Culminating Poem

Red faces and wet bodies
Suits and caps packed in a circle
No one lets go
Tearful exchanges and fearful changes
All because you said you're leaving
Devastation, dread, devotion
All for you
Final gatherings and moments
So much want to make it all special
Hurried memories and reminiscing
Hope and plans for the future
Excitement for next year and the coming months
I guess it won't be so bad


For this poem I used the show don't tell technique because I thought the vivid imagrey would be more suiting to the emotions I felt at the time rather than just stating them. I think this is partially because I was feeling so many different things that it's hard to use just one word to describe it. I also used some rhyming on the 4th line, and alliteration on the 6th. I thought that the alliteration would add some sort of melancholy and emphasis to the words listed seen as the only time that I put any emotion explicitly into words.

Creating Poetry from a Free Write

Free Write:
If I could be one animal I think I might chose to be a giraffe. I'd want to live in a place where some humans did, so that I could surprise them by poking my head through the window when they're eating or reading. I think a lot of people like giraffes and it wouldn't hurt to be popular like that. Does the giraffe have any real predators? I don't remember seeing anything about that on "Planet Earth" or national geographic. Maybe the lion or hyena? Being tall might get old after a while, but it'd definitely be better than being a dung beadle. I bet being a giraffe gets lonely sometimes. There don't seem to be that many more giraffes in the world, but how would I know? Only observing them on TV or at the zoo has probably lead to an inaccurate depiction of what a giraffe's life is really like.

Poem #1
Does the giraffe have any real predators?
I don't remember seeing anything
about that on "Planet Earth" or National Geographic.
Maybe the lion or hyena?

 Being tall might get old after a while,
but it'd definitely be better
 than being a dung beadle.

I bet being a giraffe gets lonely sometimes.
There don't seem to be that many more
giraffes in the world, but how would I know?
Only observing them on TV
or at the zoo has probably lead me
to an inaccurate depiction
 of what a giraffe's life is really like.

Poem #2
If I could be one animal
I think
I might chose to be a giraffe.
I'd want to live in a place where some humans did,
 so that I could surprise them
 by poking my head through the window
when they're eating or reading.
I think
 a lot of people like giraffes
and it wouldn't hurt to be popular like that.

Article Turned Poem

"Unleashing the Scientist in the Student"
The students were gathered around
a red-backed salamander deep in the woods
on Staten Island. A shiny black squiggle,
 it was jumping around in the cupped hands of their teacher,
Aimee Kemp, who was determined to show them
 how she could tell it was a male.
New York City used to be salamander central,
but while the red-backed salamander still thrives under rocks and logs,
other species have disappeared.


Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/nyregion/salamander-study-enlists-new-york-city-seventh-graders.html?ref=earth

Poetic Qualities

Is there a tune more happy
than a daughter’s windchime laugh?  
A silence more crushing
than her rolling tear?  
Is there a breeze more cooling
than a son’s slumbered sigh?  
A thought more awesome
than the question that he asks?  
And is there a truer joy
when I am the clown? 
Shame when I accuse and rage? 
Peace when I pull up the sheet?  
Pride when I strike the flint? 
I made these kids
and I make these kids.  
And they make me.

10 Reasons to Love Chocolate

First,
It'll become your best friend.
Or an addiction.
Either way it's not bad.

Second,
It a universal symbol for love
If you don't love chocolate, do you love?

Third,
The chef prides in it's knowledge of it
It must be important.

Fourth,
It's ancient all the way to the Mayans
Appreciate history.

Fifth,
Bites melt in your mouth,
no need to chew.

Sixth,
Those who don't enjoy it
face being ostracized
when anyone discovers their secret.

Seventh
It's powerful enough to bring
a smile to the saddest person one could find.

Eighth
It is loved by people of all
Ages, races, countries, religions, genders, classes.
Universal.

Ninth
There is always a new way to enjoy it
Spicy or mild
Perfumed or plain
Crunchy or smooth
Melted or hard
On things or in things.
Versatility.

Tenth
Delicious.
Plain and simple.

Morning

Sitting at the kitchen counter,
In my robe.
Scones cooling on the counter.
Looking out the window as the sun rises
Trees and bushes in the yard
line the creek flowing to the right,
ducks scattered on the banks. The grass wet with dew.
Everything growing lighter and shining with the sun.
I am warmed by this and the oolong in my mug.
Comics on the counter as I sip slowly.
Thinking of all the things to be done,
but mostly thinking that they can wait.

Modernism

Staring out the window, I see the mountain covered in trees.
I stay there for a while.

Word Puzzle Poem

r
 a
   i
     n
d
  r
    i
      p
       
p
  l
  u
n
  k

     S   P  L
pud A   H  dle
         S

Free Verse Eulogy

You were smart.
You were successful.
You were daring.
You were determined.
You were loved.
You were leaving.

Then you were gone.
Then I was remorseful.
Then I was bitter.

I am thinking.
I am sinking.
I am moving on.
I am looked upon.
I am okay.
I will live another day.

An attempt at rondeau

I always though school was essential.
Getting a B would wreck my potential.
And that being popular was cool
and I had to wear the biggest jewel.
These pressures were torrential.

These problems weren't confidential;
everyone knew that to me they were presidential.
At least i wasn't breaking the rule
I always thought.

But then I learned that my issues weren't residential.
Many girls found these thing influential
whether they attended public, private, or church school.
Now my confidence can make boys drool,
because I know that those things aren't existential.
I always thought .