photo by Larry J. Knight, Jr. (2004)
ASSIGNMENT: POETRY AND PICTURES
Using your knowledge of the elements/devices of poetry and your knowledge of the structure of a non-traditional (or traditional poem), write a non-traditional (or traditional) lyric poem of no less than 20 lines (or no more than 40 lines) that reflects the theme of nature. PLEASE USE THE PICTURE AS THE BASIS OF YOUR POEM.
Your poem must follow the appropriate structural format and the strict rules of non-traditional (or traditional) poetry. See notes on AP Poetry Literary Devices for aid.
Please write your poem legibly (USE PENCIL) in your journal and complete a first draft. Based on your knowledge of non-traditional (or traditional) lyric poetry you should be able to successfully complete the assignment.
Once the poem has been written (and proofread/revised) you need to type it. Then, add the typed poem to this post as a comment.
PLEASE GIVE YOUR WORK A TITLE. POEMS MAY BE SHARED IN CLASS NEXT WEEK.
4 comments:
Frustrated while looking at a picture of nature
I don’t know what I see when I look at a picture of trees
dirt, branches…
nature is all around me and yet my brain waves are picking up nothing,
raw, breath taking, unmoving to the dumb, human, naked eye ,
where do I find the instruction manual to say what I feel about something I don’t really know
I am prosaic,
I think of the osteoporosis when seeing leaning trees,
I don’t wonder why those trees were frozen in time for so long,
I don’t wonder if it would be fun to get lost in the shadow of nature
I don’t see vertical lines of life reaching for the sky,
I don’t see wonderful showers of light raining from anywhere and everywhere,
I don’t squint my eyes trying to find the hidden horizon
I don’t know what I see, simply because I won’t see it.
When I’m finishing a math problem,
Pulling an all-nighter,
Anticipating the zero I’m going to get because, at the peak of my stress level, I carelessly left my textbook in my locker,
When I’m twisting my pencil during a test,
Most likely, I won’t find the answers in a picture of trees!
I DON’T KNOW WHAT I SEE WHEN I LOOK AT A PICTURE OF TREES
And yet, I’m still looking
and I will continue to look, out of the corner of my eye, eternally.
Bravo!
The Wind of Life
The gentle breeze caresses the branches
That anchor themselves involuntarily to a tree of life.
Variety at its prime;
Fruits, colors, and such
Form the vast unison of nature.
Bounds are foolishness, as
It is like a healthy virus
That cures the sickly who
do not comprehend its awe.
Nature revolves ‘round itself,
Gravity so immense it nears collapse
Upon itself in spectacle.
Nothing compares,
Nothing even matches
The grandeur that illuminates ‘round us
By the moment.
Yet it simply consists of living organisms
Living as one.
Is it not just that?
No,
It is far greater than that,
A dazzling instrument of harmony and peace.
The notes it plays,
No matter the rhythmic atrocity,
Nor the ear-grinding pitch,
It is spectacular.
~Nathan Lesser
Nathan...GREAT poem!
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