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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:
12-prescient
The Fortune Teller
by Heidi Mordhorst
I don’t need a crystal ball;
I don’t read your palm.
I was born with inner sight;
Prediction keeps me calm.
I see what will befall you;
Your fate is in my hands.
Precious is what they call me;
Prescient is what I am.
vs.
13-baroque
The Music in Me
by Samuel Kent
My belly’s making melody:
a borborygmus song,
a tuneful tummy symphony
baroque and bold and strong.
My stomach sings euphonious,
but I deserve my fate…
I’m happily harmonious
from all the beans I ate.