Complete following prompts:
Poem 1: Write a short poetic monologue (a speech for one voice) in the voice of a character who has done something illegal, immoral, gross, or unkind. Make sure the character’s voice is clear; however the voice feels about what she or he has done is up to you, but try to make the reader sympathize with the character. As you did in Journal 2, pay attention to the way you break the lines and ensure that your poem has a pattern. Stanzas are optional. Length: Approximately 30 lines.
Poem 2: Write from the point of view of anything not human—an insect, a robot, a potato, a belly button. Try to invent and develop diction (word choice) and style (way of speaking) that represents the frame of reference for this thing. For instance, if you were writing from the point of view of a shoe, it is likely to have extensive knowledge of and opinions about flooring, but a limited concept of the sky or human heads. Try to make the visual form of the poem evoke this thing; for example, imagine a poem written in the voice of leaves falling from a tree and the lines are short, broken, and spread across the page. Length: Approximately 40 lines.
Poem 3: Read Ted Kooser’s poem “Tattoo” (http://tedkooser.net/excerpts/tattoo.html (Links to an external site.)). Write a brief poem in which the speaker describes a person she or he is observing. Try to create one striking image that gets the speaker’s attention. Make each line of the poem ten syllables. Length: 14 lines.