ROUND TWO: 6-inhuman vs. 14-incongruous

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.
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  • 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:

6-inhuman
March Madness
By Mary Lee Hahn

The sun is finally shining and the field at last is dry.
But here I sit, still stuck inside, dividing x by y.

Homework is inhuman, its inventor vile and cruel.
The law should read that schoolwork’s done within the walls of school.

My mother is a monster too, for when I’m done with math
She’ll make me clean my closet, make my bed, and take a bath.

My work is all completed; I’ve escaped its ball and chain.
I grab my bat to run outside…and then it starts to rain.

vs.

14-incongruous
Mutual Admiration
By Suz Blackaby

Tarantulas are hairy, scary
creatures on the hunt,
and tasty little frogs are just
the bite-sized snacks they want.
Instead these two, with deadly force,
devour each other’s predators,
outfoxing those that do not suss
their bond, which seems incongruous.

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