1. Poetry
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, Law, Business, Engineering are all noble pursuits necessary to sustain life. But, poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
- “Dead Poet’s Society”

2. “Carpe Diem” Seize the Day!
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC), more widely known as Horace, that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day". Carpe is the second-person singular present active imperative of the Latin verb carpō, which literally means "You pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather, to eat food, to serve, to want", but Ovid used the word in the sense of, "enjoy, seize, use, make use of". It is related to the Greek verb (carpoomae) καρπόομαι, (I grab the fruit, profits, opportunity), (carpos) καρπός=fruit of tree, of effort, etc. Diem refers to "day". Thus, a more accurate translation of "Carpe diem" would be "enjoy the day" or "pluck the day [when it is ripe]".

3. TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME by Robert Herrick
GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,     Old time is still a-flying : And this same flower that smiles to-day     To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,     The higher he's a-getting, The sooner will his race be run,     And nearer he's to setting. That age is best which is the first,     When youth and blood are warmer ; But being spent, the worse, and worst     Times still succeed the former. Then be not coy, but use your time,     And while ye may go marry : For having lost but once your prime     You may for ever tarry.

4. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black, Oh, I kept the first for another day? Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

5. “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt.
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke

6. Diamonte
The diamante is a seven-line contrast poem that is set up to appear in a diamond shape on the paper. It has a difficult pattern and is a real challenge. This is the form:
Line
One word (a noun, the subject)
Two words (adjectives describing 1)
Three words (“ing” or “ed” words that relate to 1)
Four words (first two nouns relate to 1; second two nouns to 7*)
Three words (“ing” or “ed” words that relate to 7*)
Two words (adjectives describing 7)
One word (a noun, opposite of 1)
*Contrast in thought occurs in this line.
Hint: it is easiest to start with lines 1 and 7 first.
School,
Long, hard,
Studying, working, learning
Lessons, homework, freedom, leisure,
Relaxing, playing, resting,
Short, delightful,
Vacation.

7. Rhythm & Rhyme “Limericks”
Rhythm = the pattern of “beats” – some poems have very specific rhythm patterns. Rhyme = the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. Rhyme Scheme = a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem.

8. Rhythm & Rhyme “Limericks”
There once was a girl named Shelly Who ate nothing but bread spread with jelly She gained lots of weight In her gut while she ate So she has to lose pounds in her belly. There once was a boy named Dave Who loved to do nothing but “rave” He went way too far And he crashed his mom’s car So he wound up six feet in a grave. There once was a boy/girl named___________________(A) Who__________________________________________(A) He/She______________________(B) ____________________________(B) So he/she______________________________________(A) Write two (2) original Limericks

9. October Has the Heart Loren Eiseley
Left to his ruin with the autumn leaf, The spider, black and yellow, treading air By means of gossamer, goes like a thief Up, up, and up – till from that trembling stair He launches out for some far other vine Where pumpkins lie like moons among the corn. As through some old, some bitter-clear thin wine The world lies still – no green leaf hikes the thorn. October has the heart; no more dark things Cry in the blood; the quick impatient storms Are all gone past, and with them all high wings. Clear in this autumn quiet something forms: Something to last – what Keats once bent to learn Painted forever on a certain urn.

10. “I Am Poem”
I am (write your first name) I wonder (what do you think about?) I hear (what do you hear in the world around you?) I see (we generally see what we look for) I want (what do you want for yourself, your family, your friends, your world?) I pretend (how do you like to see yourself, the future?) I feel (what is a feeling you get and when?) I touch (keep it clean) I worry (what keeps you up at night?) I cry (everybody cries sometimes) I understand (what do you “get”?) I say (a favorite quote, comment, statement) I dream (goals, ambitions, plans) I try (what are you working on?) I hope (…) Copy the words in bold and follow them with something about you to create you own “I Am Poem”.

11. Concrete Poetry “Poetry Shaped Like What It’s About”
“Man In Orbit” ****** *While*freighting*f rom*Earth*to*Venus*we *passed*a*man*without*a *spacesuit. *He*was*not*pleasant *to*look*at, *orbiting*the*Sun. *And*I*remembered*how*he*w ould*repeat*a*modish*phrase*ba ck*on*Earth, *endlessly--*Stop* The*world, *I*want*to*get *off. *And*it*appeared*t hat*someone*had.* D. O. Pitches

12. “Swan and Shadow” Dusk Above the water hang the loud flies Here O so gray then What A pale signal will appear When Soon before its shadow fades Where Here in this pool of opened eye In us No Upon us As at the very edges of where we take shape in the dark air this object bares its image awakening ripples of recognition that will brush darkness up into light even after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now already passing out of sight toward yet-untroubled reflection this image bears its object darkening into memorial shades Scattered bits of light No of water Or something across water Breaking up No Being regathered soon Yet by then a swan will have gone Yes out of mind into what vast pale hush of a place past sudden dark as if a swan sang

13. Concrete Poetry Write an original Concrete Poem.
Remember to shape your poem on the page to resemble or symbolize what your poem is about.
Your final draft should be in ink.

14. “Pigeons” By Richard Kell
They paddle with staccato feet In powder-pools of sunlight, Small blue busybodies Strutting like fat gentlemen With hands clasped Under their swallowtail coats; And, as they stump about, Their heads like tiny hammers Tap at imaginary nails In non-existent walls. Elusive ghosts of sunshine Slither down the green gloss Of their necks in an instant, and are gone. Summer hangs drugged from sky to earth In limpid fathoms of silence: Only warm dark dimples of sound Slide like slow bubbles From the contented throats. Raise a casual hand - With one quick gust They fountain into air.

15. Simile Comparing two dissimilar things using the words “as” or “like”
Examples:
“He eats like a pig.”
“He’s as strong as an ox.”
“He flopped like a fish out of water.”
“She danced as gracefully as a swan.”

16. Descriptive Poem
Write an original poem that describes a scene from nature: mountains; stream; lake; ocean; beach; forest; swamp; bog; marsh; puddle; pond; desert; etc; etc.
At least 10 lines
Include rhyme and rhythm (consistent number of syllables per line)
Include at least one Simile

17. Once by the Pacific by Robert Frost
The shattered water made a misty din. Great waves looked over others coming in, And thought of doing things to the shore That water never did to land before. The clouds were low and hairy in the skies, Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes. You could not tell, and yet it looked as if The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff, It looked as if a night of dark intent Was coming, and not only a night, an age. Someone had better be prepared for rage. There would be more than ocean-water broken Before God’s last Put out the Light was spoken.

18. Figurative Language Metaphors – Can they be taken literally? No!
Metaphors are often defined as implied comparisons – saying one thing is another thing that it cannot possibly be.
Examples:
“Umbrellas are blossoms.”
“I have a sweet tooth.”
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
“It’s raining cats and dogs.”

19. Original Poem Assignment Somewhere You’ve Been
Picture a place you’ve been before – a place you’d rather be right now. As you visualize, write notes about your place – sights, sounds, smells, feelings. What would you do there? What would you eat? How would you spend your time? Write as many notes as you can in 10 minutes. Using your notes, write a poem – Title: Place Name Must be at least 10 lines with Rhythm and Rhyme. Include at least one Metaphor.

20. Haiku “Nature’s Poetry”
Originated in Japan
Three line poem
Usually about something in nature/outdoors
Standard syllable pattern – 5-7-5
Brown leaves falling down.
Raining Autumn in the yard.
Causing sudden chills.
Butterfly gliding
Just beyond my longing reach
Out of touch again
Choking on exhaust
Busy street sounds violate
My peaceful daydream
Using Your Notes From Our “Nature Walk” Write Two Haiku

21. God Gave Us An Hour
God gave us an hour to show you we care, to tell you we love you, one hour to share. He gave us an hour to hold you so near, you won’t be alone, you have nothing to fear. We’ll hold you and love you the best that we can, but more than one hour was not in His plan. To gaze on your face, give a kiss, shed a tear, the memory of you we will always hold dear. Rest, little one, knowing what one hour brought us, we’ll never forget the lesson you taught us. To live everyday and make each moment last, God gave us an hour that went by too fast. God called you to heaven, now you’re His to keep, But, God gave us an hour to rock you to sleep.

22. “My Dad Was A Legend To Me”
I. When I was a boy I was given a gift, the greatest gift there could be. The gift was a man that I could call dad, my dad was a legend to me. To mom he was husband, and lover, and friend, everything a husband should be. He provided a home full of laughter and love for my brother, my sister and me.
II. When I was a bit older I was given a gift, the greatest gift there could be. The gift was a teacher, a mentor, a coach, my coach was a legend to me. He taught me hard work, loyalty, pride -- and that "TEAM" was made up of "WE". Give all you've got, every "down" of your life, because nothing is given for free.

23. “My Dad Was A Legend To Me”
III. When I was a young man I was given a gift, the greatest gift there could be. The gift was a mirror, a father, a friend, a reflection of how it should be. Life is short, so enjoy every minute you have, with good friends, and your family. When times get too hard, and there's nowhere to turn, my eyes close and my dad's who I see.
IV. Now that I'm grown, a husband, and father, complete with my own family. I sit down to relax, to reflect on my life, I know what's important to me. It's a gift I received on the day I was born, the greatest gift there could be. The gift was my dad, and if you knew him too, you know why he's a legend to me.

24. Elegy: a poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual
O Captain! My Captain!
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
    But O heart! heart! heart!
      O the bleeding drops of red,
        Where on the deck my Captain lies,
          Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
    Here Captain! dear father!
      This arm beneath your head;
        It is some dream that on the deck,
          You’ve fallen cold and dead.
   

25. Elegy: a poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual
O Captain! My Captain!
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
    Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
      But I, with mournful tread,
        Walk the deck my Captain lies,
          Fallen cold and dead.
Assignment: Write an Elegy for someone you have lost, a beloved pet or, if you’d like to get really creative, about yourself. At least two stanzas long with a definite rhyme scheme.

26. Snow-Flakes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow Descends the snow. Even as our cloudy fancies take Suddenly shapes in some divine expression, Even as the troubled heart doth make In the white countenance confession, The troubled sky reveals The grief it feels. This is the poem of the air, Slowly in silent syllable recorded; This is the secret of despair, Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded, Now whispered and revealed To wood and field.

27. Weather Poem
Write an original poem about the Weather – sunny weather, rainy weather, snowy weather, hot weather, cold weather, drizzly weather, misty weather, foggy weather, smoggy weather, etc. Include: a definite pattern; rhyme; rhythm; and, at least one example of personification. At least 4 stanzas.

28. Personification Giving human characteristics to non-humans.
The Eagle
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

29. Animal Poem Visualize a favorite animal, wild or domestic.
Make notes describing your animal – size, colors, features, the way it moves, the things it does, how it gets its food, how it eats, sleeps, plays, etc.
Write a short “animal” poem – 2 stanzas, three lines each – in the style of the “The Eagle” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
All lines in each stanza rhyme with the others
Each line contains the same number of syllables

30. from “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe
I Hear the sledges with the bells - Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells! How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells - From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
II Hear the mellow wedding bells - Golden bells! What a world of happiness their harmony foretells! Through the balmy air of night How they ring out their delight! From the molten-golden notes, And all in tune, What a liquid ditty floats To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats On the moon! Oh, from out the sounding cells What a gush of euphony voluminously wells! How it swells! How it dwells On the Future! -how it tells Of the rapture that impels To the swinging and the ringing Of the bells, bells, bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells - To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

31. Repetition, Alliteration & Onomatopoeia *Poetry Making Use of Sounds*
Repetition – The use of a word or group of words more than once in a poem.
Alliteration – The repetition of the same consonant sound, usually at the beginning of words.
Onomatopoeia – A word that imitates or suggests the sound of what it refers to.

32. Original Poem
Write an original poem using repetition, alliteration and/or onomatopoeia
At least 12 lines in three stanzas (4 lines per stanza)
Must have a rhyme scheme and rhythm (count your syllables)

33. “Jabberwocky” By Lewis Carroll
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought – So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” He chortled in his joy. ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

34. Nonsense Poetry
Make up names for the following classes of animals: fliers; crawlers; swimmers; runners; leapers; and jumpers.
Write a Narrative Poem (one that tells a story) using the animals you’ve created.
Include Rhythm and Rhyme.
At Least 14 Lines Long.

35. Dr. Seuss “Yertle the Turtle” - 1958
Seuss has stated that the title character, Yertle, represented Adolf Hitler, with Yertle's despotic rule of the pond and takeover of the surrounding area parallel to Hitler's regime in Germany and invasion of various parts of Europe. In 2003, reporter John J. Miller also compared Yertle to the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, saying that “Its final lines apply as much to Saddam Hussein as they once did to the European fascists". The last lines of "Yertle the Turtle" read: "And turtles, of course ... all the turtles are free / As turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be.“ When questioned about why he wrote "maybe" rather than "surely", Seuss replied that he didn't want to sound "didactic or like a preacher on a platform", and that he wanted the reader "to say 'surely' in their minds instead of my having to say it."

36. Dr. Seuss “Sneetches”
This story is an allegory for prejudice and discrimination, and also offers a lesson of materialism and entrepreneurship. Sneetches are a group of vaguely avian yellow creatures who live on a beach. Some Sneetches have a green star on their bellies, and in the beginning of the story the absence of a star is the basis for discrimination. Sneetches who have stars on their bellies are part of the "in crowd," while Sneetches without stars are shunned and consequently mopey.

37. Dr. Seuss “The Lorax”
The Lorax was written in 1971 during a time when the U.S. was dealing with the backlash of the 1960’s environmental movement. Most notably, trees in the Pacific Northwest were being cut down at an alarming rate by logging companies. So you can imagine how unhappy these companies were to hear that good old Dr. Seuss had written a story about deforestation. In fact, a lot of people were upset about The Lorax. Okay, I understand why the logging industry was upset about the book, but was it really necessary to ban it? It’s a lovable Dr. Seuss story! In my opinion The Lorax should be required reading from kindergarten through high school. When you look beyond the rhymes and the pretty pictures you realize that the story teaches children about conservation, respect for the environment and love of all living creatures. That’s something that every human being, regardless of age, should learn. -- Trish Smith aka “The Green Groove”

38. Dr. Seuss “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” - 1990
Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a book written and illustrated by children's author Dr. Seuss. It was first published by Random House on January 22, 1990, making it his last book published before his death. The book concerns life and its challenges. Though written in the style of classics such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! has many specific characters including a narrator and the reader. A young boy, referred to simply as “you,” initiates the action of the story. However, the presence of a main character helps readers to identify with the book. It is written in second person and uses future tense. It is perhaps best known for the line, "Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)" In the United States and Canada, Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a popular gift for students graduating from high school and college, spiking in sales every spring, selling up to 300,000 copies every year.

39. Dr. Seuss “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” - 1990
Where will you go?
Using the same rhyme and rhythm as Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, continue the story to tell where you will go when you are out of high school.
It could be college, work, military or just a vacation you’d like to take. Be Creative!
At least 14 lines.

40. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black, Oh, I kept the first for another day? Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.