Personal Letter No. 3 by Sonia Sanchez

The first thing i notice when reading this poem was the title "Personal Letter No. 3" because that to me meant that the author Sonia Sanchez was writing this piece as if it were to herself which meant it would be reflective and personal.  This caught my interest because i feel as though self reflection through deep thought and escapism like poetry is very beneficial and is something not enough people in the world do.  Another important factor contributing to the boldness i felt was layered throughout the poem was the rhythm Sanchez gave to the piece by basically writing sentences and having them end on each line at specific point that causes the reader to have to keep pausing and take in what they are reading with that extra second mid-sentence.  Also the rhythm develops a sort of cliffhanger at the end of each line because the reader wants to finish the idea of that sentence and must follow on to the next line in order to do so.  Overall i like this poem because the ideas the author mentions represent serious late night thinking which i can relate to.  Ideas that seem random and scattered actually have depth and important messages they are backed by.  Whether it be something as simple as older women attempting to keep their youth by with "cool playing sounds" or a sentence much more meaningful like saying sometimes "after midnight" the author is "sick of it all".  A line like the one that Sanchez ends the poem with is very straight forward but also a personal statement that many people can relate to.  For that reason, the ability to relate to it, i felt a good connection to this piece.