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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:
7-juts
This Moment
by Stephen W Cahill
The mind – it juts out to the future.
The mind – it sinks in to before.
It misses the present – the beauty.
The truth – that unveils so much more.
So sprinkle your senses with now.
Soak in the birds and the bees.
Savour aromas and spices.
Stretch for the stars and be free.
vs.
10-shindig
A Shindig in the Sand
by Kristen Foote
On beach vacations don’t ignore the sea-side celebrations!
A sand-crab shindig on the shore – two decapod crustaceans.
They appetize on algae and delight in fish-filet,
they sweep their feast straight from the sea – a plankton-packed buffet.
The cawing seagulls form the band and croon while they fandango.
Swoon two-by-two, in shifting sand, an intertidal tango.
As sunset fades, they part their ways. Their love affair suggests,
they’ll meet again in thirty days with 40,000 guests.
