Last night, I joined my daughter and one of her best friends for the sold-out Taylor Swift concert at Nationals Park Stadium in DC. Loved every minute of this 25-year-old’s extraordinary performance.
Now, I’m sitting down (ever so briefly) to post the poem I struggled to complete for Monday’s mini-lesson from Teachers Write! guest author Liz Garton Scanlon. Liz is the author of picture books like All the World and Noodle and Lou as well as a brand new middle grade novel, The Great Good Summer. Here’s the assignment:
1. Commit to writing a 12-line rhyming poem or story.
2. Use either 6 couplets (aa/bb/cc/etc) or 3 quatrains (abab/cdcd/efef)
3. After you’ve written the first 2-4 lines, count the syllables. Even them out as necessary and then stick with that count as you finish the piece.
4. Read it over. Does it make sense? Did rhyme force you to do anything you didn’t want to do? Adjust as necessary.
5. Wrap it up. Read it aloud. Read it aloud again. You hear that? You did that!
Here’s my result, which, despite being less than thrilled about, makes me realize how important it is to exercise my writing muscles. 🙂 I wrote this after getting some cruddy news that sent my stress level through the roof. Rhyming is challenging! Still, I need to work all of my writing muscles, not just the stronger ones. 🙂 I’ll take the next Teachers Write! challenges one word, one line, one story at a time–and be okay with it taking me a little longer than I’d like. This isn’t a race, it’s a self-focused, self-paced education and exploration–for the writer in me. 🙂
The phone calls come in a hurry.
Breathe deeply. Quell the firing nerves.
Questions explode in a flurry.
Situation no one deserves.
Nubby nails, haphazardly chewed
Chattering heart, wildly racing
Squash this madness,; answers elude
Frustratation soars, mindless pacing
Dozens of phone calls required
Monotone voices do not hear
My fear from all that’s transpired
Listen! Did I make myself clear?