"Dis Poetry"

In “Dis Poetry”, Benjamin Zephaniah gives his perspective on how his poetry is composed. Throughout the entire piece, I can tell that Zephaniah does not care to obtain praise or criticism for his poetry. He writes in a way that readers can understand what he feels, something that I very much admire. “Dis Poetry” is written in its own unique language with each line carrying its own powerful meaning.

Zephaniah mentions in the first stanza that the speaker explains how his poetry is different and isn’t really meant to be analyzed. This is evident when the poem states, “Dis poetry is not Party Political / Not designed fe dose who are critical.” (8-9). I like the thought of poetry not being categorized and not having to over think what some lines mean, even though I’m doing that now.

In the second stanza, I enjoy how the speaker talks about who poetry is written for. The poem explains, “Dis poetry is quick an childish / Dis poetry is fe de wise an foolish, / Anybody can do it fe free, / Dis poetry is fe yu an me, / DonÕt stretch yu imagination / Dis poetry is fe de good of de Nation,” (29-34). Basically the speaker is saying poetry can be and should be understood by everyone.

Obviously, Zephaniah is very creative in his writing style. The colloquialism used in this poem makes the statements in the lines a little more familiar. The familiarity and combination of the words give the perspective Zephaniah was shooting for. “Dis Poetry” inspires me to become a little more creative in the way I write.