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:
*incontinent
Spring has Sprung: A Villanelle
by B.J. Lee
It’s time for a party to celebrate spring!
Let’s run with abandon, let’s race with the breeze.
A boundlessly joyous, incontinent fling
will let winter know he’s no longer the king!
Let’s fix up our bikes and let’s put away skis.
It’s time for a party to celebrate spring.
Let’s fly our kites high, holding tight to the string.
Let’s welcome the butterflies, beetles, and bees
with a boundlessly joyous, incontinent fling.
Let’s soar to the sky on the seat of a swing.
Let’s dance round the lilacs and crabapple trees.
It’s time for a party to celebrate spring.
The migrating birds are all back on the wing.
More crocuses, tulips and daffodils, please,
to brighten our joyous, incontinent fling;
for springtime is here! Let’s clap and let’s sing!
Let’s tumble and tussle and green-up our knees.
It’s time for a party to celebrate spring—
a boundlessly joyous, incontinent fling.
vs.
*kerfuffle
The Animal Jamboree
by J. J. Close
The flamingo danced Fandango as the dingo did the Tango,
while a Mambo dancing monkey munched upon a juicy mango.
The toucan does the Can Can and the bunny, Bunny Hops,
as the raccoon does the Rumba and the bullfrog belly flops.
The zebra does the Zumba and the tiger does the Twist,
while the walrus does the Waltz, (proclaiming he could not resist).
The snakes all Shake and Shimmy while the rhinos Rock and Roll,
as the lizards do the Limbo underneath a Limbo pole.
The jitterbugs, they Jitter while the rain goes pitter pat,
’cause the reindeers, they were Rain Dancing, a rat-a-tat-a-tat.
The Electric Sliding eel met the Salsa dancing shark
and they kissed under the moonlight, (it’s a good thing it was dark).
The foxes do a Foxtrot and the hippos Harlem Shake,
as the fish all form a Congo line beneath a frozen lake.
The bear, he Boogie Woogied, and the spider did the Swing,
while the hawk went Hokey Pokey, (but no hands, he used a wing).
The cows cause a kerfuffle when they tap dance every day,
which leads to Cupid Shuffling and cow pies in the hay.
I, my friends, intend to be a legend on the floor,
as I’ve made myself a dance that no one’s ever danced before.
My dance is called the Tootsie Wootsie Tootie Bootie Shake,
(And it’s actually quite helpful if you want to stay awake).
You start by tootsie wootsying, and then my favorite part’s
when you shake your tootie bootie and your tootie bootie farts!
