Cayla Ryan Mrs.

Tieman CP English 12 March 23, 2014 Poetry Analysis

Ryan 1

In the poem The Story We Know, by Martha Collins talks about how a person goes day by day of starting the day with saying hello and saying good-bye at the end of the day. In the poem the author states in the first couple of sections people great other people by saying hello, shaking hands, and or asking how their day was. Then in the end you always say good-bye and repeat the same actions the next day and the days to follow. Some days may be different than others but no matter what you have to say good-bye in some way and that may even be good-night. Not only does the author talk about a flashback but she also talks about metaphors, repetition, imagery and symbols. The poem bring it together to help explain that life is repeating its self every day, but i ts up to you to change it or not. One device Collins uses to add the meaning of this poem is a metaphor that also works as a type of imagery. She writes "snow begins to whiten the air" the imagery of it is the snow literally covering the view. However, metaphorically, the snow is symbolizing the covering up of flaws and mistakes. This is the "hello" to the new times,

Ryan 2 and the "goodbye" to the old times. Another symbol Collins uses to add to the meaning of the poem is the "cold white sign of the way we all begin and end", which is symbolic of relationships and other meaningful thing beginning and ending. The "cold white sign" is symbolic of something that both starts and finishes a relationship, such as a wave or a hug. A second device Collins uses to add to the meaning of the poem is the repetition of the word "hello". It signifies that all encounters, no matter how strong the relationship, start with hello. The last "hello" also signifies that all relationships start with "hello", and end with "goodbye". At first you think the poem is going to be about, of course, a story among two or people about something only they knew about. In the end it was about how everyone everyday goes through the same routine. Life can repeat itself every day, but its up to you if you want to live your life repeating.