1. Poetry Unit
English 11

2. Motto
I play it cool And dig all jive That’s the reason I stay alive My motto, As I live and learn, Is: Dig And Be Dug In Return
Langston Hughes

3. Motto Assignment
Write a poem, 8-10 lines, that captures the short, sweet message like “Motto” does.
If you need help getting started, think of a green word that you live by…
Strength, resiliency, honesty, love, etc.
Poem must include the word “motto” and must have a rhyme scheme.

4. If We Must Die
Claude McKay

5. If We Must Die Assignment
Write a poem, lines that addresses an important experience in your life. This poem/experience can elicit any emotion you want it to.
Does not have to rhyme.
Try to mimic “If We Must Die” OR “Lost Count”
Must have the phrase “If (I, we, you) must” somewhere in it.

6. Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

7. Harlem Assignment Ask yourself, “What happens to a…?”
Fill in that blank and let the imagery follow.
Use Hughes’s poem as your guide to writing a similar poem of your own.
Must have same rhyme scheme.

8. Harlem Assignment Rhyme Scheme
A What happens to… B C D E F G H

9. I Want to Die While You Love Me

10. I Want to Die While You Love Me Assignment
Fill in the blank…I Want to ______.
Write a poem, 12 lines, that mimics the repetition of Georgia Douglas Johnson’s poem.
First line of every stanza must repeat.
Must have same rhyme scheme.

11. Your World
Your world is as big as you make it. I know, for I used to abide In the narrowest nest in a corner, My wings pressing close to my side. But I sighted the distant horizon Where the skyline encircled the sea And I throbbed with a burning desire To travel this immensity. I battered the cordons around me And cradled my wings on the breeze, Then soared to the uttermost reaches With rapture, with power, with ease!

12. Your World Assignment Set your timer for 7 minutes.
Describe the world you live in…can be any kind of observation.
Minimum 10 lines.
The title of your poem will be “My World”