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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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- 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:
8-svelte
Svelte Does Not Rhyme with Fat
by Jane Yolen
I never knew, I never felt
That I was large, just not real svelte,
Until a card–sent badly signed–
Said, “Be my piggy Valentine.”
Instead of oinking, showing hurt,
Or feeling like the worst sty dirt,
I sent a note back, heart all achin’:
Sir, you’re full of bull, (Signed) Bacon.
vs.
9-bemoan
First Day of Spring
by Anna Eleanor Jordan
I never thought the day would come
when I’d bemoan the snow.
Instead, my nose against the glass
I’d watch the white stuff grow.
But now I crave some color
some warmth, and sun, and rain.
The calendar says springtime
but the snow has come again.
