TOW #6 - Just Gonna Be Me (nonfiction text)

This week for my TOW I chose to read a poem. I found a nonfiction poem by a writer named Phoebs Lyle. It lists her as a writer, actor, singer, director and artist. This gives a sense of credibility in the medium for which she is writing. She is clearly well established as a person of artistic talent and writing is one of her modes.
     The poem is about her preparing to preform on stage and that for once she is not afraid because she has people who support her. Considering the context of the poem I believe that she is writing for those who have held her back before. There is a sense of confidence and accomplishment that radiates from this poem. She repeats the idea that she is ready to go out and be true to herself. Also there is a stanza that repeats several times throughout the poem and one line that stands out to make me believe she is writing to those who have held her back is "I'm just gonna be me, I've got everything, You'll get what you need, and see" (Lyle). This is a line of confidence that shows that those who have put her down before will pay the price for their mistreatment but for now she is well on her way for the better. But because she is so confident it appears to me that she is also writing this to herself. It is as if it is a reminder that she is strong, and independent and has the ability to pursue her dreams without needing to worry about the opinions of others.
     The fact that this material is written in the form of a poem makes the meaning that much stronger. Poems are filled with emotion and have a specific structure that plays into the meaning of the text. This poem specifically is broken down into 7 stanzas and as I mentioned before there is a particular stanza that repeats several times. This is the strongest stanza as well because it is the one where she is saying she is happy to be herself and isn't going to let anyone hold her back. The fact that this is repeated really drives the message home that she is proud of herself and really wants to convey that.
    In my opinion the poem wasn't necessarily a very good one quite honestly. It lacked originality and depth. It repeated similar basic phrases and didn't show much depth of thought nor word choice. The message was straight forward and definitely powerful so that was a positive attribute but overall I was not very impressed.

http://allpoetry.com/poem/11451267-Just-gonna-be-me-by-Phoebs-Lyle