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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:
9-nondescript
Zombie Preparedness
By Samuel W. Kent
Statistically speaking, when zombies arrive
you’re likelier ending up dead than alive,
but seldom survivors suspect they’ll succumb
to vicious and virulent bites on their bum.
They’ll fritter their energies setting aside
their stockpiles of food in safe places to hide.
But Zed, the pragmatic, despite being scared
spent all of his time getting truly prepared…
He’d seen zombies munching, and mostly their fare
was brains on the half-skull, served totally rare.
So Zed chose to memorize books that contain
the myriad recipes featuring brain.
And when he arose from the depths of the crypt –
a vague sense of hunger and thoughts nondescript –
he grinned as he grumbled, and shuffled his feet,
for Zed, now undead, was preparing to eat!
vs.
4-signature
Own It
By Callie C. Miller
Some own sweet freckles
Some sport green eyes
Some yearn for only another’s disguise
Some strum their music
Some win first place
Only risk takers won’t give up the chase
Some search for laughter
Some hunt for gold
Those who will make it are brave, wise, and bold
In all your thinking
In all you do
Make sure you always be
Signature You
9-nondescript vs. 4-signature: Which Poem Did You Prefer?
- 9-nondescript (Samuel W. Kent) (58%, 194 Votes)
- 4-signature (Callie C. Miller) (42%, 140 Votes)
Total Voters: 334
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