Day #3. One of the poets I'm learning from this month is Amy Ludwig VanDerWater over at The Poem Farm. Amy has published several books of children's poetry-- Forest Has a Song, Every Day Birds, and Read, Read, Read (I need this one!), and most recently, With My Hands: Poems About Making Things.
Amy also has a new professional book, Poems Are Teachers, that was released in October. Each day this month, she is writing a poem about the constellation, Orion, using a different technique from Poems Are Teachers. On April 1st, Amy wrote a "list" poem. On April 2nd, she wrote a "story" poem. Today, she wrote what she called a "mask," or "persona" poem. In that format, the author takes on a new point of view. I decided to try my own mask poem tonight. So here it is!
"I am book"
I am book
I am home to…
stories
songs
information
images
insights
dreams
desires
delights
magic
marvels
escape
You can…
undress me
bleed me fluorescent
annotate
agree
argue
review
recycle
reuse
even slosh coffee across my pages.
But please don't…
fold back my covers
turn down my corners
drool on my pages
smudge me with flaming hot cheetos
accept my ideas blindly
and
please
please
please
don't ignore me.
I am book.
I am your friend.
(C) Carol Wilcox, 2018
I'm camping (Camp NaNoWriMo) rather than poeming but I like to do online poetry bombing in April. You've heard of yarn bombing; this is the same but with poems online, a cross between bombing and broadsiding. The idea is post them where poems aren't expected -- and to be read by people who usually don't read.
ReplyDelete"I am your friend." Beautiful words for ending this lovely personal poem. I love your theme for the month!
ReplyDeletePersona poem (sometimes I hate auto correct.)
ReplyDeleteI just love this one, Carol. A delightful rhythm created by thoughtful word placement and short lines. You make me just want to curl up with my book today.
ReplyDeleteI had to go back one more time to reread. This time I laughed over "smudge me flaming hot Cheetos." Cheetos, Doritos, and fudgy brownies probably don't make the best reading snacks. The line that really caught me this time, however, was please don't "accept my ideas blindly." This is so hard to teach and, for reasons quite obvious today, essential.
ReplyDeleteI love reading writing that is through a mask. Your flaming Cheetos made me laugh. That detail so specific has the punch you need. I think this is a format students could do easily. A wonderful mentor text for writing through a mask.
ReplyDeleteEvery part is wonderful, Carol. I like the "don'ts", too, but also that lovely idea "undress me". Very true about reading a book, isn't it? I bet that study hall class would love this, maybe have ideas to add?
ReplyDeleteThis is marvelous. I imagine books every hopping off of their shelves saying, "Yep! That's true! Listen up!" I do fold corners, I must admit. But no flaming hot cheetos! The alliteration and list format here is great too, with the mask point of view. I so like showing students how poets use MANY techniques in one poem. xxxx
ReplyDeleteCaptures the essence of books! I wish everyone could hear books talk like that!
ReplyDelete"Smudge me with flaming hot Cheetos" is my favorite image. I must admit I've scarred many books w/ food. This is a fun poem. You've given me an idea for my AP Lit students. Thank you!
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