Hi everyone, I’m Jasmine Padgett. I’m going for my BA in Creative Writing and English with Concentration in Poetry. Not only am I a newlywed but we have a blended family. I have one daughter and a son who passed and he has 5 kids (4 are grown the youngest test is same age as my daughter. Plus he has 7 grandchildren 🤯🤪). Life is chaotic but so full of love. My family is my inspiration.

I write poetry to make the invisible visible—to give voice to outsider experiences, emotional labor, and the quiet ache of stepparenting. My work often explores themes of belonging, reclamation, and the tension between love and recognition in blended families. I believe poetry can be both personal and communal—a way to heal, connect, and advocate.

My potential audience includes:

• People navigating nontraditional family roles, especially stepmothers and blended families

• Readers who feel unseen or unspoken for

• Creative communities invested in emotional truth, advocacy, and multidimensional storytelling

I hope my poetry finds its way into workshops, spoken word spaces, and eventually a publishable manuscript. I want it to live where people need it most—on stages, in classrooms, and in the hands of those who’ve been told their stories don’t matter.

✨ Influences That Shaped Me

• Shel Silverstein
  His playful, whimsical style taught me that poetry can be accessible and emotionally rich—even when it’s deceptively simple. I admire how he invites readers of all ages into wonder and reflection.

• “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
  This poem is a masterclass in resilience and reclamation. Angelou’s voice is unapologetic, rhythmic, and deeply rooted in ancestral strength. I return to it often when I need to remember that rising is a poetic act.

• Ginny’s poetry in Ginny & Georgia
  Her style blends raw emotion with contemporary rhythm—often confessional, sometimes messy, always honest. I resonate with how her poems reflect the complexity of identity, family, and growing up in-between.

These influences have helped me shape a voice that’s lyrical but grounded, emotionally layered, and committed to truth-telling. I’m excited to read your work and grow together in this poetic environment.

Warmly,
Jasmine

Overall Feedback

Great work on your posts, Jasmine! Your initial post was engaging and thorough. It was, by far, one of the best I received for this assignment. 

 Your response posts were well written and supportive and personable. I really appreciated the depth of each of your response posts.

In these posts, you not only establish yourself as a positive, academic leader in the course. You also establish yourself as someone already working at a graduate level.

Take care,
Nicky

Rubric

• Comprehension (exceeds expectations 100%): Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail 

• Timeliness (exceeds expectations 100%): Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement (exceeds expectations 100%): Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail 

• Clear Communication (exceeds expectations 100%): Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Jasmine Padgett

Instructor: Nicole Yurcaba

ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop

1-2 Assignment: Build Your Reading List

Personal Reading List

1. Maya  Angelou - “Phenomenal Woman”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman

2. Maya Angelou - “The Mothering Blackness”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

3. Marilyn Chin - “Twenty Five Haiku”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57155/twenty-five-haiku

4. Marilyn Chin - “Brown Girl Manifesto (Too)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56943/brown-girl-manifesto-too

5. Nikki Giovanni - “Mothers”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48228/mothers

6. Nikki Giovanni - “No Complaints”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/90181/no-complaints

7. Ross Gay - “Wedding Poem”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem

8. Ross Gay - “Poem to My Child, If Ever You Shall Be”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/92016/poem-to-my-child-if-ever-you-shall-be

Rationale for Selection

This reading list reflects a deliberate blend of poets whose work resonates with my lived experience, creative mission, and desire to explore new forms. I selected these poems for their emotional depth, cultural specificity, and stylistic range. Maya Angelou’s work grounds me in embodied confidence and maternal strength. Marilyn Chin’s poems challenge form and identity with sharp wit and layered imagery. Nikki Giovanni’s voice is both intimate and political, while Ross Gay’s tenderness and lyricism offer a model for writing love and legacy with vulnerability. Each poem invites me to consider how language can hold contradiction—grief and joy, rage and grace, invisibility and presence. These are the tensions I navigate in my own poetry, especially as I write from the margins of stepparenting, outsiderhood, and reclamation.

Style Comparison & Technique Integration

My poetic voice is rooted in emotional truth, multidimensional storytelling, and advocacy for outsider narratives. These poems offer techniques I plan to integrate into my own work.

• Repetition and Rhythm: In Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman,” the refrain “It’s in the…” builds a cadence that affirms identity through embodiment. I aim to use similar repetition in my spoken word pieces to emphasize emotional labor and resilience in stepparenting.

• Imagistic Compression: Chin’s “Twenty-Five Haiku” distills complex ideas into brief, vivid moments. I’m inspired to experiment with haiku or micro-poems that capture fleeting but powerful scenes—like folding my stepson’s laundry or waiting outside his school.

• Conversational Tone with Philosophical Weight: Giovanni’s “No Complaints” uses plainspoken language to explore deep emotional terrain. I see this as a model for writing about blended family dynamics in a way that’s accessible yet profound.

• Tender Speculation: Ross Gay’s “Poem to My Child…” imagines a future child with wonder and care. This mirrors my own longing to be seen as a parent, even when I’m not called “Mom.” I plan to write more poems that imagine future connection as a form of hope and healing.

• Cultural and Political Assertion: Chin’s “Brown Girl Manifesto (Too)” is unapologetically bold. It reminds me to write with fire when reclaiming space for stepmothers, for women of color, for those whose love and labor are often erased.

These poems don’t just reflect my themes—they stretch my form, sharpen my voice, and challenge me to write with greater clarity, courage, and craft.

References

Angelou, Maya. “Phenomenal Woman.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman

Angelou, Maya. “The Mothering Blackness.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

Chin, Marilyn. “Brown Girl Manifesto (Too).” Poetry Foundation, 2012,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56943/brown-girl-manifesto-too

Chin, Marilyn. “Twenty-Five Haiku.” Poetry Foundation, 2012,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57155/twenty-five-haiku

Gay, Ross. “Poem to My Child, If You Ever Shall Be.” Poetry Foundation, 2015,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/92016/poem-to-my-child-if-ever-you-shall-be

Gay, Ross. “Wedding Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 2011,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem

Giovanni, Nikki. “Mothers.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48228/mothers

Giovanni, Nikki. “No Complaints.” Poetry Foundation, 2015,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/90181/no-complaints

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine!

Not only do you exceed assignment requirements, you submit what is--by far--one of the best submissions for this assignment. Thank you! You are definitely working at a graduate level!

All best,

Nicky 

Rubric

• Personal Reading List
  Compiles a list of six to eight poems to begin personal reading list. Exceeds Expectations.

• Explanation
  Exceeds expectations and provides exceptional detail in explaining how specific techniques may be applied into own work.

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Question 1: Rhyme scheme is:

A. The way a poem makes the reader feel.
B. A planned pattern in poems where lines end with words that have similar vowel sounds, especially in formal poems.
C. Poetry that is written in response to another work of art, which can be another piece of writing or music, sculpture, or painting.
D. A turn of idea or thought that occurs between the octave and sestet in an Italian sonnet.

Question 2: _________ refers to a kind of long, narrative poem used to convey stories of adventure.

A. Assonance
B. Ekphrasis
C. Epithalamium
D. Epic poetry

Question 3: ________ occurs when a thought or sentence continues from one poetic line to the next.

A. Allegory
B. Refrain
C. Enjambment
D. Meter

Question 4: ________ is the process of editing and reconstructing poems in drafts.

A. Publishing
B. Prosody
C. Revision
D. Application

Question 5: A simile:

A. Is a planned repetition of lines in a formal poem.
B. Comes at the end of an English sonnet.
C. Compares two things, using the terms "like" or "as."
D. Makes a reference outside the poem to another event, piece of art, or person.

Question 6: Poems are based on the unit of the _________.

A. Title

B. Stanza
C. Sentence
D. Line

Question 7: ________ poetry does not use a standard meter.

Question options:
A. Symbolic
B. Epic
C. French
D. Free verse

Question 8: __________ compares ideas in a juxtaposition. Example: "The brain is a bright razor."

A. Metaphor
B. Alliteration
C. Dactylic tetrameter
D. Cowboy poetry

Question 9: _________ signifies the words or phrases chosen for a piece of writing.

A. Diction
B. Language
C. Syntax
D. Imagery

Question 10: A ______ is a poem written in a block of text that does not use a traditional poetic line.
A. Sestina
B. Prose poem
C. Limerick
D. Lyric

Ross Gay’s “Wedding Poem” is a luminous example of how specificity and generosity of voice can transform a poem into a living, breathing offering. From the very first line—“Friends, I am here to modestly report”—Gay positions himself not as a distant observer but as a participant in joy. His tone is conversational, celebratory, and deeply rooted in the sensory world.

One of the most striking segments is:

“...the way the sweet potato in my teeth / tastes like the sun’s tongue / and the way the sun, / in its tonguey sweetness, / makes me want to be kissed.”

This passage is a masterclass in metaphor. Gay doesn’t just describe the taste—he reimagines it. The “sun’s tongue” is unexpected, playful, and intimate. It’s not a cliché; it’s a sensory leap that invites the reader into a moment of embodied joy. His use of enjambment also keeps the momentum flowing, mimicking the breathless excitement of celebration.

What makes Gay’s voice unique is his radical tenderness. He writes with emotional clarity, but never sentimentality. His metaphors are grounded in the body, the earth, and the everyday—sweet potatoes, sun, kisses—yet they carry spiritual weight. There’s no lofty abstraction here. Instead, Gay builds his poem from the ground up, using language that feels lived-in and generous.

Inspired by Gay’s technique of joyful specificity and metaphor rooted in sensory experience, I wrote the following poem:

“Laundry Poem” after Ross Gay

Today, I fold the shirts she never thanks me for—
the ones with ketchup ghosts and grass-stained elbows—
and I think, maybe this is love:
the quiet kind,
the kind that smells like dryer sheets and
last week’s apology.

The socks are mismatched,
but they still warm her feet.
I press the towel to my face
and it smells like her,
like childhood and bathwater and
the part of the day she forgets I exist.

Still, I fold.
Still, I stack.
Still, I love.
And the sun through the window
makes the lint sparkle
like it’s proud of me.

This poem draws on my parenting experience and the invisible labor that often goes unnoticed. Like Gay, I wanted to root the metaphor in the sensory world—laundry, towels, lint—and let the emotional truth rise from there. It’s not lofty, but it’s mine. And that’s the kind of poem I want to keep writing.

Looking forward to reading everyone’s work and seeing how you build poems only you can write.

Warmly,
Jasmine Padgett

Gay, Ross. “Wedding Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 2011,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine!

Thank you for always going above and beyond assignment requirements. Your engagement with the course is fantastic. You set a high bar of academic excellence in the course that is absolutely refreshing. Thank you!

Nicky

Rubric

• Comprehension
  Exceeds Expectations. Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail 

• Timeliness
  Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement
  Exceeds Expectations. Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Jasmine Padgett (Samuel)

November 2, 2025

ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop
Instructor: Nicole Yurcaba

SNHU

2-2 Milestone One: Poetry Submission 1 and Summary

Poem One: after Ross Gay “Wedding Poem”

“Laundry Poem”
By: Jasmine Padgett

today, I fold the shirts she never thanks me for—
the ones with ketchup ghosts and grass-stained elbows—
and I think, maybe this is love:
the quiet kind,
the kind that smells like dryer sheets and
last week’s apology.

the socks are mismatched,
but they still warm her feet.
I press the towel to my face
and it smells like her,
like childhood and bathwater and
the part of the day she forgets I exist.

still, I fold.
still, I stack.
still, I love.
and the sun through the window
makes the lint sparkle
like it’s proud of me.

Poem Two: after Nikki Giovanni “No Complaints.”

“No Complaints, Just Questions”
By: Jasmine Padgett

i don’t complain
when he forgets my birthday
or calls me jasmine instead of mom
i just ask if he wants a snack
and if he slept okay

i don’t complain
when the silence stretches
like a hallway i’m not allowed to walk down
i just ask
if he needs help with homework
and if he wants me to watch his game

i don’t complain
when his mother’s name
is the only one he says with softness
i just ask
if he wants to go to the YMCA
and if he remembers
that i showed up
even when it hurt

Poem Three: after Marilyn Chin “Twenty-Five Haiku.”

“Haiku for the Unnamed Bond”
By: Jasmine Padgett

his shoes by the door
not mine, but i still tie them—
love without label

he calls me jasmine
not mom, not step, just jasmine—
i answer anyway

the dinner is cold
but he eats it without words—
gratitude in crumbs

i braid her hair tight
so she feels me in the strands—
mothering in touch

i watch from the porch
as they laugh without my name—
still, i stay and sweep

Poem Four: after Maya Angelou “The Mothering Blackness”

“Mothering in the Margins”
By: Jasmine Padgett

i am the hush
between his tantrum and his sleep
the shadow that tucks him in
without being asked

i am the warmth
that waits in the hallway
when he slams the door
and forgets i made his lunch

i am the ache
that does not ask for praise
but still sings
when he calls her mother
and leaves me unnamed

i am the abyss
of mothering without blood
without history
without permission
but with love
that does not need
to be returned
to be real

Summary

These four poems explore the emotional terrain of stepparenting and motherhood through my lived experience. I was inspired by the tension between visibility and invisibility—how love often exists in the quiet, unacknowledged spaces. I experimented with metaphor, enjambment, and repetition to evoke tenderness and ache, drawing stylistic influence from Ross Gay’s joyful specificity, Nikki Giovanni’s conversational tone, Marilyn Chin’s haiku compression, and Maya Angelou’s lyrical depth. My goal was to create poems that feel intimate and grounded, using sensory detail and figurative language to reimagine everyday acts of care. Through these pieces, I hope to claim space for outsider narratives and show that love, even when unreturned, is still poetry.

References

Angelou, Maya. “The Mothering Blackness.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

Chin, Marilyn. “Twenty-Five Haiku.” Poetry Foundation, 2012,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57155/twenty-five-haiku

Gay, Ross. “Wedding Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 2011,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem

Giovanni, Nikki. “No Complaints.” Poetry Foundation, 2015,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/90181/no-complaints

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine,

As you revise, focus on these areas:

1.) Word Choice and Precision--avoid generalities;

2.) eliminate words like "and" and "but" to uplift the imagery. Also, feel free to experiment more with structure, form, and punctuation.

The structures of your poems work well. I would consider submitting these poems to this place: https://www.idahoreview.org/submit 

Rubric

• Voice: Coherent Voice
  Maintains a coherent voice throughout the poems. Exceeds expectations.

• Voice: Tone and Mood
  Utilizes a recognizable voice to enhance the tone and mood of poems. Exceeds expectations. 

• Voice: Writing Techniques
  Partially meets expectations. Applies writing techniques used by successful poets analyzed during the course to ensure the consistency of the strength of the voice being developed, but not all techniques are appropriate for the genre  

• Sound Elements: Meaning
  Exceeds expectations. Employs appropriate sound elements to support each poem’s meaning 

• Sound Elements: Tone
  Exceeds expectations. Employs appropriate sound elements to support the tone of each poem 

• Imagery: Figurative Language
  Partially meets expectations. Incorporates figurative language to depict the ordinary, but some figures of speech are not appropriate, or depiction of the ordinary is familiar or cliché  

• Imagery: Consistent Voice and Tone
  Exceeds expectations. Combines figurative language with literal descriptions in developing a consistent voice and tone in the poetry  

• Summary
  Exceeds expectations. Includes a summary that provides information about the poems being submitted 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations. Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience 

Poem One: after Ross Gay “Wedding Poem”

“Laundry Poem”
By: Jasmine Padgett

today, I fold the shirts she never thanks me for—
the ones with ketchup ghosts and grass-stained elbows—
and I think, maybe this is love:
the quiet kind,
the kind that smells like dryer sheets and
last week’s apology.

the socks are mismatched,
but they still warm her feet.
I press the towel to my face
and it smells like her,
like childhood and bathwater and
the part of the day she forgets I exist.

still, I fold.
still, I stack.
still, I love.
and the sun through the window
makes the lint sparkle
like it’s proud of me.

Poem Two: after Nikki Giovanni “No Complaints.”

“No Complaints, Just Questions”
By: Jasmine Padgett

i don’t complain
when he forgets my birthday
or calls me jasmine instead of mom
i just ask if he wants a snack
and if he slept okay

i don’t complain
when the silence stretches
like a hallway i’m not allowed to walk down
i just ask
if he needs help with homework
and if he wants me to watch his game

i don’t complain
when his mother’s name
is the only one he says with softness
i just ask
if he wants to go to the YMCA
and if he remembers
that i showed up
even when it hurt

Poem Three: after Marilyn Chin “Twenty-Five Haiku.”

“Haiku for the Unnamed Bond”
By: Jasmine Padgett

his shoes by the door
not mine, but i still tie them—
love without label

he calls me jasmine
not mom, not step, just jasmine—
i answer anyway

the dinner is cold
but he eats it without words—
gratitude in crumbs

i braid her hair tight
so she feels me in the strands—
mothering in touch

i watch from the porch
as they laugh without my name—
still, i stay and sweep

Poem Four: after Maya Angelou “The Mothering Blackness”

“Mothering in the Margins”
By: Jasmine Padgett

i am the hush
between his tantrum and his sleep
the shadow that tucks him in
without being asked

i am the warmth
that waits in the hallway
when he slams the door
and forgets i made his lunch

i am the ache
that does not ask for praise
but still sings
when he calls her mother
and leaves me unnamed

i am the abyss
of mothering without blood
without history
without permission
but with love
that does not need
to be returned
to be real

Peer Reviews:
1. Autumn Blackwood
Hi Jasmine,

Thanks so much for sharing this week! I'm going to use the rubric for the assignment so I make sure to hit on everything! Here's my feedback below:

• Has your peer taken creative risks in the poems, especially in the areas of style and voice?

  • In "Laundry Poem" I like what I'm going to call 'inconsistency,' which has negative connotations, but what I mean is that I can't find a solid structure through it - more free verse which I feel is great for the energy of this poem. It gives the feeling of flitting about, wraith like in the hopeful/hopeless tension that is threaded throughout "the part of the day she forgets I exist."
    I'd say that branches out as the poem itself is yearning for some stability with the relationship of the narrator and the stepson - that fractured poem looking for stability is a beautiful juxtaposition, in my eyes. 

• How is your peer's unique voice emerging through these poems?

  • I think "Mothering in the Margins" really shows the unique voice with all the affirmative "I am" statements. It's a reclamation of your voice and who you are by way of what you do. How your being and your living and doing are all wrapped up into one. You love not because it's something you're supposed to do, but rather just who you are as a person and I think that throughout all four poems we can see that thread. 

• What emerging themes or similar qualities do you see among the poems?

  • Like I touched on above, that thread of motherhood, navigating motherhood and step-parenthood is a core theme I've seen throughout all of these poems, which I think is fascinating given all the different forms and structures of each entry. There also seems to be a quiet hope that's running throughout each, that with enough time and patience the hurt will fade away and you'll finally have the acceptance that you're looking to receive, the same acceptance that you've given unconditionally - really reaffirmed with the last lines of "but with love // that does not need // to be returned // to be real"

I think you did a great job and I loved reading your work! Thanks! 

Autumn

2. Adonis Diaz
Feedback for "Laundry Poem" and "Haiku for the Unnamed Bond"

One creative element I see repeated in "Laundry Poem" and "Haiku for the Unnamed Bond" is a motif that is repeated. "Still I..." A poem I enjoy is titled I Sit and Sew by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson. She utilizes a repetition of "Still, I sit and sew" in each stanza to highlight the speaker's sense of frustration with mundane and repetitive tasks. You do something similar with "still, I fold. / still, I stack. / still, I love." and "still, i stay and sweep." You differ, however, in that the repetition is not meant to be something that is driving the speaker to lunacy. You exhibit a feeling of ritual and honor in the actions referenced in the poem, a sort of comfort in these repetitive actions. It's a warm and beautiful element utilization, and I want to commend you for it.

Your poetic voice here is full of love and nurturing. In both "Laundry Poem" and "Haiku for the Unnamed Bond," you tell a nuanced story about feeling left behind as a mother and a wholesome language of love without having to explain that to the reader. The love is in the details, and it feels as though you are quite talented at knowing where to toe the line between such detail and electing to leave things up to interpretation. You never directly mention feelings of compassion or that of being overlooked as a mother in society by children. You show it expertly.

I cherish the vast array of themes that center around motherhood in your poetry, and I am eager to see more. I personally enjoy poetry about women and their experiences, and your exploration of step-motherhood, rejection, and solitude in these poems that all align with each other feels like a great collection so far.

Consider me a big fan!

Adonis.

3. Brittney Bishop
Hello Jasmine,

I enjoyed reading all four of your poems! I think your voice and style shine through, especially in “No complaints, Just questions”. You talk about the everyday struggles of being a stepparent, your voice is quiet but powerful. You take creative risk in the aspect of using questions to replace emotions such as feeling hurt or frustration. Instead of expressing anger or sadness, you suppress these emotions for the sake of the child. Your voice is consistently calm but emotional across all four poems. You demonstrate showing love without words but actions. For instance, in “Laundry” you show this through folding their laundry or in “Mothering in the Margins” you talk about making the child’s lunch for them. Your voice is soft but impactful by talking about real issues of parenting without being viewed completely as a parent. One theme across all poems is the theme of caregiving even when it is not appreciated. You capture what it means to be a parent, which is a thankless job within itself.

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine,

Fantastic work! Your responses are some of the most thorough I read for this workshop. Thank you for your attention to detail as well as your personable approach to providing feedback. You truly exhibit a dedication to poetry that is inspiring. Thank you!

Nicky 

Rubric

• Creative Risks
  Exceeds expectations, provides exceptional detail, and correctly utilizes course-related vocabulary 

• Voice
  Exceeds expectations and provides exceptional detail and correctly utilizes course-related vocabulary 

• Theme
  Exceeds expectations and correctly applies course-related vocabulary 

• Engagement
  Responds to two poems of two peers 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

3-2 Journal: Language in Depth
Jasmine A. Padgett
SNHU
ENG 348: INT Poetry Writing Workshop
Instructor Nicole Yurcaba
November 9, 2025

3-2 Language in Depth
My Original Poem:
“Mothering in the Margins”
By: Jasmine Padgett

i am the hush
between his tantrum and his sleep
the shadow that tucks him in
without being asked

i am the warmth
that waits in the hallway
when he slams the door
and forgets i made his lunch

i am the ache
that does not ask for praise
but still sings
when he calls her mother
and leaves me unnamed

i am the abyss
of mothering without blood
without history
without permission
but with love
that does not need
to be returned
to be real

Comparison Poem: Maya Angelou “The Mothering Blackness” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

Explanation of Comparison: In my poem “Mothering in the Margins,” I use restrained imagery and emotional specificity to evoke the experience of stepparenting from an outsider’s perspective. The poem relies on quiet metaphors—“the hush,” “the warmth,” “the ache”—to express love that is unseen, unreciprocated, yet deeply felt. I compare this to Maya Angelou’s “The Mothering Blackness,” which uses repetition and expansive metaphor to portray a maternal figure as a source of unconditional love and grounding. Angelou writes, “She came out of the shadows / and smiled at me,” using sensory language to convey emotional restoration. Both poems center love that does not demand recognition, but Angelou’s poem leans into mythic scale, while mine remains intimate and shadowed.

My Revised Poem

“I Wait”
By: Jasmine Padgett

I am the hush
between his tantrum and sleep.

I am the warmth
in the hallway’s hush.

I am the ache
that sings unnamed.

I am the shadow
who tucks him in
without being asked.

I am the abyss
of mothering without blood,
without history,
without permission—
but with love
that waits,
that waits,
that waits.

Explanation of Comparing My Original Poem “Mothering in the Margins” and My Revised Poem “I Wait”: Both versions of my poem—“Mothering in the Margins” and “I Wait”—carry the emotional architecture of my authorial voice: spare language, rhythmic restraint, and a focus on invisible labor. In both, I use metaphor to express the ache of stepparenting from the margins, where love is offered without recognition. The original poem leans into intimacy and quiet vulnerability. Its lowercase styling and enjambment reflect the speaker’s unacknowledged role, while phrases like “the ache that does not ask for praise” and “love that does not need to be returned to be real” articulate a love that is both selfless and aching.

In the revised version, “I Wait,” I maintain this emotional core but refine the technique. The repetition of “I am…” and “that waits…” adds liturgical rhythm, transforming the speaker from invisible to mythic. The shift to a more formal structure and capitalized “I” signals a reclamation of voice. While the original whispers, the revision chants. Yet both poems remain rooted in the same truth: mothering without blood, without permission, but with enduring love. I shifted from a third-person point of view voiced by an outsider to a first-person point of view voiced directly by the stepmother. By doing this, it centers my voice more intimately, allowing the reader to feel the quiet persistence and emotional labor from within.

This revision reveals a development in my voice—not a departure, but a deepening. I’ve learned to use rhythm and echo to amplify emotional resonance without losing the restraint that defines my style. My voice continues to honor the quiet, the unnamed, and the in-between—but now with a stronger pulse and clearer shape. The revision doesn’t overwrite the original; it answers it.

References

Angelou, Maya. “The Mothering Blackness.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine,

Your reflection is, by far, one of the most insightful and analytical that I received for this assignment. Thank you! 

As for the poem, you should consider submitting it here: https://www.clmp.org/members/open-submission/98842-2/. 

All best,

Nicky 

Rubric

• Imagery, Specificity, and Use of the Senses
  Meets Expectations: Compares original poem and published poem’s use of imagery, specificity, and use of the senses

• New Poem
  Meets Expectations: Creates a new version of a previously written poem utilizing a technique related to imagery, specificity, or the senses 

• Your Authorial Voice
  Exceeds Expectations: Exceeds expectations and demonstrates a sophisticated explanation of common elements of one’s authorial voice present in both poems or how one’s voice has developed as a result of the revision 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds Expectations: Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

In Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, the soundscape is built on repetition and rhythmic assertion. The refrain “I’m a woman / Phenomenally” punctuates each stanza like a heartbeat, reinforcing identity through sonic insistence. Angelou’s use of internal rhyme (“hips,” “lips,” “steps”) and alliteration (“sun of my smile”) creates a musicality that moves with confidence, echoing the poem’s theme of embodied power. In contrast, Marilyn Chin’s Brown Girl Manifesto (Too) uses enjambment and abrupt line breaks to disrupt rhythm intentionally. Her movement is jagged, defiant—each line a protest against containment. Chin’s sonic choices (harsh consonants, clipped phrasing) mirror the poem’s political urgency, crafting a voice that resists assimilation and demands space.

Inspired by Angelou’s rhythmic repetition and Chin’s strategic fragmentation, I wrote the following lines using refrain and enjambment as my chosen sound and movement elements:

I carry the salt of my mother’s voice— in my mouth, in my marrow, in my no. I carry the salt of my mother’s voice— when I say stop, when I say mine.

The repeated line anchors the poem emotionally, while the enjambment allows each phrase to spill into the next, mimicking the layered inheritance of voice and resistance. This interplay of rhythm and rupture helps me explore how sound can hold both tenderness and boundary.

Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. “Phenomenal Woman.” Poetry Foundation,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman 

Chin, Marilyn. “Brown Girl Manifesto (Too).” Poetry Foundation,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56943/brown-girl-manifesto-too 

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine,

Thank you so much for your posts and excellent discussions this week! You continue to be a course leader. Thank you!

Nicky 

Rubric

• Comprehension
  Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail  

• Timeliness
  Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement
  Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

1. Accent and meter are the same thing.
   A. True
   B. False
   
   

2. Memory is important in poetry because:
   A.  A poet should never forget to write every day.
   B.  Real poets should memorize thousands of poems over the course of their lives.
   C.  It is where poets draw their singular experience from to create original works.
   D. A good poem is one that is easy to memorize.
   
   

3. Why should poets avoid clichés?
   A.  Clichés are put to better use in fiction.
   B.  A poet needs to write from his or her unique experience.
   C.  They are spent and dead units of language that no longer carry poetic interest.
   D.  Both b and c
   
   

4. ________ occurs when consonant sounds are used in close succession in a poem to create sonic interest.
   A.  Constructivism
   B.  Assonance
   C.  Alliteration
   D. Allusion
   
   

5. Poetry must be a tumultuous spillover of desperate emotion, created by a poet who needs to scream his or her thoughts to the universe.
   A. True
   B. False
   
   

6. Which of the following is a concrete word?
   A. Hate
   B. Longing
   C. Love
   D. Chicken
   
   

7. Poems can be completely made up of nonsense language or invented dialects.
   A. True
   B. False
   
   

8. _________ consists of metaphor, simile, allusion, and other poetic tools that push words beyond the literal to create new meaning or emotional resonance.
   A. Figurative Language
   B. Allegory
   C. Repetition
   D. Blank Verse
   
   

9. How you write a poem is as important as the content of the poem.
   A. True
   B. False
   
   

10. Sound, content, and composition on the page combine to create a poet's:
    A. Sense
    B. Style
    C. Manuscript
    D. Ouvre

Poem (Experiment: “Write a poem consisting entirely of questions”)

Who decides which silences are sacred? 
Whose hands keep the ledger of invisible labor? 
What name do I carry when none fits? 
Where does belonging begin—at the threshold, or in the refusal? 
Why does grief echo louder in borrowed rooms? 
How many times can a body be asked to split itself in two? 
Who profits from the ache of outsiders? 
What happens when the story refuses its ending? 

Reflection

For this exercise, I selected Bernstein’s experiment of writing a poem entirely in questions. This disruption forced me to abandon the comfort of declarative statements and instead lean into uncertainty as a generative space. Normally, my voice balances clarity with emotional resonance, but here the experiment demanded that I relinquish closure.

By framing the poem as a series of questions, my voice shifted from authoritative to invitational. Each line resists resolution, compelling the reader to sit with ambiguity rather than answers. This mirrors the outsider experience I often write about—where identity, belonging, and fairness are not fixed truths but contested terrains.

The experiment also heightened rhythm and repetition. The interrogative form created a pulse, a kind of insistence that mirrors advocacy work: asking again and again until the silence breaks. In disrupting narrative expectation, the poem became less about telling and more about opening—an unfinished dialogue between writer, reader, and community.

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine,

Good work on your initial post. Please remember to follow up with at least two peers.

Nicky

Rubric

• Comprehension
  Exceeds Expectations: Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail 

• Timeliness:
  Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement:
  Does Not Meet Expectations: Provides response posts that are generic with little explanation or detail 

• Clear Communication:
  Exceeds Expectations: Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Jasmine Padgett
November 28, 2025
SNHU
ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop
Imstructor: Nicole Yurcaba
 

5-2 Milestone Two: Poetry Submission 2 and Summary 

Fractured Hymn

no choir waits at the edge of the street 

only the hum of neon, a hymn of static 

the lamppost leans like a tired priest 

its shadow kneels, then breaks in half 

i mouth a prayer to the vending machine 

coins clatter like cracked bells 

the soda fizzes into psalm 

sweetness dissolves the silence 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Minimalist diction, enjambment, and religious imagery recontextualized into urban banality. Uses assonance (“hum of neon, hymn of static”) and fractured rhythm. 

The Orchard Remembers 

apples bruise in silence 

their skins whisper red secrets 

wind combs the branches 

like fingers through tired hair 

i bite into memory— 

the pulp tastes of rust and rain 

the orchard remembers 

what i cannot say aloud 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Nature imagery with personification, leaning into lyric compression. Strong sensory detail (taste, touch, sound). Voice is intimate but restrained. 

Machine Elegy 

the gears grind grief into glitter 

sparks scatter like startled birds 

metal sings its own elegy 

a chorus of clanks and coughs 

i press my ear to the engine 

hear the heartbeat of iron 

steady, stubborn, unrepentant 

refusing to rust into silence 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Industrial imagery, blending metaphor with literal description. Sound elements (alliteration: “grind grief into glitter,” “clanks and coughs”) drive tone. Voice is mechanical yet mournful. 

After the Blackout 

candles stutter against the dark 

their flames flicker like nervous tongues 

walls breathe shadows, swollen and slow 

the room becomes a lung of smoke 

outside, the city forgets itself 

traffic lights blink blind 

sirens swallow their own sound 

i wait for the dark to finish speaking 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Apocalyptic mood, surreal imagery. Uses repetition and metaphor (“room becomes a lung of smoke”). Voice is patient, observational, slightly ominous.

•  

Summary 

These four poems were inspired by my desire to step outside my familiar modes of voice and imagery, experimenting with fractured diction, industrial metaphors, and surreal atmospheres. I challenged myself to use sound elements more deliberately, weaving alliteration, assonance, and rhythm into the texture of each piece to reinforce meaning. Each poem adopts a distinct persona: the urban hymn, the remembering orchard, the grieving machine, and the blackout observer. I was experimenting with compression, enjambment, and tonal shifts, aiming to create poems that feel coherent yet stylistically diverse. My goal was to expand my poetic range, showing versatility in voice and technique while maintaining emotional resonance. By juxtaposing sacred, natural, mechanical, and apocalyptic imagery, I hoped to surprise both myself and the reader, resisting closure and inviting reflection. This submission demonstrates my commitment to developing a flexible, purposeful poetic voice that can inhabit multiple registers while remaining authentic. 

 
Technique Commentary: 

In fractured hymn, I experimented with recontextualizing sacred language into an urban setting, using metaphor (lamppost as priest, vending machine as altar) and sound devices like assonance (“hum of neon, hymn of static”) to create a fractured, ironic hymn. The voice remains coherent by sustaining a reverent yet disillusioned tone. 

In the orchard remembers, I leaned into lyric compression and personification (“apples bruise in silence,” “skins whisper red secrets”), pairing literal orchard imagery with figurative memory. The simile (“wind combs the branches like fingers through tired hair”) reinforces intimacy, while the restrained voice maintains coherence. 

In machine elegy, I adopted an industrial persona, blending literal mechanical description with figurative grief. Alliteration (“grind grief into glitter,” “clanks and coughs”) and metaphor (engine as heartbeat) establish a mournful yet resilient tone. The voice is elegiac but mechanical, consistent throughout. 

In after the blackout, I explored surreal atmosphere through personification (“walls breathe shadows,” “sirens swallow their own sound”) and metaphor (“room becomes a lung of smoke”). Sound elements like alliteration (“candles stutter,” “sirens swallow”) reinforce the ominous mood. The voice is patient and observational, coherently guiding the reader through a blackout’s transformation into metaphorical silence. 

Together, these poems demonstrate deliberate shifts in voice, tone, and imagery while maintaining coherence within each piece. I consciously applied workshop strategies—sound devices, figurative language, and persona—to expand my range and challenge my usual style. 

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine, 

Thank you so much for your poems! Your summary is, by far, one of the best I received for this assignment. 

For your poems, I suggest submitting them to this place: https://timberjournal.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGngzym_zhzWeu4bRyPOOSpuy_qAkC-t4UIOtswJKB1gWDhHUjMpR0aPy8SgZY_aem_ofU0BGR2U-5snHMeCcNKFA

All best,

Nicky 

Rubric

• Voice: Coherent Voice:
  Maintains a coherent voice throughout the poems  

• Voice: Tone and Mood
  Utilizes a recognizable voice to enhance the tone and mood of poems 

• Voice: Writing Techniques
  Applies genre appropriate writing techniques used by successful poets analyzed during the course to ensure the consistency of the voice being developed 

• Sound Elements: Meaning
  Employs appropriate sound elements to support each poem’s meaning  

• Sound Elements: Tone
  Employs appropriate sound elements to support the tone of each poem  

• Imagery: Figurative Language
  Incorporates appropriate figurative language to depict the ordinary in new and surprising ways 

• Imagery: Consistent Voice and Tone
  Combines figurative language with literal descriptions in developing a consistent voice and tone in the poetry 

• Summary
  Includes a summary that provides information about the poems being submitted 

• Clear Communication
  Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience 

For this milestone, I wanted to challenge my usual poetic style by experimenting with new voices, tones, and imagery. Each poem adopts a distinct persona — urban hymn, natural memory, industrial elegy, and surreal blackout — while maintaining coherence within itself. I focused on sound elements like alliteration and assonance to reinforce meaning, and I used figurative language to transform ordinary objects into surprising metaphors. I’m especially interested in feedback on how effectively these shifts in voice and technique come across, and whether the imagery feels fresh and resonant. 

Peer Review Questions 

1. How effectively do the shifts in voice across the four poems come through — do the distinct personas feel clear and coherent? 

2. Do the sound elements (alliteration, assonance, rhythm) reinforce the meaning and tone, or are there places where they could be sharpened? 

3. Which images or metaphors feel most surprising and resonant, and are there any that seem less effective or familiar? 

Thanks for checking out these pieces — I’d love to hear what stood out to you, what felt surprising, or even what didn’t quite land. I’m looking forward to swapping ideas and learning from your perspectives.

My 4 Poems:
Jasmine Padgett
November 28, 2025
SNHU
ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop
Imstructor: Nicole Yurcaba
 

5-2 Milestone Two: Poetry Submission 2 and Summary 

Fractured Hymn

no choir waits at the edge of the street 

only the hum of neon, a hymn of static 

the lamppost leans like a tired priest 

its shadow kneels, then breaks in half 

i mouth a prayer to the vending machine 

coins clatter like cracked bells 

the soda fizzes into psalm 

sweetness dissolves the silence 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Minimalist diction, enjambment, and religious imagery recontextualized into urban banality. Uses assonance (“hum of neon, hymn of static”) and fractured rhythm. 

The Orchard Remembers 

apples bruise in silence 

their skins whisper red secrets 

wind combs the branches 

like fingers through tired hair 

i bite into memory— 

the pulp tastes of rust and rain 

the orchard remembers 

what i cannot say aloud 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Nature imagery with personification, leaning into lyric compression. Strong sensory detail (taste, touch, sound). Voice is intimate but restrained. 

Machine Elegy 

the gears grind grief into glitter 

sparks scatter like startled birds 

metal sings its own elegy 

a chorus of clanks and coughs 

i press my ear to the engine 

hear the heartbeat of iron 

steady, stubborn, unrepentant 

refusing to rust into silence 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Industrial imagery, blending metaphor with literal description. Sound elements (alliteration: “grind grief into glitter,” “clanks and coughs”) drive tone. Voice is mechanical yet mournful. 

After the Blackout 

candles stutter against the dark 

their flames flicker like nervous tongues 

walls breathe shadows, swollen and slow 

the room becomes a lung of smoke 

outside, the city forgets itself 

traffic lights blink blind 

sirens swallow their own sound 

i wait for the dark to finish speaking 

Poem Annotation: 

• Challenge: Apocalyptic mood, surreal imagery. Uses repetition and metaphor (“room becomes a lung of smoke”). Voice is patient, observational, slightly ominous.

•  

Summary 

These four poems were inspired by my desire to step outside my familiar modes of voice and imagery, experimenting with fractured diction, industrial metaphors, and surreal atmospheres. I challenged myself to use sound elements more deliberately, weaving alliteration, assonance, and rhythm into the texture of each piece to reinforce meaning. Each poem adopts a distinct persona: the urban hymn, the remembering orchard, the grieving machine, and the blackout observer. I was experimenting with compression, enjambment, and tonal shifts, aiming to create poems that feel coherent yet stylistically diverse. My goal was to expand my poetic range, showing versatility in voice and technique while maintaining emotional resonance. By juxtaposing sacred, natural, mechanical, and apocalyptic imagery, I hoped to surprise both myself and the reader, resisting closure and inviting reflection. This submission demonstrates my commitment to developing a flexible, purposeful poetic voice that can inhabit multiple registers while remaining authentic. 

 
Technique Commentary: 

In fractured hymn, I experimented with recontextualizing sacred language into an urban setting, using metaphor (lamppost as priest, vending machine as altar) and sound devices like assonance (“hum of neon, hymn of static”) to create a fractured, ironic hymn. The voice remains coherent by sustaining a reverent yet disillusioned tone. 

In the orchard remembers, I leaned into lyric compression and personification (“apples bruise in silence,” “skins whisper red secrets”), pairing literal orchard imagery with figurative memory. The simile (“wind combs the branches like fingers through tired hair”) reinforces intimacy, while the restrained voice maintains coherence. 

In machine elegy, I adopted an industrial persona, blending literal mechanical description with figurative grief. Alliteration (“grind grief into glitter,” “clanks and coughs”) and metaphor (engine as heartbeat) establish a mournful yet resilient tone. The voice is elegiac but mechanical, consistent throughout. 

In after the blackout, I explored surreal atmosphere through personification (“walls breathe shadows,” “sirens swallow their own sound”) and metaphor (“room becomes a lung of smoke”). Sound elements like alliteration (“candles stutter,” “sirens swallow”) reinforce the ominous mood. The voice is patient and observational, coherently guiding the reader through a blackout’s transformation into metaphorical silence. 

Together, these poems demonstrate deliberate shifts in voice, tone, and imagery while maintaining coherence within each piece. I consciously applied workshop strategies—sound devices, figurative language, and persona—to expand my range and challenge my usual style. 

Overall Feedback

Overall Feedback

Hi Jasmine,

Fantastic work! Thank you for always going above and beyond course requirements. Your leadership in this course is much appreciated!

Nicky

Rubric

• Creative Risks-Exceeds expectations and provides exceptional detail and correctly utilizes course-related vocabulary 

• Voice-Exceeds expectations and provides exceptional detail and correctly utilizes course-related vocabulary 

• Theme-Exceeds expectations and correctly applies course-related vocabulary  

• Engagement-Responds to two poems of two peers  

• Clear Communication-Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding  

Jasmine Padgett (Samuel) Professor: Nicole Yurcaba

ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop SNHU

December 5, 2025

6-2 Journal: Feedback Reflection

As I begin assembling my manuscript, two overarching themes emerge across my poems: the tension between visibility and invisibility in acts of care, and the exploration of voice through varied imagery and persona. The first set of poems—“Laundry Poem,” “No Complaints, Just Questions,” “Haiku for the Unnamed Bond,” and “Mothering in the Margins”—centers on stepparenting and motherhood, where love often exists in quiet, unacknowledged spaces. These pieces share motifs of domestic labor, silence, and tenderness, and they work together to highlight outsider narratives of caregiving. The second set—“Fractured Hymn,” “The Orchard Remembers,” “Machine Elegy,” and “After the Blackout”—expands my range by experimenting with sacred, natural, industrial, and apocalyptic imagery. Together, the two groups create a dialogue between intimacy and estrangement, grounding the manuscript in emotional resonance while showcasing stylistic versatility.

Stylization and craft elements connect the poems across these thematic arcs. Enjambment, repetition, and compression recur throughout, whether in the haiku sequence or the fractured diction of “Fractured Hymn.” Sound devices—assonance, alliteration, and rhythm—also unify the collection, from the domestic softness of “Laundry Poem” to the mechanical mourning of “Machine Elegy.” These techniques create coherence even as the imagery shifts from household to orchard to cityscape. The layering of metaphor and personification further strengthens the manuscript’s cohesion, allowing disparate settings to echo one another in tone and emotional weight.

In ordering the collection, I am considering strategies outlined by Walrath and Queen. Walrath emphasizes that sequencing shapes the reader’s experience, while Queen highlights the importance of beginnings and endings in framing meaning. I plan to open with “Laundry Poem,” which establishes intimacy and thematic grounding, and close with “After the Blackout,” which leaves the reader in a reflective, unsettled space. Between these poles, I will alternate domestic and experimental pieces to create a rhythm of familiarity and surprise. This approach balances coherence with variation, echoing Castells’s suggestion to “add some chaos” to the process.

Ultimately, my strategy is to order the poems so that the collection embodies both my writer’s identity and my willingness to take creative risks.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. “The Mothering Blackness.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness..

Chin, Marilyn. “Twenty-Five Haiku.” Poetry Foundation, 2012,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57155/twenty-five-haiku..

Gay, Ross. “Wedding Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 2011,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem..

Giovanni, Nikki. “No Complaints.” Poetry Foundation, 2015,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/90181/no-complaints..

Walrath, Holly Lyn. “Nine Structures for a Poetry Collection.” Holly Lyn Walrath Newsletter, 2020, https://newsletter.hlwalrath.com/p/ninestructurespoetrycollection..

Queen, Khadijah. “The Arc of Understanding.” Poets & Writers, 2018, https://www.pw.org/content/craft_capsule_the_arc_of_understanding..

Castells, Victoria Maria. “An Interview with Award-Winning Poet Victoria Maria Castells.”

University of Notre Dame Press Blog, 2023, https://undpress.nd.edu/blog/2023/07/12/an-

interview-with-award-winning-poet-victoria-maria-castells-author-of-the-rivers-are-inside-our- homes/..

Overall Feedback 

Fantastic work on this assignment, Jasmine! Your essay is, by far, one of the best I received.

All best,

Nicky 

Rubric

• Overall Emerging Themes-Exceeds expectations and demonstrates exceptional insight when analyzing themes in examples  

• Stylization - Exceeds expectations and offers insight into stylization and craft elements 

• Strategy - Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about which strategies might contribute to ordering and choosing poems for a manuscript 

• Clear Communication - Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

My Revision Process
Revision for me has been less about “fixing” and more about discovery. I began by setting aside my poems for a week or two so I could return to them with fresh eyes. Reading them aloud helped me hear where rhythm faltered or where a line felt overstuffed. I also rewrote several poems by hand, which slowed me down and allowed me to notice subtleties I had missed on the screen. In some cases, revision meant cutting entire stanzas to let the strongest images breathe; in others, it meant sharpening a single word to better capture tone or emotion. 

Narrowing Down the Collection
When assembling my final collection, I looked for thematic coherence. I asked myself: Which poems speak to each other? Which ones carry the same voice or emotional resonance? This helped me narrow my group to 8–10 poems that felt connected by threads of caregiving, resilience, and creative exploration. Some poems I loved individually didn’t fit the larger arc, so I set them aside for future work. The act of curating was as much a revision as line edits—it shaped the collection’s identity. 

Peer Feedback and Implementation
Peer feedback was invaluable. One reader noted that a poem’s opening felt too slow, so I revised by starting later in the scene, which gave the piece more immediacy. Another suggested that a metaphor was confusing, so I clarified the imagery without losing its emotional weight. I also received encouragement to trust silence and white space, which led me to pare down certain sections rather than over-explain. These changes made the poems more accessible while still honoring my original intent. 

Looking Ahead to ENG 358
My goal for ENG 358 is to continue refining this collection into a manuscript that feels cohesive and layered. I want to deepen the voice that threads through the poems, ensuring consistency without losing variety. I also plan to experiment with sequencing—how the order of poems can create narrative momentum or emotional resonance. Ultimately, I hope to emerge with a collection that not only reflects my growth as a poet but also feels ready to share with a wider audience.

Classmates Feedback:

-Nicole Yurcaba
Hi Jasmine,

Thanks so much for your post! I really appreciate your statement about how, for you, revision is more about discovery than "fixing" things. I think this is a great approach and a great mindset. Why? Not only does it give the process a positive reframing, it also allows a writer to incorporate more research, exploration, and development into their revision. 

All best,

Nicky

-Dalia Davis
Hello again Jasmine,

I am fascinated by your exercise of writing the poems out by hand. I wrote a book of Valentine poems out once years ago and it was a wonderful experience. The tactile old school element of it, with drawings, adds another dimension. I never thought of doing something similar as a revision exercise. That is brilliant in such a three dimensional way. I don't have art supplies on the road. I'll have to think how to incorporate that.

I cut things out too. I really like the exercise of making sure each word or piece of writing is doing a job. Being a person who has written mostly short poems trying to write longer ones, I have to be careful about adding length just for lengths sake. I found cutting to be more enjoyable than I thought I would. 

I did the same as you when it came to finding coherence of theme. What I did was take each poem separately and write all its themes out then put the collection together like a puzzle. I think I am going to stick with my eight main poems now for the sake of cohesion. 

I also got lucky with peer reviews and rewrote a whole poem based on a very intelligent suggestion.

This is the second item I have heard that we will work on these same poems in 358. That is interesting. I will have to set them aside for that purpose. 

It's been great being in class with you,

Dalia

Overall Feedback
Fantastic work on your initial post, Jasmine.
Nicky

Rubric

• Comprehension
  Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail 

• Timeliness
  Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement
  Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Jasmine Padgett

12/17/2025

SNHU

ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop

Instructor Nicole Yurcaba

7-2 Submit Final Project Part I

Margins of Light:
Poems on
Caregiving, Invisibility, and Resilience

This portfolio gathers eight poems that trace my evolving voice as a poet, shaped through revision, feedback, and risk-taking. At its core, the collection explores caregiving, invisibility, and resilience—experiences often relegated to the margins yet central to human connection. My poems transform ordinary acts, such as folding laundry or braiding hair, into metaphors of endurance and love, while later pieces expand into natural, industrial, and surreal imagery to test the boundaries of voice and form.

Throughout the collection, I employ sound elements—assonance, alliteration, fractured rhyme, and disrupted meter—to intensify tone and meaning. Imagery blends figurative and literal language, rendering the everyday world in surprising ways: lint becomes triumph, machines mourn, orchards remember, and cities forget themselves. These strategies allow me to balance intimacy with experimentation, crafting a voice that is both restrained and risk-taking.

The organization follows a narrative arc: beginning with caregiving poems rooted in invisibility, moving through resilience expressed in nature and machinery, and closing with surreal explorations that embrace rupture and renewal. This arc highlights my growth as a poet and underscores the thematic unity of the collection.

Ultimately, Margins of Light reflects my commitment to authenticity and creative risk. It is both a record of my development and a statement of identity—poetry that insists on the presence of voices too often overlooked, and that seeks to illuminate resilience in its quiet, enduring forms.

Laundry Poem (after Ross Gay “Wedding Poem”)

today, i fold shirts she never thanks me for—

ketchup ghosts, grass-stained elbows—

and think: maybe this is love,

the quiet kind,

smelling of dryer sheets,
last week’s apology.

socks mismatched,

still warming her feet.

a towel pressed to my face

smells of her—

childhood, bathwater,
the part of the day she forgets i exist.

still, i fold.

still, i stack.

still, i love.

sunlight through the window

makes lint sparkle,
as if proud of me.

Summary
Domestic labor becomes a quiet metaphor for invisible love and resilience, its rhythms carrying unspoken devotion. The sound of alliteration in “fold shirts she never thanks me for” underscores the weight of unacknowledged care. Even lint, sparkling as if proud of me, turns into imagery of small triumphs. The voice remains intimate, restrained, and resilient—an echo of endurance woven into the everyday.

No Complaints, Just Questions (after Nikki Giovanni “No Complaints.”)

i don’t complain

when he forgets my birthday,

calls me jasmine instead of mom.

i ask if he wants a snack,
if he slept okay.

i don’t complain

when silence stretches—

a hallway i cannot walk down.

i ask if he needs help with homework,
if he wants me at his game.

i don’t complain

when his mother’s name

is the only one he says with softness.

i ask if he wants to go to the YMCA,

if he remembers

i showed up,
even when it hurt.

Summary

This piece explores silence and recognition in caregiving, where the repetition of “i don’t complain” intensifies the tone and underscores the weight of unspoken sacrifice. The imagery of “hallway i cannot walk down” conveys emotional distance and the barriers within intimate spaces. The voice remains restrained, questioning, and layered, holding complexity in its quiet resilience.

Haiku for the Unnamed Bond  (after Marilyn Chin “Twenty-Five Haiku.”)

his shoes by the door—

not mine, yet i still tie them,
love without label.

he calls me jay,

not mom, not step, just jay—
i answer anyway.

dinner grows cold,

he eats without words—
gratitude in crumbs.

i braid her hair tight,

so she feels me in the strands—
mothering in touch.

i watch from the porch

as they laugh without my name—
still, i stay and sweep.

Summary

These lines offer minimalist reflections on invisibility and tenderness, shaped by the brevity and rhythm of haiku form. The imagery of “gratitude in crumbs” conveys love without words, distilling care into the smallest gestures. The voice remains compressed, understated, yet resonant—quietly carrying emotional weight through restraint.

Mothering in the Margins (after Maya Angelou “The Mothering Blackness”)

i am the hush

between tantrum and sleep,

the shadow that tucks him in
without being asked.

i am the warmth

waiting in the hallway

when he slams the door,
forgetting i made his lunch.

i am the ache

that does not ask for praise,

yet sings

when he calls her mother,
leaves me unnamed.

i am the abyss

of mothering without blood,

without history,

without permission—

but with love

that does not need return
to be real.

Summary

This piece foregrounds the emotional weight of caregiving, where the repetition of “i am” builds rhythm and insists on presence. The imagery of “the abyss of mothering without blood” reframes marginalization, exposing the depth of unrecognized bonds. The voice is lyrical, aching, and resilient, carrying both vulnerability and strength in its cadence.

The Orchard Remembers

apples bruise in silence,

skins whisper red secrets.

wind combs branches
like fingers through tired hair.

i bite into memory—

pulp tastes of rust and rain.

the orchard remembers
what i cannot say aloud.

Summary

Nature becomes a metaphor for memory and resilience, its presence carrying the weight of endurance. The sound of whispering skins, rust and rain evokes a fragile rhythm of persistence. An orchard emerges as a memory keeper, holding stories in its branches and fruit. The voice is meditative, sensory, and elegiac, lingering in quiet reflection.

Fractured Hymn

no choir waits at the street’s edge,

only neon’s hum,

a hymn of static.

the lamppost leans like a tired priest,
its shadow kneels, then breaks.

i mouth a prayer to the vending machine,

coins clatter like cracked bells.

soda fizzes into psalm,
sweetness dissolves silence.

Summary

Sacred and urban imagery collide to mirror fractured resilience, layering tension between reverence and decay. The sound of coins clattering like cracked bells reverberates with dissonance, unsettling yet rhythmic. A lamppost stands as a tired priest, embodying weary devotion amid the city’s grit. The voice is experimental, risk-taking, and deliberately dissonant, pushing against convention to expose resilience in rupture.

Machine Elegy

gears grind grief into glitter,

sparks scatter like startled birds.

metal sings its own elegy,
a chorus of clanks and coughs.

i press my ear to the engine,

hear iron’s heartbeat—

steady, stubborn, unrepentant,
refusing to rust into silence.

Summary:

Industrial metaphors reflect endurance and transformation, where the sound of gears grind grief into glitter turns sorrow into motion. Sparks scatter like startled birds, imagery that fuses machinery with fragile life. The voice is mechanical yet elegiac, layered with both resilience and mourning, carrying transformation through its metallic cadence.

After the Blackout

candles stutter against dark,

flames flicker like nervous tongues.

walls breathe shadows, swollen, slow—
the room becomes a lung of smoke.

outside, the city forgets itself.

traffic lights blink blind,

sirens swallow their own sound.

i wait for the dark
to finish speaking.

Summary:

This piece envisions a surreal closure that synthesizes invisibility and resilience, where candles stutter and sirens swallow sound to create a fractured sonic landscape. The imagery of a city forgetting itself and a room becoming a lung evokes disorientation and survival, collapsing the boundary between body and environment. The voice is haunting, apocalyptic, and risk‑taking, pushing language toward rupture and renewal.

References

Angelou, Maya. “The Mothering Blackness.” Poetry Foundation, 1995,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48991/the-mothering-blackness

Chin, Marilyn. “Twenty-Five Haiku.” Poetry Foundation, 2012,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57155/twenty-five-haiku

Gay, Ross. “Wedding Poem.” Poetry Foundation, 2011,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58761/wedding-poem

Giovanni, Nikki. “No Complaints.” Poetry Foundation, 2015,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/90181/no-complaints 

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine,

Great work this term on these poems. 

Essentially, you do have a chapbook ready for potential publication. I would check out Finishing Line Press: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/submit/. I think your chapbook would be a good fit with them.

All best,

Nicky 

Rubric

• Voice: Coherent Voice
  Exceeds expectations and creates a voice that resonates throughout the poems 

• Voice: Tone and Mood
  Exceeds expectations and demonstrates masterful interplay between voice, tone, and mood 

• Voice: Writing Techniques
  Exceeds expectations and the voice features an exceptional adaptation of techniques used by successful poets 

• Sound Elements: Meaning
  Exceeds expectations and demonstrates a sophisticated application of sound elements 

• Sound Elements: Tone
  Exceeds expectations and these sound elements are so strong that they intensify the poem’s tone 

• Imagery: Figurative Language
  Exceeds expectations and figurative language is unique and create memorable and apt images 

• Imagery: Consistent Voice and Tone
  Exceeds expectations and descriptive language eloquently reinforces the voice and tone throughout poems 

• Organization: Logical Principle of Organization board
  Exceeds expectations and the organizing principle highlights the strengths of individual poems while maintaining exceptional coherence throughout 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

Jasmine Padgett

Date: December 17, 2025

Instructor: Nicole Yurcaba

SNHU

ENG 348: Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop

8-1 Submit Final Project Part II

The Arc of Becoming: Reflection on Voice, Feedback, and Future Poetic Work

This course has been a turning point in my development as a poet. I entered ENG 348 with a willingness to experiment, but through studying published poetry, engaging in peer review, and revising my own work, I have cultivated a clearer sense of voice, structure, and risk-taking. This reflection traces how published poets influenced my craft, how peer feedback shaped my revisions, and how I plan to continue refining my poetry collection in ENG 358.

Reading contemporary poets expanded my understanding of how imagery can transform ordinary acts into layered metaphors. For example, I noticed how poets like Ada Limón and Ocean Vuong use domestic details to illuminate larger emotional truths. Inspired by Ross Gay poem “Wedding Poem”, I revised my “Laundry Poem” to heighten imagery-turning lint into “sparkle proud of me”- so that the mundane act of folding clothes became a metaphor for invisible love. Published poetry taught me that figurative language must surprise while remaining grounded, and I applied this principle consistently in revision. Studying published poetry also sharpened my awareness of structure. I observed how enjambment, stanza breaks, and compression control pacing and tone. In my “Haiku for the Unnamed Bond,” I experimented with brevity and restraint, while in “Fractured Hymn,” I used fractured line breaks to mirror dissonance. These choices were directly informed by analyzing how contemporary poets manipulate structure to intensify meaning. My chosen genre—contemporary free verse—values authenticity, risk, and layered voice. I incorporated conventions such as left alignment and lowercase beginnings, but I also subverted expectations by blending surreal imagery with caregiving themes. For instance, “Machine Elegy” adapts industrial metaphors into elegiac voice, pushing genre boundaries while maintaining coherence. This balance of convention and subversion reflects my developing style. Risk-taking was central to my growth. I wrote from multiple personae—the caregiver, the machine, the survivor—to test the elasticity of my voice. I also risked vulnerability by foregrounding invisibility and marginalization in “Mothering in the Margins.” These risks deepened my personal style, allowing me to craft poems that are both intimate and experimental.

I learned to discern which feedback was actionable by asking: does this suggestion align with my poem’s intent? For example, when a peer noted that “No Complaints, Just Questions” relied too heavily on repetition, I revised by tightening phrasing while preserving the refrain’s emotional weight. Actionable feedback clarified where my voice was strong and where it risked redundancy. When giving feedback, I focused on style and structure rather than imposing my own preferences. I highlighted moments where imagery resonated and suggested where pacing could be sharpened. My strategy was to respect each poet’s voice while offering concrete, specific suggestions. Commenting on peers’ work made me more reflective about my own. When I advised a peer to vary sound elements, I realized my own poems sometimes leaned too heavily on imagery without sonic texture. This prompt me to revise “Machine Elegy” with stronger alliteration (“gears grind grief into glitter”). In future workshops, I plan to balance encouragement with challenge. I will ask more probing questions—“What effect do you want this repetition to have?”—to help peers clarify intent. This strategy stems from realizing how much targeted feedback improved my own revisions. I consistently revised based on feedback. For example, a professor suggested that “After the Blackout” needed sharper closure. I revised the final stanza to end with “i wait for the dark / to finish speaking,” which gave the poem a haunting resolution. These changes demonstrate how feedback directly strengthened my work.

In ENG 358, I intend to expand my current portfolio into a manuscript. I will continue organizing poems into a narrative arc—beginning with caregiving, moving through resilience, and closing with surreal explorations—to highlight thematic unity and stylistic growth. My goals are to refine sound elements and deepen imagery. While my voice is coherent, I want to intensify tonal interplay by experimenting further with rhythm and meter. I also plan to hone transitions between poems so the collection reads as a cohesive whole. The most challenging technique has been balancing figurative and literal language. At times, my metaphors risk obscuring clarity. To improve, I will study poets who excel at blending the two seamlessly and practice revising with attention to accessibility as well as surprise.

This reflection demonstrates how published poetry, peer review, and revision shaped my growth in ENG 348. I have developed a distinctive voice that blends intimacy with experimentation, and I have learned to use feedback as a tool for self-reflection and refinement. As I move into ENG 358, I am committed to continuing this process—risking, revising, and refining—so that my poetry collection not only reflects my personal journey but also resonates with readers beyond the classroom.

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine!

Your reflection is excellent. You once more display a gift for self-awareness and literary criticism. Thank you for always being an academic leader in this course. Thank you, too, for always being so supportive of your peers. Your positive contributions are sure to be remembered.

All best,
Nicky

Rubric

• Techniques: Published Poetry
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how the poetry analyzed 

• Techniques: Structures
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how own poetry was influenced by the structures of poetry analyzed 

• Techniques: Style of Genre
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how published poetry analyzed influenced the conventions used in the poetry 

• Techniques: Creative Risks
  Exceeds expectations and examples provided show keen insight into how creative risks impacted the development of a personal style and voice 

• Peer Review Process: Actionable Feedback
  Exceeds expectations and examples demonstrate exceptional insight when discerning between relevant and irrelevant feedback 

• Peer Review Process: Strategy
  Exceeds expectations and offers insight into the internal thought process behind recommendations provided 

• Peer Review Process: Self-Reflective
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how providing feedback promoted self-reflection 

• Peer Review Process: Future
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how receiving feedback might impact the strategy for providing feedback 

• Peer Review Process: Implemented Changes
  Exceeds expectations and examples demonstrate exceptional insight during the revision process 

• Plan: Poetry Collection
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally articulate about the thought process behind the completion of the collection 

• Plan: Goals
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about where own craft needs improvement 

• Plan: Difficulty
  Exceeds expectations and is exceptionally insightful about how to overcome the challenges of adapting poetry writing techniques into own work 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding 

When I think about my “poetic brand,” it feels like a mix of the themes I keep returning to and the way my personality shows up in the work. My poems often circle around caregiving, resilience, and the feeling of being unseen, but I try to balance that with moments of strength and clarity. I like layering imagery and sound so the language feels both precise and lyrical—probably a reflection of how I move between professional clarity and creative expression in my daily life.

Personality-wise, I’d say empathy and authenticity are at the core of my writing. I want my poems to validate experiences that don’t always get recognized, especially in caregiving and family dynamics. So my “brand” is really about integrity and connection—inviting readers to feel seen and to reflect on their own resilience.

As for audience, I imagine my work resonating with caregivers, parents, and anyone drawn to contemporary poetry that blends personal storytelling with social critique. I’d love to reach people through journals that highlight outsider narratives, but also through more accessible spaces like Instagram or Substack, where short excerpts or signature lines can spark conversation. Workshops and academic communities also feel like natural places to share, since they value both craft and dialogue.

Overall Feedback
Hi Jasmine,

Excellent work. Thank you! Thank you, too, for always going above and beyond course requirements. You definitely have a bright future in writing/publishing.

Nicky

Rubric

• Comprehension
  Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail 

• Timeliness
  Submits initial post on time 

• Engagement
  Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail 

• Clear Communication
  Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding