Rebeccah Jacks' "Random Response: Brittney" (Classmate Response)

http://rjacks1.blogspot.com/2011/02/random-response_13.html

I think this poem was supposed to be bad, but I actually really like it.  Lines like "I am alone in a crowded room" and "no one to hold my hand" really makes me have sympathy for how lonely being Britney can be.  What is different from the Britney poem that we read in class and this one is that in this one, Britney's problems are actually identified.  "Screams and crys fill my ears / of thousand preening fans" is obviously what Britney endures as she performs onstage, and "walking in a suburban wasteland" seems to identify an unfulfilled life in her boring suburban area.  Britney's ambiguity in her own poem makes it harder for readers to relate, but making the cause of her pain and loneliness more concrete allows readers to understand and feel sorry for her plight.  Placing the "not one who knows me" part at the beginning and the end puts emphasis on her loneliness and reminds readers of how sad someone must be to have "so many familiar faces" around and still feel alone.  My only concern with this poem is that some of the words and phrasings are quite common, which make the poem a little less interesting for me.  Overall, love it.