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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:
7-hiatus
On Hiatus
by Kathy Ellen Davis
I learned that hiatus means break,
and put that to use right away.
I posted a sign:
“On hiatus from chores”
and instead went outside to play.
I wondered what Dad made for lunch;
on the table,
I found this clue:
“Happy Hiatus!
and if you’re on hiatus,
then I’m on hiatus too.”
vs.
15-mellifluous
Mellifluous
by Karyn Linnell
A poor, clumsy girl named Mellifluous, whose voice sounded like an old goat,
Embarked on a quest to find magical bees, whose honey could transform her throat
She stumbled and fumbled for miles, until she tripped and took a dive
And when poor Mellifluous landed, her head was stuck in the bees’ hive
Those bees were quite mad at Mellifluous, and oh how that poor girl got stung!
But each OW! she yelled was like music! The honey had sweetened her tongue!
Despite all her welts, Mellifluous sang; this golden voice was now her own.
And to this day a mellifluous sound is one with a smooth and sweet tone.
