Points:
Time spent:
IP address:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Mark this comment as a review? Points will be awarded to the poster.
Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
137,443 Literary Works • 672,034 Reviews
Hello, Lim!! I'm here to review this lovely poem for you, using a review template made by PKMichelle!
Hello, friend!!
This review is brought to you by review team Potato!
Get ready... Get set...
Keep Your Eyes Peeled - My Interpretation
I love the first stanza, with the repeated "if my bus ride"s followed by imagery one wouldn't expect to be associated with bus rides. The first two "if"s seem to have floaty, whimsical, positive vibes while the third is more negative. The fourth seems philosophical to me, and the idea of home and fate always remind me of poetry. The last "if" references more negative things again, in this case, "real-life" things like traffic. Overall, this feels like late-night thoughts while staring out the window of a car (or bus), a little detached from daily life and simply musing on possibilities. Like Rose said, it's a really smooth, peaceful read! ^-^
I'll answer the questions in this section as well ->
1. I admit I read Rose's interpretation before coming up with my own answer, so I'll try to come up with something different. xD Honestly, I relate to this regarding my high school Mock Trial experience. This past year has been one of my best years, so I'm saddened by the fact that I need to leave and go to college. If every year of high school was as enjoyable as the best Mock Trial meetings, I'd never want to graduate/leave my seat. But not every experience in high school is perfect, and there are bumps and traffic, so in some ways, I'll be happy to graduate and be able to experience something different. Soon, I'll hop off the bus.
Personal connections aside, I feel like the story is considering a sense of place and existing where one is, but also movement. The funny thing about buses and transportation is that it's like you're sitting in place, but you're actually moving. I feel like this contrast is reflected throughout the poem, from the little phrases I'll point out later to the contrast between the old lady versus the (I assume younger) student.
The narrator appears to come to a realization that it could be a good thing that they don't feel the desire to stay forever on a bus ride, and instead hop on and hop off. Perhaps the bus ride can represent a time period of life, or a certain place one can belong to, but must eventually leave. Hmm. Anyways, those are some rambly thoughts. =P
2. The speaker could be the old lady, or the student, but it could also be some third person watching the two others (or possibly something else entirely! how interesting it'd be to read this from the perspective of a fly, haha). It's fascinating to read the poem with different assumptions-- for example, it has a different feel to it when you assume the speaker is the old lady, compared to when the speaker is the student!
3. I like the stanza lengths! The first stanza is full of flowing, whimsical imagery, the second stanza is a little more concise and is about concrete actions, and the third stanza is the shortest, with two facts. Their lengths match their content!
It's The Tot That Counts - Some Advice
I feel like the "quiet" in the first line contradicts the music in the second "if", but it also makes sense considering the other little contrasts in the poem, so it feels intentional. xD
Hmm I can't think of any critiques... But if you possibly wanted to experiment with this more, something I love adding to poems is wordplay, like with anagrams and alliteration and rhymes! The shape of the poem would also be interesting to experiment with.
That's Absolutely Mashing - My Favorites
The buildup in the first stanza is amazing-- all the "if"s created a little bit of a sense of expectation for me, and then the conclusion was revealed with the "I think I'd never leave my seat, / and no one else could climb on." And the last lines close the poem perfectly. They're not as dreamy as the first lines, and instead end the poem solidly and succinctly.
I also love the unexpected ideas, like printing starry nights on the floors instead of the ceilings like the sky, as well as plucking piano keys. "crisp night air" is also lovely to imagine, especially when I imagine the scent of the fresh nighttime air!
Honestly, this entire poem is beautiful. :3 It feels like a work of art I could hang on my wall and look at from time to time.
Time Fries When You're Having Fun - Final Words
I really enjoyed reading this poem and hope to read more Lim poetry this NaPo!! =D
Chip, chip, hooray!! Thank you for taking the time to write and post this, and I hope this review is of some use to you!
I'll see you tater! I hope you have a magnificent day (or night) wherever you are!
Hi mint! Thanks so much for this thoughtful review! I like that you covered both your personal associations and a more abstracted view - I really enjoyed reading that part of the review. And that's totally fair about the "quiet" and "music" contrast - that wasn't something intentional, and I can see how that might feel weird when reading it!
Thanks again!
Yeah, my pleasure!
Can't wait for NaPoooo
Beyond my beloved rose garden, I spy with my little eye…
Something quite intriguing; a poem titled “Bus Ride”.
Though it's simple, you've written a rather intriguing poem that is so beautiful in a way. The lines and metaphors may seem straightforward, but if you just really think about it, a whole other story can come forward.
Your poem radiates a calm and peaceful feeling, it makes it so smooth to literally roll over the lines while reading. With simple words you created a vivid picture of "the bus ride".
But these are a few of the lines that really caught my attention
Per my interpretation, the whole bus ride turned into a metaphorically described reflection of life's journey. I could be wrong, it could've meant anything, really, but I saw it as life.
If life promised no bumps, if nothing would occur in life that would break any hearts, if in life we never encountered people who didn't care. And if life could just be a pleasant journey, like the gentle murmuring harmony of piano keys.
To be really honest, when I realised that it could've meant that, I felt like a reader at the end of a mystery book with the secrets behind it. Wow..
The emotional depth in this poem seem just really deep and not in a drastic way, but in a calm way of realisation.
This last part has something interesting in it as well.
If I interpretated it as you meant, I'd say that in this context, the old lady getting down from the bus could symbolise the end of a life journey, while the student taking her place could symbolise the beginning of a new life.
Perhaps it's that, perhaps not.
But the stanza before that gives that sense of acceptance, acceptance of the imperfections and unpredictabilities of life. The lines "and I can hop on/ a stretch of time/ and hop off again / and break into the crisp night air" becomes the metaphor of different periods of time, experiencing various moments, and then moving on.
One thing I've learned about poetry, is that you can have your own style, your own structure and your own place to go wild with punctuation, so I'd just say the lengths of your poem seem just really fascinating, but it tells a great deal about the speaker.
For instance, the first stanza is the longest, so there must have been a lot of curveballs that have been thrown to the speaker, and the speaker must have gone through a lot.
The second stanza is a bit shorter, if I'm right it coveys the acceptance of life in a simple, really simple way, almost as if the speaker has still a lot to let go but still manages to accept certain things.
And the last one, that, if I have the real meaning of the poem in mind, then that could mean the real and absolute acceptance.
As for the speaker, they could be anyone, I would say it's perhaps the old woman, but that could metaphorically mean a person with lot of experience about life, someone who has already gone through everything and that person gets off the buss to fully live their life and accept all things.
Everything in all and all in everything, I've written this review about my point of view of this poem, the meaning that I see, and this is the most meaningful poem that I've read at the beginning of this year. You're an awesome poet, really
That's it, that's all.
Hoping the review has been of value to you!
With Rose-tinted regards!
Thanks so much for the review, Rose! Your interpretation that the bus ride represents a life journey is basically what I intended for this poem
I enjoyed seeing what you thought of the speaker and the meaning of the stanza lengths too. Thanks so much for your thoughtful reviewing!
You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that my interpretation was correct and that my review was of value to you