Jacob Lanes

Mrs. Bahr B4
Poem Essay
Based on what I found in the poems I’ve read, I found a common theme shared
between the poems of Emily Dickinson (“It’s All I Have to Bring today”) and Alice Walker
(“We Alone”). The shared theme I’ve found is (in my opinion) that common things
should be shown as valuable or even priceless. I think this because both poems show a
bias towards the much more common things (such as shells, sand or dirt).

In her poem, Emily Dickinson develops her theme in a very laid-back, straight-
forward manner. Despite having such a simple theme, the author seems to repeat a
theme of nature, using shells and other objects to try to convince the reader to change
their concept of value. Emily’s theme progresses in a more peaceful method than Alice
Walker’s, choosing to not attack the reader, but to attempt to influence them to her side.

Alice Walker goes a completely different direction in her poem, “We Alone”,
choosing to direct her passion of the subject at a wider population than just the reader.