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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.
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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-consort
But Me No Butts
by Robert Schechter
It makes me groan to sit on stone.
that’s plumped up there upon the chair
I’m on my guard when seats are hard.
so I’ll be short: I won’t consort
vs.
9-killjoy
Sibling Discontent-ion
by Damon Dean
My sister plays Monopoly but doesn’t try to win.
In Battleship I sink her ship and all she does is grin.
She likes Go Fish but doesn’t wish to get a single pair.
And when I win she claps and happy-dances everywhere.
She’s tickled pink to play whichever game that I might choose.
But winning would feel better if she didn’t like to lose.
It’s aggravating, at the least. What games can I enjoy?
My jovial opponent is a 3-year-old killjoy!
