basement room

basement room
from Andrew Clements' Things Not Seen

i think its raining from my basement room.
but basements make for faraway ears,
and rain dries up so quickly.
i still think it was rain.

i think a wind is blowing up above.
but wind is such a meaningless thing,
invisible and always gone.
i still think it was wind.

i think im up there in the wind and rain.
but dreaming is always done in bed,
and so many winds and rains are dreams.
i still think it was me.

This poem was written by Alicia Van Dorn, a blind character in Andrew Clements' Things Not Seen, which is why there is no capitalization and several punctuation errors. This book is absolutely amazing and superbly written, and I highly recommend that everyone read it. It is very different from the type of books Andrew Clements normally writes (Frindle, The Landry News, The Report Card, etc.), so it's also very interesting to experience a different side of Clements' writing style.

SIFTSEI Analysis

S - The poem is telling the reader about how the things in life that supposedly make one happy do not stay around forever. They come and go, just like the rain and wind, and oftentimes, the ideas of happiness are often "meaningless" and "faraway." The speaker, however, still believes it was happiness, contentment, that passed her by.

I - The intent of this poem is to convey the message that happiness will not always stay. Contenment is often "meaningless" in the things the people seek them in, and many times, one will find oneself looking on while someone else experiences joy.

F - The poem gives one a sense of loneliness and sadness. The girl, the persona, is contemplating the things in life that supposedly make one happy, which are represented by rain and wind. She states, "...so many winds and rains are dreams." Yet these things in life, they leave quickly. The girl says, "i still think it was me." She still believes it was herself in the midst of life and all that makes one happy. Yet, notice she uses "was," not is. This means she is no longer a part of life's happiness, and only seeing it from a distant, like one sees rain from a basement.

T - Andrew Clements uses a contemplative tone throughout the poem. The reptition of the phrase, "i still think it was..." allows the reader to hear the thought and simplicity of the persona's voice.

S - The rain and wind symbolize what life has to offer to make one happy. The basement room is a symbol for being disconnected from those things, and just watching from a "faraway" distance, and no longer being a part of it. These three symbols, not evident at first but when later found, give the poem much depth and meaning, especially when one is aware of the fact that the author of this poem (who is a character in Things Not Seen) is blind.

E - Sadness is evoked through phrases such as, "...its raining from my basement room." and "...wind is such a meaningless thing,..." The way in which the author has strung the words together aids in letting the reader hear the rain from the basement, and to see the wind, although it is "invisible and always gone." All of these components give the reader an overwhelming feeling of sadness, as if one has a lump in one's throat; the lump one gets before the tears cascade down.

I - In this poem, the image of a basement room, wind, and rain are given. The author does not give many descriptive words, yet the reader can see very clearly in one's mind the image of a teenage girl, in a basement, listening to the wind and rain. Also, although the poem does not state it, the connotation of the words "wind" and "rain" give the image of a gray day, with a continuous downpour of rain and the sighing of sad winds.