Allison+Seay

By: Sawyer Knibbe Allison Seay was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1980. Seay attended Mary Washington College where she earned her Bachelor Associates degree in English. She later went on to attend University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There she received her MFA in poetry. After a few successful journal publications, including Crazyhorse and the Southern Review, Seay went back to UNC at Greensboro and began to work as the Associate Editor for their Newspaper. She also taught at Lynchburg college before she moved back to her hometown, Richmond.



=Time of Need = BY [|ALLISON SEAY] In the road, a dog. Days dead, that dog. Liliana was walking beside me awhile(I am sure) and I was almost not crying but then found what I was looking for. She heaved it for me—all of it, the stench, the weight—in her thin arms until it was too much. Tired, she dragged the thing by its wasted paws all the way home. Her dress was stained. This is how I learned about love. She did not mind at all the silent, steady distance I placed between us. Analysis: I think Seay gave a very real and sad picture to the poem. She took an event, probably from her life time, and elaborated on what she saw. She gave the reader the ability to feel what they feel instead of saying what she felt. The dead dog put a very graphic image into my head. I think she did this on purpose to provoke your real feelings and help you connect to the poem easier. Searching for the dog was her searching for love but then she found it dead. She learned a lesson however because love is not always perfect. She didn´t realize how much she loved the dog until it was dead. This shows another lesson, to never take things for granted and to always be thankful for what you have.  **Sawyer Knibbe **
 * Imitation poem **
 * January 18, 2012 **


 * Curled next to the fire. Bored, fiddling with the cat´s paw. **
 * much like me, that cat, disinterested with the surroundings. **
 * I didn´t realize the warmth of the room until **
 * I looked around to see **


 * My family. All the gifts and wrapping paper, scattered across the room, **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just like the smiles and laughs passed around. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The holiday spirit hovered above us, its joy, its warmth, **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">its assurance that we would all sleep tight. I see the excitement **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of my mother as she hands over a gift written out to me. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the bow, perfectly tied. I carefully undress the surprise. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It reveals the sweater, which i had hoped for. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I glance at my mother to see the bright, caring face she put on **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">for my present. That was when I found **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The true meaning of christmas. To give without caution. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Caring for others, the ones you know and love. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I slept with a weight off my chest, knowing **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">that I had changed for the better. **