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.
2-mesh vs. 15-sextuple: Which Poem Did You Prefer?
- 2-mesh (Bruce Balan) (30%, 82 Votes)
- 15-sextuple (Dave Crawley) (70%, 191 Votes)
Total Voters: 273

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