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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:
8-bereft
March Madness
By Katya Czaja
The school’s bereft of noise,
of running feet,
of shouting voices,
of raised hands,
enthusiasms,
and laughter.
Must be testing week.
vs.
9-burgle
Cat Burglar
By Samuel W. Kent
Who gobbled up my candy pile?
It must have been the cat.
I know he chose to burgle while
I tended this and that.
He says, “Not I,” but that’s a lie.
I’ll disregard his guile,
for I’ve deduced he’s bluffing by
his guilty, sticky smile.
8-bereft vs. 9-burgle
- 8-bereft (Katya Czaja) (21%, 38 Votes)
- 9-burgle (Samuel W. Kent) (79%, 142 Votes)
Total Voters: 180

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