Poem

B-Ball

1  I am orange and perfect. I earn no trust.

2  I do it with uncertainty, as I must

3  Just as I am, loved or disliked

4  I am not nice or unkind

5  I am bounced as hard as most other balls

6  I don’t like to rise, I tend to fall

7  Indifferent to the score, either hoop works fine,

8  But if I had to choose, I hope that it’s mine.

9  I have been doing this since 1892,

10  Back when the number of players were few

11  To truly use me, it requires commitment

12  Many have tried but few have succeeded

13  Compared to then, my usage has exceeded

14  One of my favorite players to use me, is now on my cover

15  I wish I could go back to when he played,

16  “Oh Jerry West, look what you have made”

Techniques Used:

 (1)Imagery was used in the first line when describing the basketball. Using the word orange is a concrete word that tells the reader what color the object is. Using the word perfect is an abstract word that tells the reader the shape of the object. These words put a picture in the readers mind to what the basketball looks like.

(1,3,4,5)Anaphora is a repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line. It was used in like 1, 3, 4, and 5. I used the phrase “I am” repeated to put emphasis on what object I am. The more I did that, the more I felt like the readers would realize what a basketball looks like. 

(5)  Simile is when two things are compared using like or as. It was used in line 5 when it says, “I am bounced as hard as most other balls”. I used this because basketballs are bounced hard just like other balls, such as; tennis balls and volleyballs.

  (7)Diction is the choice of words you use. It was used in this poem in line 7, using the word indifferent which indicates that the ball doesn’t care where or how it scores, it just wants to score. This choice of word catches the reader’s eye and makes them realize that the basketball doesn't care how it scores.

 (12) Understatement is the presentation of something as being smaller or less important than it actually is. This was used in line 12 when saying, “Many have tried but few have succeeded.” This states that a lot of people have experienced playing basketball but only a few are successful. I believe this is an understatement because more than a few have succeeded. There are tons of NBA and college teams that have players who have all succeeded.

(14)  Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. This was used in line 14, when it says, “One of my favorite players to use me is now on my cover”, this is a symbol of what the basketball looks like. The NBA basketball has an image of Jerry West on it. The picture of Jerry West symbolizes the basketball.

(16)Apostrophe is when some absent or nonexistent person or thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding. It was used in the last line of the poem when talking to Jerry West who is on the NBA basketball and is now absent from basketball. Speaking to someone who is not alive or absent draws attention to the readers.

 Allusion was used in this poem historically. Throughout the entire poem I was talking about the basketball. In the second stanza, the first sentence states, “I have been doing this since 1892”. That is when basketball was invented.

(520 words)