2. The Bridge Poem By Donna Kate Rushin
Originally published in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color in 1981

3. Reading poetry
First time through: Write down a word or phrase (2-3 words) that jumps out at you.
Second time through: Reading closer. Annotate the poem.
Third time through: Taking an even closer look, we will ask and answer some important questions to better understand the poem.

4. Poetic Devices to Consider
Anaphora: the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs.
Ex: “Sick”
Enjambment:  the breaking of a syntactic unit or a clause over two or more lines without a punctuated pause.
Ex: “I’m sick of reminding you not to
Close off too tight for too long”

5. More poetic choices to consider
Extended metaphor: An extended metaphor is a longer metaphor that continues the comparison for several lines or stanzas; multiple comparisons are made between the two things instead of just one.
Minimal punctuation
Free verse
Writer vs. writer’s persona