In “She being Brand” by E.E. Cummings is a very distinct poem. It describes a sexual output where the writing seems to be explaining a first ride in a car, but it actually means a females first sexual encounter. The writer describes in the essay that “we turned the corner of Divinity avenue” which is a great example of a car driving at a specific corner. But this can also mean a Divinity of a climax. This poem is a very interesting one.

While in “Coming Home Detroit” by Philip Levine is a totally different explanation of a car driving through the rough city of Detroit. At that time it was full of riots and chaos. This city is known for building many cars from Cadillacs to Chevys. At that time the city was burning down. When the writing describes “the twisted river stopped at the color of iron” this describes both a building polluting car and a destroyed city.

The poem “she being Brand” has a very intense feeling. While reading, it feels like things change very quickly. It uses driving a car through the city as a description of a sexual experience. In contrast to that though, the poem “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968” uses driving through the city to describe what the Detroit riots are doing to the city. It also uses these features to create a visual depiction of how you would see all these things but then still ignore it all.

The only ideas i can come up with for cars are to use very harsh lighting to incorporate a sense of beauty, and perhaps some damaged looking props to depict detroit.

In this class, we both were highlighting the whole idea about metaphor. We would later read two poems, one being “She Being Brand” by E.E. Cummings and “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968″ by Phillip Levine.

The main comparison between the two is their use of the metaphor of the cars that the main character in the cars that they are driving. In the first poem, it’s more… sexual, whimsical and humorous – as the writer shows as to how he treats the car in the heavily descriptive language seen. One example would be ,”I touched the accelerator and give her the juice good”. Very descriptive and sexual indeed.

The second poem however, is much much more dark. It shows a guy driving his car through Detroit, which is where a lot of automobiles were built – due to its nickname as the Motor City. It’s a more darker take on driving through Detroit due to the fact that the writer highlights how pollution and riot tears the city apart everyday, as he states, “We burn this city every day” at the very end of the poem.

In this class you have now read and discussed two very different poems, “she being Brand” by e.e. cummings and “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968” by Phillip Levine. Both of these poems describe a man driving through a city, and yet they are each distinct in format, tone, and in what they are trying to express to the reader.

Write a post comparing and contrasting the driving metaphors in these two poems. Using direct evidence from the poems (in the form of quotations), identify what each poet is trying to accomplish with his poem and how he uses the metaphor of a car and driving to communicate.

How will you in the next car use a still life of a toy car to communicate the meaning of each poem? what car, lighting, and or props will you use?