"God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children"

Yehuda Amichai compares the maturity that comes with growing up to the God’s pity for humans in his poem “God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children.” The poem basically states that only those who are most absolute in their innocence (or the naïve) and those who are true lovers (people who love others and show others mercy, compassion, and protection just as God himself would) will receive pity from him. The poem states, “God has pity on kindergarten children. / He has less pity on school children. / And on grownups he has no pity at all,” (Amichai 1-3). These lines indicated that those who are innocent and naïve are pure, and purity of soul and actions receives mercy. The poem also states, “But perhaps he will watch over true lovers / and have mercy on them and shelter them / like a tree over the old man / sleeping on a public bench” (Amichai 9-12). The last two lines in this stanza are both funny and powerful. They are both of these things because most would think that a homeless man with such misfortune would usually exemplify the image of a person that God has forgotten, but the image of the protective tree shows that God hasn’t forgotten him. The last stanza in this poem states, “Perhaps we too will give them / the last rare coins of compassion / that Mother handed down to us, / so that their happiness will protect us / now and in other days” (Amichai 13-17). This is the stanza that implies that as humans with wisdom and understanding, we have an obligation to follow God’s example and act as he would toward those who need it the most. I really liked this poem because I was raised to live my life to help those who need it the most, and I liked seeing the general concept of my upbringing so beautifully worded.

"If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem"

In his poem, “If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem,” Yeruda Amichai compares the heavenly city of Jerusalem. Understanding that Amichai was raised Jewish helps one understand the loving commitment that he feels for Jerusalem, thus the creation of such a powerful and emotional comparison. I really liked this poem because even though I am no Jewish (I am a Christian), I see Jerusalem as a very influential city because that is where The Bible describes the birth of Jesus Christ. So because I feel very strongly about God and Jesus, I had a very emotional response when I read this poem because if there is one thing in this world that I love more than God, it is my mother.

"Squares and Angles" Vs. "Little Boxes"

We have read many poems in World Classics, and of all of them, my favorite is has been "Squares and Angles" by Alfonsina Storni. “Squares and Angles” is a poem about conformity and the sadness, or perhaps shock, that it caused Storni. We can maybe think that it caused her sadness and shock because she said, “Yesterday I myself cried a tear, / My God- square” (8-9). Her use of “My God” (9) makes me think that she is shocked to be square, like the rest of the people living in her neighborhood, but it also makes me think that it feels her with dread because why else would she have cried a tear? Maybe it’s because she already knew that she was square, or maybe it is because the shock truly alarmed her.
While I was reading “Squares and Angles” it actually reminded me a lot of “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds. I first heard the song “Squares and Angles” on Showtime’s television series, Weeds. The song is very similar to the poem because they both refer to all the immediate-surrounding houses as being similar to each other. Storni wrote, “Houses in a row, houses in a row, / Houses in a row. / Squares, squares, squares. / Houses in a row” (1-4), and Reynolds wrote, “Little boxes on the hillside, / Little boxes made of ticky tacky, / Little boxes on the hillside, / Little boxes all the same” (1-4). The similarity between the two pieces is very apparent, and it helped me like and understand the poem a little better because I love the song.

And if you're interested, here is a link to "Little Boxes." :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8StRAJCork