1. Blinger Tuesday 2/12/13 It is possible to be struck by a meteor or a single-engine plane while reading in a chair at home. Safes drop from rooftops and flatten the odd pedestrian mostly within the panels of the comics, but still, we know it possible, as well as the flash of summer lighting, the thermos toppling over, spilling out on the grass. - Excerpted from “Picnic, Lighting” by Billy Collins 1. What do you think inspired this poet to write this poem? 2. What is his purpose? My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lighting) when I was three. – Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita Place your homework in the basket on my desk.

2. Poetry Portfolio  We will be creating and collecting several pieces of original poetry.  All of your poems in addition to any handouts should be kept in the folder provided.  Put your name on the folder and bring it to class every day!

3. Sample There was a change in the weather. For the worse. The air became unbearably humid. Stanley was drenched in sweat. Beads of moisture ran down the handle of his shovel. It was almost as if the temperature had gotten so hot that the air itself was sweating. A loud crack of thunder echoed across the empty lake. A storm was way off to the west, beyond the mountains. Stanley could count more than thirty seconds between the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder. That was how far away the storm was. Sound travels a great distance across a barren wasteland. A change For the worse. The air became humid. Beads of moisture ran down the handle of the shovel. The air itself was sweating. Thunder echoed across the empty lake. A storm. Thirty seconds between the flash and the thunder. Sound travels across a barren wasteland.

4. Rationale Annotation  Annotate your poem marking places where you made purposeful and strategic decisions. Explain WHY you made those choices. You may wish to explain: Selected words Line breaks Punctuation Rhyme or rhythm