ATTENTION READERS: One of the authletes originally slated for this matchup — Tiffany Strelitz Haber — is no longer able to participate. We’ll miss her always-humorous verse this year, but the show must go on! So let’s have some fun. YOU are officially invited to submit your own poem using the 10-seed word “perpetual” in the comments section below. Everyone can also use the little “up arrow” next to each comment-poem to show that you like the poem. The comment-poem with the most “up votes” at the time the poll expires will be pasted in the main body of this post for our perpetual collective enjoyment. The Public Vote will feature Kathy Ellen vs. Everyone Else! The Authlete Vote and the Classroom Vote will automatically be decided in Kathy Ellen’s favor.
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:
7-snippet
The haircut
by Kathy Ellen Davis
When I saw the scissors,
I shuddered.
“Now it won’t hurt a bit!”
said my Dad.
I shut my eyes tight;
I tried to be brave.
But this whole thing
was making me sad.
Whoosh whoosh,
the snippets
were falling!
But why
was it taking
so long?
I opened my eyes
and let out a CRY!
All my Dad’s
long hair
was GONE!
vs.
10-perpetual
???
by ???
And the winner of the “Everyone Else” poem contest in the comments section is …
10-perpetual
A Landlubber’s Tale
by Renée LaTulippe
Young Pirate Paul couldn’t take any more
of the waves and the ocean’s perpetual roar —
and the fact that his chores were a bone-crushing bore
did nothing to raise his morale.
He dreamed of the day he’d debark on the shore,
find a house where he’d keep his feet fast on the floor…
but one day while swabbing, he tripped on an oar,
now he’s bobbing off Guadalcanal.
