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Voter Instructions:
- The countdown at the bottom of each pairing indicates how much time is left to vote.
- When voting closes, timer will disappear.
- Read both poems as many times as you like.
- Mark the poem you like best by clicking the circle next to its name.
- Press the “Vote” button to record your vote.
- Votes are counted in real time and cannot be changed once entered.
- You can only vote once from a given IP address.
- Classrooms should submit one vote as a class.
- Students can then vote again individually from home.
Things to Consider in Making a Choice:
- How well the poem incorporates the authlete’s assigned word.
- Technical elements: meter, rhyme, form, shape, and other poetic standards.
- Creativity: wordplay, imagery, unusual approach, etc.
- Subtle elements that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
- Your overall response: emotional reaction such as admiration, tears, laughter, terror, or some indefinable feeling.
Here are the poems:
1-spite
The Sprite Bully
by Gloson Teh
At break time, as I tried to buy the final can of Sprite,
A burly bully came and roared, “That Sprite is MINE, ALRIGHT!!!”
These selfish words provoked me, choking me with rage and spite.
So with my fist I punched his nose with quite a lot of might.
Ensued a fight. He kicked me tight; I gave his arm a bite…
And then the counselor walked by, which gave us both a fright!
We got sent to his office; he then shed us some light,
on ” Why You Shouldn’t Argue Over Petty Things Like Sprite”.
vs.
16-milquetoast
Caspar’s Lament
by Margo Lemieux
The silky ghost with
a silver chain
haunts helplessly
Alas! In vain
This milquetoast ghost
ignored again
leaves meekly
through the window pane