Sydney Erwin’s “The Perfect CofC student tour guide to a less than enthused group of parents and high school students”

This poem was a refreshing comical monologue that gave a different perspective to the common college tour. The first thing I noticed about the poem was the punctuation and use of capitalization. When the words grand and magnificent are capitalized it seems to especially bring out the sarcastic mocking tone. I really liked the line “Covered in Ox blood from our dear red-coated friends.” It brings an element of history as well as acts as a social critic on the bloody past that is celebrated in Charleston. I also enjoyed the way that the speaker addressed the individual yet nameless faces of the crowds. It helped me to feel the frustration of keeping large groups of anxious overbearing parents entertained as they continuously asked the same questions in an endless cycle of worry. This poem was also able to give legitimate advice within the context of its condescending attitude such as “Over here it’s a game of who is fit” and “There is a party on glebe calling my name. Hello this is CofCnot just a game!” This poem feels whimsical and as a College of Charleston student I feel as though I can relate well, and it makes it that much more enjoyable to read. Overall my favorite part of this poem was the ending. The whole piece read as a tour from beginning to end, so the ending of the poem was the equivalent to the completion of the tour. I know that I would be experiencing the same intense desire to escape the needy parents and let off steam at a party. This ending also indicates a strong observation that students at College of Charleston are most concerned with partying. I aplaud and pity you if you actually had to be a tour guide, though it did make for an entertaining poem.