List Poem

List Poem Our lives are filled with lists! This poem is one of the oldest most organic forms of poetry. One of the easiest forms of poetry to write; it doesn’t require rhythm or thyme!

Elements of List Poems Writer is telling you something – pointing something out (“Think about this” or “Look at this”) there’s a beginning and end, like in a story each item in the list is written the same way they rarely rhyme it’s fun to juxtapose things that seem non-sequential: fruits and meats, nuts and dairy, big picture to little flower list poems have a layering effect

How to Begin? Brainstorm a list – whatever comes to mind- jot it down! Whatever comes to mind, write it down, even if it was off on a tangent! Go back over the list and look for new tangents! Add plenty of adjectives, glorious and mundane. In the editing of this list, juggle the order. Play with the pattern.

When I Count to Three by: Lauri Bohanan When I count to three, the toys better be picked up. the quarter will disappear from my fist. your butt better be in the car. When I count to three I’ll have to clam down. the swats will end. the world will explode. the pain will be gone.

Driving at Dawn by: Van K. Brock A dead rabbit by the roadside Sunlight turning his ears to rose petals. A new electric fence, Its five barbed wires tight As a steel-stringed banjo. The feet of a fat dove On a high black line Throbbing the hum Of a thousand waterfalls. A flock of egrets in a field of cows. The red leaves of a bush Burning inside me. A swamp holding its breath.

My Noisy Brother by: Bruce Lansky My brother’s such a noisy kid, when he eats soup he slurps. When he drinks mild he gargles. And after meals he burps. He cracks his knuckles when he’s bored. He whistles when he walks. He snaps his fingers when he sings. and when he’s mad he squawks. At night my brother snores so loud it sounds just like a riot. Even when he sleeps my noisy brother isn’t quiet.

List Poem Poem #1

List Poem Your Task: Write Poem #1, emphasizing repetition and new voice

As children we heard many don’ts Brainstorm a list of all the don’ts that you remember from your childhood Begin each line of your list with Don’t Example: Don’t talk back!

Go! Now, put an star next to the most serious one!

Now Begin the Poem Title the Poem – you! Name or Name used when your parent was irritated with you Every line of poem begins with Don’t The last line is the starred most important one, and this line should start with “And never, never, …..”

Reflect Look at your poem and Re-read it to yourself the poem says something true about each of your childhoods the poem is spoken in the voice of a parent

Revising Write your poem on a full sheet of white paper or type is on a full sheet Shape the poem any way you want to on this white background/sheet