Friday, April 16, 2021

Day #16: Poem Without a Title

Good morning! Your challenge today is to write a poem and save the TITLE for the end. Hopefully the title will change how the poem was first read. That is, it will ADD meaning to what came before.

Here is a sample: 

    Don't be polite.
    Bite in.
    Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that
    may run down your chin.
    It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

    You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
    or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

    For there is no core
    or stem
    or rind
    or pit
    or seed
    or skin
    to throw away.

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Think about that poem. What does it seem to be about?
Now scroll down and find the title. Does it change the meaning for you at all?







"How to Eat a Poem" by Eve Merriam
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Here is the poem I wrote, with its title at the end...

scratch of dry nib
misfired squib
drool on the bib

cheetos gone stale
no wind in the sail
a rusty bent nail

jarred mice mocking
brain cells balking
empty knocking

..................



Titled: "Writing a Poem on Day #15"
Do you see my poem in a new way when you read the title?


Here's your challenge. Choose a form, then write the poem. Think of a title. Go back through your poem and eliminate any DIRECT references to your title. Post your poem, and a few lines later, post your title!

Rock on! You're doing great! Today we are on the SECOND HALF of the month!

Thanks to Ethical ELA for many of the prompts I'm adapting for my students this month.


13 comments:

  1. Writing the words
    Scratching of the red pen
    The white paper in front of me

    The drink is gone
    The day is long
    The rhthyem of the world
    Goes on and on and on

    ReplyDelete
  2. How to write an iambic poem

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! I like how the second stanza is in iambic pentameter! "goes on and on and on" is a nice capturing of the meter!

      Delete
  3. The sweetest kiss comes from Death,
    To lay one to eternal rest.
    But I contest,
    To be the best.

    Yet their hollowed gaze,
    Holds warmth for the lazed.
    And the bones of their hand,
    Are softer than the finest of sand.

    They have no voice nor say a word,
    But one just knows that it's sweeter than birds.
    And still we strain against the tides,
    As Styx desperately pulls us inside.

    And though I know my shot is all but long,
    I can't help but resist rights and wrongs.
    For to be human, one must challenge even the Fates,
    It's simply something in us that's truly innate.



    Title: "Unrequited Requiem"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, I'm interested in this. Unrequited means unanswered, or non reciprocated. A requiem is a funeral dirge. So is this an unanswered funeral dirge?

      Delete
    2. I love the words and felt they deserved to be the title. I did intend on unrequited being non-reciprocated because I wanted to slightly base it off my poem awhile back which ranted about a crush (the one you thought was about my cat, which made me confused because their name is similar to that hahaha.) Requiem was based off the concept that it revolves around death and the journey through that. Does that make sense? :D

      Delete
  4. A knife, shiny and dangerous,
    sticking out of my midsection
    As they gawk at my wounds

    I’m splitting at the seems
    Bleeding out the wound
    Gasping, taking dying breaths
    Coughing up blood in my mouth

    But they just stand there
    Like they can’t see my pain
    The cry in my eyes
    As I collapse in the shower

    This pain was brought upon me
    From someone just like me
    They share my pain
    They’ll soon suffer, the same fate


    Title : “The Power in Your Words”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow - I felt the ah-ha of surprise and of-course when I read the title. Words can do such damage.

      Delete
  5. Get comfortable
    Fix your gaze
    Right hand set
    Left hand set

    Feel the gentle tug of the wind
    Loosen your muscles
    Hear the birds
    Don’t be tense

    Get moving
    The noise all around
    Concentrate
    Feel everything around you
    slow down

    ReplyDelete
  6. Replies
    1. Wonderful! Your poem uses great imagery. I love the setting of each hand an the "loosen your muscles"- Tree climbing DESERVES a poem! Bravo!

      Delete
  7. Greeting me every morning,
    my best friend.
    Who sleeps on the floor,
    but never looks sore

    He sits on my lap
    hoping to get food
    that I've dropped on the floor.





    Title: Mornings with my Dog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohhhhh! What a sweet tribute! I enjoy seeing you play with rhyme also!

      Delete

Day #30: Final Poem!

Let's wind up our month of poetry writing with a poem about... our month of poetry writing! Consider an epistolary poem (letter form) wr...