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:
4-whatever
One More Time, Kid
by David L. Harrison
Okay, first you roll your eyes.
Raise those eyebrows toward the ceiling.
Perfect. Lift your shoulders – slowly.
Your sigh could use a bit more feeling.
Show your palms like, “What? What?”
Shake your head as though you’ve never
Been so pained and bored before.
You are ready! Groan, “Whatever.”
vs.
13-auxiliary
The Trouble with Hooved Animals
by Bonnie Bailey
When they wrote NO PETS ALLOWED –
They should have said no ungulates.
An auxiliary footnote could clarify –
“NO CAMELS ON ROLLER SKATES!”
The herd just arrived from soccer practice –
Sweatily anticipating sweets.
But the baker at the cake shop yelled –
“NO GOATS IN CLEATS!”
