Interesting poem. I really like the last line and how it relates to the first line. Some observations and suggestions:
First, that "Born into a land of strangers," line is a bit too short to flow well into the next. I read the poem 3 times (aloud), and the first and second lines flow worse than pretty much any others in the poem. In general, the first stanza didn't grab me at all. No offense intended, but it reads like someone looked up the last two lines in a thesaurus... I found it awkward and overly wordy. It is especially strange sounding after the simplicity of the first two lines. I have a rather extensive vocabulary as well, but I try not to over use it to the point that my lines turn into a mess. The word "prevarication" in particular makes the lines seem awkward to me, though the word choice is perfect for meaning. In general, the meaning is clear here, it's just a mouthful when reading the poem.
Easy fix: "A meadow of dreams is were her spirit plays," Is 'where' her spirit plays. Darn typos!
The little one watches her parents react,
to each other, the world, and the whispering shack.
The father was a distant General, filled with rage,
her heart grew ingenious behind an iron cage.
I thought this stanza was a bit odd. The "whispering shack" prompted me to reread the poem from the start again because I didn't recall any previous mentions of poverty. The "distant General, filled with rage" confused me for a minute because "distant" could mean emotionally or physically, and coupled with the "General" (who could well be off to war), I wasn't sure which you meant. After a while, I figured that the shouting from the paragraph before probably meant that the General was at the home. Still not entirely sure though. Ambiguity is fine with me-- just thought I'd mention it.
Also, did you really mean that her heart grew ingenious? Seemed like an odd word choice to me, particularly since you've talked about her being "ingenuous" throughout the poem. Wondered if perhaps you swapped words there by accident. Additionally, if her heart already grew "ingenious", the "she figured it out" line in the next stanza loses its power and becomes a repeat of the last line in this stanza.
It looks as though you're talking about the mother still in the final stanza. The last female mentioned was the mother, followed by 'she, she, and she'. If I'm not mistaken, the first "she" is about the mother, but the others are about the child. Easy remedy: tell us who you're talking about when you switch people. Refer to the mother as "she" all you want, but the first time you use "she" for the child again, say "the child" or something instead of using the pronoun.
A meadow of dreams is were her spirit plays,
her fantasies drift throughout endless days.
There wasn't a shout or an ill spoken word,
the blueprint of life was taught & observed.
This is the best stanza in the entire poem I think. Generally, I look for strong first and last stanzas, but this was far stronger than either of them. For instance, the wordiness of the last two lines of the first stanza sounded awkward, while this stanza is packed with amazing, flashy words-- but none of the awkwardness. I really like the first, second, and fourth lines here, and the third gets its point across. Very well done I think.
Overall, I think this is a nice poem that has some really strong lines. Some editing would make the poem even better. Poetry is often personal though, so you're welcome to take or ignore any suggestions.
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