The Art of Poetry

Many can remember back to the days when English class was pure torture, trying to come up with a creative thesis, structuring the perfect essay, suffering through the endless lessons in grammar... and in most public schools, being forced to explore and even dabble in the genre of poetry.

What 8th or 9th grade kid likes to read poetry, much less WRITE it?

However, today I had the immense pleasure of not only watching a group of thirty students produce poems in less than fifteen minutes, but also, they were good, creative, and, honestly, made me question my own artistic ability.

What is the secret formula to poetry?

It's simpler than you think ((it even incorporates a simple grammar lesson!))

1) Have your student take out a spare piece of paper and fold it "hot dog" style.
2) On the left side ask your students to think of any object that has an action (s).

For example object = dog, which can sit, eat, stand, sleep, etc. List four to five actions.

3) Then create adverbs for each of these actions: sits lazily, eats sloppily, etc.

4) On the right side, have the student come up with a metaphor for each phrase.

"The dog eats sloppily like a starving man chowing on McDonalds"

5)On the bottom half of the paper, have the students combine all of the above and add their own personal touches.

Voila! An instant poem:

Real Life Example

Object= Leaves

like a cascading waterfall fall swiftly
like a spider's web hang delicately
like a school lunchroom rustle noisily
like a cyclone roller coaster spin violently
like wax about to drip from a candle dwindle precariously
like reflections of twinkle lights from a Christmas tree dance serenely

Leaves

Leaves fall swiftly like a cascading waterfall,

Hanging delicately like the threads of a spider's web,

Brilliant colors rustle noisily like a middle school lunchroom,

As the last few dwindle precariously by their stem,

Like the wax from a candle about to drip,

Spinning violently like a cyclone roller coaster,

The last signs of Fall dance serenely down the sidewalk,

Like the reflections of twinkle lights from a Christmas tree,

Out of sight.