ROUND ONE: 2-mesh vs. 15-sextuple

Click here for authlete instructions.

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:

2-mesh
Instructions Incomplete
By Bruce Balan

I bought a cool model—a car I could build!
The box said it’s easy; no need to be skilled

I worked through the day and late into the night—
but when I was finished, it wasn’t quite right

The gears wouldn’t mesh and the wheels wouldn’t turn
So I pulled it apart, and you know what I learned?

There was no warning found in the instructions:
Keep track of your gum, when you’re starting construction.

vs.

15-sextuple
A Half Dozen Cousins
By Dave Crawley

A Half dozen cousins came calling,
Including a pair who were brawling.
And a trio of kin raised a terrible din,
While a singular baby was bawling.

I dizzily focussed each pupil,
Seeing double? Or was it quadruple?
I have said, ever since, though I’d settle for quints,
Good things never come in sextuple.

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