June 11
By David Lehman
It's my birthday I've got an empty
stomach and the desire to be
lazy in the hammock and maybe
go for a cool swim on a hot day
with the trombone in Sinatra's
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
in my head and then to break for
lunch a corned-beef sandwich and Pepsi
with plenty of ice cubes unlike France
where they put one measly ice cube
in your expensive Coke and when
you ask for more they argue with
you they say this way you get more
Coke for the money showing they
completely misunderstand the nature of
American soft drinks which are an
excuse for ice cubes still I wouldn't
mind being there for a couple of
days Philip Larkin's attitude
toward China comes to mind when
asked if he'd like to go there he said
yes if he could return the same day
The poem “June 11” by David Lehman relates very much to my position statement of “This is the story of America. Everybody’s doing what they’re suppose to do.” In “June 11” it’s the narrator’s birthday and he/she is saying what they have the desire to do on their birthday. He/she is saying what they think they’re suppose to do on their birthday. They aren’t going to do what other people tell him/her to do, he/she is going to do what they want to do and what they think they are suppose to do. According to the poem he/she wants to eats, lay in a hammock,go for a cool swim, eat corned-beef sandwich and pepsi with plenty of ice for lunch. The poem notes that only in America do we understand the nature of American soft drinks because we put multiple ice cubes in our soft drinks rather than just one like in France, “showing they completely misunderstand the nature of American soft drinks.” The narrator is saying what they’re suppose to do on their birthday.
By David Lehman
It's my birthday I've got an empty
stomach and the desire to be
lazy in the hammock and maybe
go for a cool swim on a hot day
with the trombone in Sinatra's
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
in my head and then to break for
lunch a corned-beef sandwich and Pepsi
with plenty of ice cubes unlike France
where they put one measly ice cube
in your expensive Coke and when
you ask for more they argue with
you they say this way you get more
Coke for the money showing they
completely misunderstand the nature of
American soft drinks which are an
excuse for ice cubes still I wouldn't
mind being there for a couple of
days Philip Larkin's attitude
toward China comes to mind when
asked if he'd like to go there he said
yes if he could return the same day
The poem “June 11” by David Lehman relates very much to my position statement of “This is the story of America. Everybody’s doing what they’re suppose to do.” In “June 11” it’s the narrator’s birthday and he/she is saying what they have the desire to do on their birthday. He/she is saying what they think they’re suppose to do on their birthday. They aren’t going to do what other people tell him/her to do, he/she is going to do what they want to do and what they think they are suppose to do. According to the poem he/she wants to eats, lay in a hammock,go for a cool swim, eat corned-beef sandwich and pepsi with plenty of ice for lunch. The poem notes that only in America do we understand the nature of American soft drinks because we put multiple ice cubes in our soft drinks rather than just one like in France, “showing they completely misunderstand the nature of American soft drinks.” The narrator is saying what they’re suppose to do on their birthday.