats for every stanza makes us feel a good sense of rhythm, probably because this occurrence is a regular occurrence. This is a very easy rhyme scheme to keep track of and it makes us see this experience as common, there is nothing out of the ordinary. This is a very sad poem that is filled with innocence from a child, and that shows in the simplicity of the rhyme scheme

Sodom and Gomorrah- Rhoman James

There were two cities that were destroyed because of their wicked ways and sexual sins including homosexuals, which is why we have the word "sodomy." It was taken from the names of these cities. God sent angels to get Lot and his family out because Abraham had prayed and asked God to spare Lot, and he also asked God would spare these cities for the sake of Lot and his family if there was 50 righteous people. The only ones that ended up surviving were Lot and his two daughters. Even his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. They had been told not to look back at the destruction God was sending on the cities. I think that this act can be viewed as unfair to some people because there are many ways to represent right and wrong and some may think the way God handled it was the wrong way. One problem in the US is the fact that our government tries to create standards of right and wrong and we are expected to accept their values as true. This is a reoccurring problem in our society and will continue to create conflict over the generations.