First, I must apologize

For the whips I slashed across your skin,
only to pursue selfish thoughts

For the nails I drove into your precious hands and feet,
only to protect what I thought to be important

For the crown of thorns I fixed upon your smooth locks,
only to turn my back on You, who gave me everything

Your blood saving me,
when I clung to life by a thread

And yet,
it took me till now to realize

Now I shall fall on my knees
with praying hands

Because before I never gave a fighting chance
 
Age saw two quiet children 
Go loving by at twilight, 
He knew not whether homeward, 
Or outward from the village, 
Or (chimes were ringing) churchward, 
He waited, (they were strangers) 
Till they were out of hearing 
To bid them both be happy. 
"Be happy, happy, happy, 
And seize the day of pleasure." 
The age-long theme is Age's. 
'Twas Age imposed on poems 
Their gather-roses burden 
To warn against the danger 
That overtaken lovers 
From being overflooded 
With happiness should have it. 
And yet not know they have it. 
But bid life seize the present? 
It lives less in the present 
Than in the future always, 
And less in both together 
Than in the past. The present 
Is too much for the senses, 
Too crowding, too confusing- 
Too present to imagine. 


Once I get the chance I'm going to come up with a poem analysis for this, but for now here is my favorite quote by Robert Frost."Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence." -Robert Frost
 
We've been going over some poems in my English class at school, and I'm a fan of Robert Frost so I'd like to share with you his amazing poem called The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  a
And sorry I could not travel both  b
And be one traveler, long I stood  a
And looked down one as far as I could  a
To where it bent in the undergrowth;  b

Then took the other, as just as fair,  c
And having perhaps the better claim  d  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,  c
Though as for that the passing there  c
Had worn them really about the same,  d

And both that morning equally lay  e
In leaves no step had trodden black.  f
Oh, I marked the first for another day!  e
Yet knowing how way leads on to way  e
I doubted if I should ever come back.  f

I shall be telling this with a sigh  g
Somewhere ages and ages hence:  h
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,  g
I took the one less traveled by,  g
And that has made all the difference.  h 
 
Robert Frost's poems always catch my attention because there is always some kind of mysteriousness lurking around at the end. Basically the road is a metaphor for two paths one can choose in their life. The "yellow wood" symbolizes change, usually in the autumn the color of the leaves will change. The rhyme scheme stays the same throughout the poem, which I have written out in green. Between the first and second stanza shift is shown, first the narrator looks down one road but the decides on the latter. He doesn't really know where which road will take him, but he knows after taking the chance he won't be able to come back. Some might misunderstand the poem, one might say "So the poem is telling us that when we come to a fork in the road, it's telling us to go the other way..." No, the narrator isn't telling the reader that at all. First of all, there isn't even a road that is "less traveled by" in the poem, they're both equal. Second, the narrator wants the reader to step back and take a look at it before continuing. In the last stanza the narrator foreshadows that he will regret his decision of taking the second path later on in his life. "I shall be telling this with a sigh/Somewhere ages and ages hence". The speaker knows that later down the road he will second guess himself. I think the thematic statement is about taking chances and having confidence in the choices that you make. Overall, I think this poem was wonderful along with many of Frost's other poems.
 
Saturday night I went to go see The Hunger Games movie and it was absolutely phenomenal! Haymitch was exactly how I imagined as well as Gale. My favorite part was when the dog popped out from the woods. My friend and I screamed and everyone started to laugh at us. 

So over the weekend I transferred to Team Peeta. With some convincing from a friend, I realized the Gale is rather a flat character and he's not in the books much. Also, Peeta will always be there for Katniss, they went through so much together. Yes, I know, Gale has been helping Katniss out for a long time at home. But Gale can never compare to what Katniss and Peeta went through together. Peeta will always be there for Katniss, and Peeta will always be able to lean on Katniss. I have now officially come to peace with the ending of the third book. Katniss and Peeta were meant to be together!

In Mockingjay Katniss and Peeta are able to establish their relationship once again, even after the capitol tortured Peeta with tracker jacker venom. They still got back together!

I will probably write more about this subject later!

Well goodbye for now people of the internet! Oh, and don't forget to see The Hunger Games! 
 

Next to Harry Potter, one of the next best series I've read were The Hunger Games

*Attention, there might be spoiler alerts.*

I'm really pumped for the movie this weekend. I've heard a lot of talk about who is better Peeta or Gale. I am Team Gale all the way! There is no such thing as Team Peeta.... No offense to Josh Hutcherson, it's Peeta that I don't like. Gale and Katniss should have gotten together, but enough about  ships. I can talk about that some other time. 

My favorite book in the series was the first one, it was a great way to start everything off. Once I picked up the book I could not put it down. The world of Panem sucked me in, and I couldn't come out till I finished the book. 

I waited about a year for the second book to come out and to be honest I was a little disappointed. Catching Fire was not as interesting as the first book. But then again The Hunger Games is a lot to live up to. The second book just wasn't as exciting as the first, from the beginning I could tell that Katniss and Peeta were going to come out alive. It was obvious Suzanne Collins would not kill her two main characters.

Mockingjay was much better than Catching Fire, more exciting by far. There was constant action and a little part of me wanted Peeta to remember the good things about Katniss again. The other part of me wanted him to not remember so she will fall in love with Gale. At the end of the book Gale basically disappeared and that really made me upset. I'll admit, when I finished the series I kind of didn't like the books for a while. But I think I'll read it through a few more times and then I'll understand the ending.

Later I realized why Collins put Katniss and Petta together, but still-

Team Gale all the way!! 
 
 
After I read C's post (Instant Legend) about Harry Potter "ships" I was rather disappointed in her Harmony opinion. Harry and Hermione could have worked! 

If you can't tell, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. Great series, I really recommend it if you haven't read them already.

In C's blog she said "This would never work. I can't believe people even think of this". 

Correction, it could totally work! The hero is supposed to get the girl, not his sidekick. Some may say "Who cares if J.K. Rowling switched up the classic pattern?" Another person may tell me to "Shut up and stop copying what I'm saying...." And I may say some other things back.... Kidding! ;)

 Well, I care! Rowling should have kept the classic pattern going. Doesn't anyone agree with me? Harry and Hermione would have been perfect. The two heroes! Harry wouldn't have got anywhere without Hermione. Hermione couldn't have done anything without Harry (he's the "chosen one"). All Ron did was just sit around while Harry and Hermione did everything! It's true, all you Romione fans can admit that now.

I think my point is proven. ;)