Poetry / Safety in Numbers

I liked it a lot. At first I wasn’t sure of what it was about when you were describing the food and water, and then it took an unexpected twist. Very sad poem. Really good read.

Wow, I like this because at first I wasn’t expecting what would happen at the end, but its a different perspective on a topic not often written about. People who survived the war. And, I’ll definately remember this poem. It is one of my favorites. Awesome job!

I actually really liked this poem. At first I thought it was kind of childish with the list of things, became slightly impatient, but continued the read despite. I enjoyed the fact that I GOT the poem but If i understood it, it is probably to straight forward. But I guess I didnt follow the hisotrical references, so you got me there. The only criticism I would give to make this 10 point work is a more vivid description of the items you list. So its not so dry at the start. Anyway GOOD LUCK!

Brilliantly done!
I liked this very well, and how wonderfully you built me up to some  thing.. of which i did not know exactly what it was about to become .
My, how  the  Grandma-character  really knows, .. knows too well.
I like the waiting attitude here that you are invoking. But i like it  beyond ‘just liking it’  because, to me, it despoils the notion of a certain optimism’s wishful-thinking and yet, without being negative or depressing to admit this… it shows a true  reality; like an orange is nothing but just what it is: an orange, period.

Or in this case  7 cans of Mandarin Oranges,  ...etc.

..carry on

I really enjoyed this poem…even though I’m decades away from having experienced World War II, I really felt like I could understand what the grandmother character was going through. I can definitely sense the emotion behind your words. My only complaint is that the third line from the bottom doesn’t really seem to fit and is pretty much obvious. I understand how you’re trying to segue from the warplanes to the food so you can tie the ending to the title and the beginning, but you might want to do it in a different way, such as, “And all the while, her cupboards get fuller everyday,” or something along those lines. But other than that, stellar job!

I like this very much. I think anyone over the age of 20 must know some elderly individuals with a propensity for stockpiling.

You give this old woman life, and the reader understands her fears.  I particularly like the parallel between the two stanzas beginning with “grandma prepares”.  Both are lovely, but this is my favorite:

Grandma prepares
for the stores to close
for cities to stand abandoned
for infrastructures to crumble.
for a world war to come after her, again.

There’s some effective alliteration in there, and overall it is beautiful to hear.

I would link the first 3 stanzas which list the stockpiled items.  This simple inventory of items makes me feel as though this is mundane--this stockpiling--as though it’s something we all do every day.  But of course it’s not, and when the reader understands this, the inventory/stockpiling becomes a mighty and heroic task.  And though there are moments when one is tempted to feel sorry for grandma, i.e.,”Wonders if she’ll see her grandson go off to defend the front, like her father”, we ultimately can do nothing but admire the old woman’s grit

All I pictured in the beginning of this was the food… Is that really the focus?

This piece was proud and passionate. I touched on such a human compassion  for this woman who has suffered so much and her resolve to be prepared. Great Job.

what a very touching poem, i liked the historical references and the repetition. and how direct you are “she is Stockpiling.” and such. th listing of food almost made me think of the depression and how some old people always would make sure they always had food because back way back when they made soup from crackers and ketchup. but i she that is had more of a modern theme and how you releated it back to the past.
my most fav. part was this
“Wonders if she’ll see her grandson go
off to defend the front, like her father.”
that is the part that i connected with the most.

I like this, truly. At first it reads like a grocery list and I’m wondering the importance of the count and then of course the last line is the perfect conclusion. I also wondered about the line redundancy of “Grandma is…” and thought perhaps by taking them out the piece would have more impact but on my second read I decided the repetition works well…

Thanks, I enjoyed this read.