Compiling Poetry Collections and a Working Definition of Poetry

LESSON OVERVIEW
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Content Area(s): Language Arts
Subject Matter:
This unit introduces poetry forms and craft elements while students explore poetry about
everyday topics or themes. Students begin by discussing their varying definitions of
poetry, brainstorming all the different types of poems they know, and briefly discussing
elements of poetry. In each subsequent session, students are introduced to one form of
poetry. This lesson uses concrete/shape, haiku, cinquain, two-voice, and free-form poetry,
but the lesson can be easily adapted for any poetic form. Students read examples, define
the form, and find additional examples in poetry books. They create their own poetry
collection by adding examples, definitions, and their own poems to a writer's notebook.
In the final session, students go back through the poems they have collected, looking for
examples of five elements of poetry.
Learning Goal(s)/Objective(s): Students employ a wide range of strategies as
they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with
different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and
discuss print and non-print texts.
Students will:
Listen to a variety of different types of poetry.
Explore poetry books, anthologies, and collections independently.
Learn the characteristics of several different forms of poetry.
Learn the definitions of several different types of poetry craft elements.
Search and collect already published poems that meet the characteristics of the
chosen forms of poetry.
Search and collect already published poems that meet the characteristics of the
chosen craft elements of poetry.
Create a working definition of poetry forms.
Create a working definition of craft elements of poetry.
Time Allotment: Eight 50 minute sessions
Activity Logistics:
PREPARATION
Choose the poetic forms that you will focus on in this lesson (e.g., concrete/shape

poetry, haiku, two-voice, cinquain, free-verse). Five forms work well. See The
Children's Poetry Archive and Links to Other Forms of Poetry and Elements of
Poetry for additional options and materials.
Familiarize yourself with the elements of poetry with any of these resources:
Poetry Box Rules; Elements of Poetry; and Riddle Poem Features.
Make copies of the poems that you will be using to teach the forms of poetry and
craft elements of poetry for students.
Arrange for students to have their writing notebooks and folders, and blank
composition books, which will be used to compile their poetry collections and
definitions.
The forms of poetry and elements of poetry in this lesson are simply
recommendations. Feel free to customize the forms and craft elements for your
own needs.
Make a copy of the Poetry Collection Checklist for each student.
If using computers for student writing, test the student interactives on your
computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the
Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support
page (Read Write Think).
If using tablets for student writing, download the apps. Familiarize yourself with
both apps.
Arrange to have several poetry books available for students to use. Consult the
printout of Suggested Poetry Books for recommendations.

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

Handouts of poems used for instruction or in computer files to project

General classroom supplies (chalkboard, chart paper, markers, etc.)
Student writing notebooks and folders
Blank composition books
A computer with Internet access with LCD projector
A wide variety of poetry books to be used for instruction and student exploration
Examples of themed poetry collections or anthologies
If students will be given the opportunity to create their own poems using student
interactives or mobile apps, then also computers with Internet access or tablets will be
needed. In addition, students will use a printer to publish their poems to add to their
poetry collections.

LESSON SEQUENCE
Anticipatory Set: Students may know who their favorite poets
already are
Modeling: Reading poetry out loud, children will see that there are
many different styles on how poetry is structured. The book will gently
open the discussion so that children to hear the meter of poetry. How
the rhythms flow and the story is told. Explain the definition of poetry
and have students repeat it back to you.
Guided Practice:
a. Teacher will read their own poetry to share with the
class.
b. Studying Poet Videos
You can adapt the above activities to viewing/reading any of the other poems in the Poetto-Poet collection.
Poets and Their Poems:
Juan Felipe Herrera, Five Directions to My House
Juan Felipe Herrera, Example of Chicano Poetry "1973 Festival de flor y canto"
Edward Hirsch, Fast Break
Jane Hirshfield, My Skeleton
Naomi Shihab Nye, A Valentine for Ernest Mann
Ron Padgett, Nothing in that Drawer
Arthur Sze, The Owl
Arthur Sze, Here
Anne Waldman, from Manatee/Humanity
Independent Practice: Children will use their own paper and crayons
to draw a portrait of their family. It can be as many or as few figures as
they see fit (including pets!) The students will then place their
drawings on their quilt squares.
Closure: Mention other books in the classroom book corner that talk
about different types of family structures. Tell the students that the
class will be learning about tolerance and differences throughout the
school year.
Teacher will assign a follow-up homework assignment that is making a
(simple) family tree.
Follow-Up Activities

You might want to try the following after you have read any of the poems depending on
the needs and interests of your students:

A vocabulary lesson, based on the word list developed by the students

Individual or small group research based on the questions generated by the images
and the poem
Further study of the poet and their poems
Connections to other topics in your curriculum

Any imaginative idea of your own that furthers your students deep learning of text!
STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS

As students read and collect their poems during this unit, observe their activities.
Look for engagement and immersion in the activity. If you notice students who
are not participating fully in the activities, try to provide poetry collections and
options that match their personal interests. Students may also simply need some
additional support as they explore poetry. Strickland and Strickland offer this
options for engaging students and learning more about their understanding of their
readings:
Between readings, [Michael Strickland] sometimes comments on a particular
piece or invites students to respond by saying: Tell us whats on your mind;
What did you think about that poem?; and Anything you want to share? The
students follow his lead, commenting on a particular aspect of the poem or
offering their reactions. During the discussions that follow, students frequently
point out what they notice about the poetry and what appeals to them.
You can use students reactions to similar questions to match their understanding
and interests to additional poetry collections.
Final assessment of the activity should be based on the completion of poetry
collection in the composition books. Compare students checklists to the poems in
their composition books. Provide feedback on selections as well as pointers on
how to re-categorize poems in situations when poetic form or craft elements are
misidentified.

SESSION ONE
1. Make sure the students have their blank composition books, which will be used to
compile their poetry collection.
2. Begin by asking the students what their definition of poetry is. You should gather
many different answers from the students. Write these responses on the board or
chart paper.
3. Tell the students that while their definitions are not all the same, there are some
similarities among the definitions. Use this fact as a springboard into a discussion
about poetry interpretationthere is no one right answer to poetry. Everyone
brings his or her own thoughts and ideas to it.
4. On the board, write the definition of poetry you will be using during these lessons.

An example definition, adapted from Webster's, is, "writing that is concentrated

on imaginative awareness, using language, which is chosen and arranged to create
a specific emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm."
5. Ask students to write down this definition on the second page of their
composition book.
6. For the rest of the session, let the students explore the poetry books you have
selected.
SESSION TWO
1. Begin this session by reading one of your favorite poems. After you have shared it
with the class, explain to them why this is one of your favorite poems. Tell the
students that this is one of the activities they will be completing. Finding
examples of poetry and explaining the reasons that they chose them.
2. Ask the students to name as many different forms of poetry as they can. After they
have brainstormed and you have recorded their responses on chart paper or the
board, display the Poetry Forms and Examples page from the PBS News Hour
Website. See how many of the forms of poetry the students were able to name.
3. Put the students into pairs. Ask them try to define each of the forms of poetry.
Have resource materials available to them, including dictionaries and poetry
anthologies.
4. When time is up for this activity, gather the class and ask students to share their
definitions. This is also the time for you to let the students know which forms of
poetry you will be focusing on in this unit. This sample lesson focuses on
concrete/shape poetry, haiku, two-voice, cinquain and free verse.
5. With forms of poetry defined, discuss the different elements of poetry with the
students. The Online Poetry Classroom Website and the Poetry Tools page from
the PBS News Hour Website provide useful definitions and examples.
6. Explain to the students that while they are learning about the different forms of
poetry, they will also be seeing different elements of poetry.
7. Now that the students have a little more background knowledge of poetry, again
have them search, read, and share poems they find in the poetry anthologies and
collections.
SESSION THREE
1. Read and show the students several different concrete/shape poems. Ask students
what they notice about the poems when they look at the words on the page.
2. After students notice the relationship between the shape and focus of the poem,
explain that in concrete/shape poems the lines form shapes or a shape that is
related to the poem's topic. The words in the poem tend to reflect the
sense/message of the poem itself. These poems are written almost entirely for
visual effect and are easy to understand and fun to look at and create.
3. Have at least one example of a Concrete/Shape Poem to hand out to the students.
4. In their composition notebooks, on the third page, ask students to glue or tape in
the example concrete/shape poem.
5. On the following page, ask students to write down a definition for concrete/shape
poetry.

6. Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a
concrete/shape poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it
and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their
composition books.
7. If there is time, or as an extension, model for students how to use the students the
Theme Poem Student Interactive or Theme Poem app so that they can write their
own concrete/shape poem. Have students print these poems and add to their
poetry collection.
8. Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry
collection, including those they have written.
SESSION FOUR
1. Read and show the students several different haikus.
2. Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form:
a. Three line poem
b. First line has 5 syllables
c. Second has 7 syllables
d. Third line has 5 syllables.
3. Have at least one example of a haiku to hand out to the students. In their
composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in
the example haiku.
4. On the following page, ask students to write a definition for haiku.
5. Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a haiku. They
can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make
a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
6. If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own haiku using the
Haiku Student Interactive or Haiku App. Have the students print these poems and
add them to their poetry collection.
7. Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry
collection as well as share what they have written.
SESSION FIVE
1. Read and show the students several different diamante poems.
2. Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form:
Diamantes are poems that are written using a recipe. A diamante consists of seven
lines, arranged in the diamond shape, with specific types of words in each line:
a. Line1-the topic of the poem
b. Line 2-two adjectives about the topic
c. Line 3-three words ending in -ing about the topic
d. Line 4-four nouns about the topic or a short phrase about the topic
e. Line 5- three words ending in -ing about the opposite of the topic
f. Line 6-two adjectives describing the opposite of the topic.
g. Line 7-the opposite of the topic
3. Have at least one example of a diamante to hand out to the students. In their
composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in
the example diamante.

4. On the following page, ask students to write a definition for diamante.

5. Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a diamante.
They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or
make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
6. If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own poems using
either the Diamante Student Interactive or the Diamante Poem App. Have
students print their poems to add to their poetry collections.
7. Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry
collection, including those they have written.
SESSION SIX
1. Read and show the students several different acrostic poems.
2. Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form:
The poems topic is running down the left side of the poem. Each letter of the
topic contains a thought or description of the topic.
3. Have at least one example of an acrostic poem to hand out to the students.
4. In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or
tape in the example acrostic poem.
5. On the following page, ask students to write a definition for an acrostic poem.
6. Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of an acrostic
poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their
source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
7. If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own acrostic poems
using Acrostic Poem Student Interactive or the Acrostic Poem App. Have students
print these poems and add to their poetry collections.
8. Have the students share the poems that they found as well have written.
SESSION SEVEN
1. Read and show the students several different free-verse poems.
2. Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form:
Free-verse poetry is patterned by speech and images rather than by regular
metrical schemes. Lines can also be shortened for speed, or segmented into
groups of words or syllables to slow down the reading. While free verse usually
does not have to rhyme, it does have a rhythm or beat to it.
3. Have at least one example of a free-verse poem to hand out to the students.
4. In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or
tape in the example free-verse poem.
5. On the following page, ask students to write a definition for free-verse poem.
6. Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a free-verse
poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their
source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
7. If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own free-verse poems
using Word Mover Student Interactive or the Word Mover App. These two allows
students to create found poems using word banks from famous prose, suggested
random word banks, or their own created word banks. Have the students print
their poems.

8. Have the students share the poems that they found as well as their original
creations.
SESSION EIGHT
1. Now that the students have worked with forms of poetry, it is time for them to
look at the elements of poetry.
2. Refer to the Online Poetry Classroom Website and/or the Poetry Tools page from
the PBS NewsHour Website.
3. Choose 4 or 5 elements that you want to focus on (e.g., simile and metaphor,
onomatopoeia and imagery).
4. Using their poetry collections in their composition books, students can go back
through the poems they have already selected and find examples of the elements
of poetry, or the students can search for new poems that include these elements.
5. Have the students share what elements they have found in their poetry collections.
6. Provide students with a copy of the Poetry Collection Checklist or use the
Interactive Poetry Collection Checklist Chart, which allows students to type the
titles of their poems and add additional criteria (for instance, if they want to list
two poems for a category).
IMPLEMENTATION
Contextual Information: This lesson as an introduction to a two
month long English Language Arts unit of study.
Teaching and Learning/Strategy Overview:

Review and check for prior knowledge

Direct instruction
Guided practice/independent practice
Model desired skill and outcomes
Demonstration
Provide examples to help transfer learning
Technology tools

Accommodations/Modifications:
Gifted: Have gifted students write based on personal experience; real
or imagined
ESL: Have a book in Spanish on poetry and poetic vocabulary.
STANDARDS & ASSESSMENT

CA California Common Core State Standards (2012)

Subject: Language Arts Grade(s): 4

Standard: R.2.2. Use appropriate strategies when reading for different purposes (e.g.,
full comprehension, location of information, personal enjoyment).
Standard: R.3.1. Describe the structural differences of various imaginative forms of
literature, including fantasies, fables, myths, legends, and fairy tales.
Standard: R.3.5. Define figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole,
personification) and identify its use in literary works.
Standard: W.1.5. Quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately.
Standard: W.1.9. Demonstrate basic keyboarding skills and familiarity with computer
terminology (e.g., cursor, software, memory, disk drive, hard drive).
Standard: RL.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Standard: RL.4.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the
text; summarize the text.
Standard: RL.4.5. Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and
refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g.,
casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or
speaking about a text.
Standard: RL.4.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 45 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Standard: RI.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Standard: RI.4.4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific
words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. (See grade 4
Language standards 4-6 for additional expectations.) CA
Standard: RF.4.4.a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.
Standard: RF.4.4.b. Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate
rate, and expression on successive readings.
Standard: RF.4.4.c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and
understanding, rereading as necessary.
Standard: W.4.8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant
information from print and digital sources; take notes, paraphrase, and categorize
information, and provide a list of sources. CA
Standard: SL.4.1.a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required
material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic
to explore ideas under discussion.
Standard: SL.4.1.b. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned
roles.
Standard: SL.4.1.c. Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on
information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks
of others.
Standard: SL.4.6. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g.,
presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., smallgroup discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade
4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
Standard: L.4.3.c. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g.,

presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., smallgroup discussion).
Standard: L.4.4.a. Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as
a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Standard: L.4.5.a. Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as
pretty as a picture) in context.
Standard: L.4.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and
domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions,
or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular
topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
Interdisciplinary Connections
Social Studies, Literacy, and English, Language Arts

An introduction to poetic terms and devices

Basic Terms
connotation: the implied or suggested meaning connected with a word
denotation: the dictionary meaning of a word
literal meaning: limited to the simplest, ordinary, most obvious meaning
figurative meaning: associative or connotative meaning; representational
meter: measured pattern of rhythmic accents in a line of verse
rhyme: correspondence of terminal sounds of words or of lines of verse
Figurative Language
apostrophe: a direct address of an inanimate object, abstract qualities, or a person not
living or present
Example: Beware, O Asparagus, youve stalked my last meal.
hyperbole: exaggeration for emphasis (the opposite of understatement)
Example: Im so hungry I could eat a horse.
metaphor: comparison between essentially unlike things, or the application of a name or
description to something to which it is not literally applicable
Example: "[Love] is an ever fixed mark, / that looks on tempests and is never shaken.
metonymy: a word or phrase that replaces the name of an object or concept for another to
which it is related
Example: We have always remained loyal to the crown" instead of We have always
remained loyal to the monarchy.
oxymoron: a combination of two words that appear to contradict each other
Example: bittersweet
paradox: a situation or phrase that appears to be contradictory but which contains a truth
worth considering
Example: In order to preserve peace, we must prepare for war.
personification: the endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or
living qualities
Example: Time let me play / and be golden in the mercy of his means

pun: play on words, or a humorous use of a single word or sound with two or more
implied meanings; quibble
Example: Theyre called lessons . . . because they lessen from day to day.
simile: comparison between two essentially unlike things using words such as like,"
as," or as though
Example: My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun
synecdoche: a part substituted for the whole
Example: All hands on deck instead of All sailors on deck.
Poetic Devices
alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds, particularly at the beginning of words
Example: ". . . like a wanderer white
allusion: a reference to a person, event, or work outside the poem or literary piece
Example: Shining, it was Adam and maiden
assonance: the repetition of similar vowel sounds
Example: I rose and told him of my woe
elision: the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable to preserve the meter of a line of
poetry
Example: Th expense of spirit in a waste of shame
imagery: word or sequence of words representing a sensory experience (visual, auditory,
olfactory, tactile, and gustatory)
Example: bells knelling classes to a close (auditory)
irony: a contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant (verbal
irony) or what is expected in a particular circumstance or behavior (situational), or when
a character speaks in ignorance of a situation known to the audience or other characters
(dramatic)
Example: Time held me green and dying / Though I sang in my chains like the sea
onomatopoeia: the use of words to imitate the sounds they describe
Example: crack or whir
slant rhyme (off rhyme, half rhyme, imperfect rhyme): rhyme formed with words with
similar but not wholly identical sounds
Example: barn / yard
synesthesia: an attempt to fuse different senses by describing one in terms of another
Example: the sound of her voice was sweet
symbol: an object or action that stands for something beyond itself

Example: white = innocence, purity, hope

Meter
anapestic (anapest): a metrical foot containing three syllablesthe first two are
unstressed, while the last is stressed
dactylic (dactyl): a metrical foot containing three syllablesthe first is stressed, while the
last two are unstressed
falling meter: meter containing metrical feet that move from stressed to unstressed
syllables
iambic (iamb): a metrical foot containing two syllablesthe first is unstressed, while the
second is stressed
iambic pentameter: a traditional form of rising meter consisting of lines containing five
iambic feet (and, thus, ten syllables)
pause (caesura): a pause for a beat in the rhythm of the verse (often indicated by a line
break or a mark of punctuation)
rising meter: meter containing metrical feet that move from unstressed to stressed
syllables
spondee: a nontraditional metrical foot in which two consecutive syllables are stressed
stress: greater amount of force used to pronounce one syllable over another
trochaic (trochee): a metrical foot containing two syllablesthe first is stressed, while
the second is unstressed
Poetic Forms
blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter
closed: poetic form subject to a fixed structure and pattern
couplet: a pair of lines, usually rhymed
free verse: lines with no prescribed pattern or structure
heroic couplet: a pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter (tradition of the heroic epic
form)
open: poetic form free from regularity and consistency in elements such as rhyme, line
length, and metrical form
quatrain: four-line stanza or grouping of four lines of verse
stanza: unit of a poem often repeated in the same form throughout a poem; a unit of
poetic lines (verse paragraph)

Links to Other Forms of Poetry and Elements of Poetry

The Academy of American Poets
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/materials-teachers
The Poetry Foundation
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/children/
Elements of Poetry
Poetry: A Feast to Form Fluent Readers lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=22
What Am I? Teaching Poetry Through Riddles lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=169
Onomatopoeia
Dr. Seusss Sound Words
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=104
Simile and Metaphor
Figurative Language Awards Ceremony lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/figurative-languageawards-ceremony-115.html
As Slippery as an Eel: An Ocean Unit Exploring Simile and Metaphor lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/slippery-ocean-unitexploring-832.html
Couplets
Honoring Our Veterans Through Poetry Prewriting lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=9
A-Hunting We Will Go: Teaching Rhyming Through Musical Verse lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=264
Rhyming
Generating Rhymes: Developing Phonemic Awareness lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=121
Writing Poetry with Rebus and Rhyme lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=273
What Makes Poetry? Exploring Lien Breaks lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=88

Found Poems/Parallel Poems

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=33
Poetry from Prose lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=49
Prepositions in Poetry
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=34
Acrostic Poems
All About Me and My Favorite Things lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=309
General Poetry
Is a Sentence a Poem? lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=246
Poetry Performance
In The Poets Shoes: Performing Poetry and Building Meaning lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=78
Thematic Poetry
Multipurpose Poetry: Introducing Science Concepts and Increasing Fluency lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=69
Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry lesson
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=93

Poetry Collection Checklist

For each of the following items, write the titles from the examples from your collection.
There are extra spaces at the bottom in case you chose to include more!

Title of your favorite poem in the collection

and why you like it

Title of your concrete poem

Title of your haiku poem

Title of your cinquain poem

Title of your two-voice poem

Title of your free verse poem

Title of your simile poem

Title of your metaphor poem

Title of your onomatopoeia poem

Title of your imagery poem

My Favorite Poems
The Door In The Dark - Poem by Robert Frost
In going from room to room in the dark,
I reached out blindly to save my face,
But neglected, however lightly, to lace
My fingers and close my arms in an arc.
A slim door got in past my guard,
And hit me a blow in the head so hard
I had my native simile jarred.
So people and things don't pair any more
With what they used to pair with before.
The Objection To Being Stepped On
At the end of the row
I stepped on the toe
Of an unemployed hoe.
It rose in offense
And struck me a blow
In the seat of my sense.
It wasn't to blame
But I called it a name.
And I must say it dealt
Me a blow that I felt
Like a malice prepense.
You may call me a fool,
But was there a rule
The weapon should be
Turned into a tool?
And what do we see?
The first tool I step on
Turned into a weapon.
The Wood-Pile
Out walking in the frozen swamp one gray day,
I paused and said, "I will turn back from here.
No, I will go on farther -- and we shall see."
The hard snow held me, save where now and then
One foot went through. The view was all in lines
Straight up and down of tall slim trees
Too much alike to mark or name a place by
So as to say for certain I was here
Or somewhere else: I was just far from home.

A small bird flew before me. He was careful

To put a tree between us when he lighted,
And say no word to tell me who he was
Who was so foolish as to think what he thought.
He thought that I was after him for a feather -The white one in his tail; like one who takes
Everything said as personal to himself.
One flight out sideways would have undeceived him.
And then there was a pile of wood for which
I forgot him and let his little fear
Carry him off the way I might have gone,
Without so much as wishing him good-night.
He went behind it to make his last stand.
It was a cord of maple, cut and split
And piled -- and measured, four by four by eight.
And not another like it could I see.
No runner tracks in this year's snow looped near it.
And it was older sure than this year's cutting,
Or even last year's or the year's before.
The wood was gray and the bark warping off it
And the pile somewhat sunken. Clematis
Had wound strings round and round it like a bundle.
What held it though on one side was a tree
Still growing, and on one a stake and prop,
These latter about to fall. I thought that only
Someone who lived in turning to fresh tasks
Could so forget his handiwork on which
He spent himself, the labor of his ax,
And leave it there far from a useful fireplace
To warm the frozen swamp as best it could
With the slow smokeless burning of decay.
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Mending Wall
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,

But at spring mending-time we find them there.

I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours."
If - Poem by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;

If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
The Raven - Poem by Edgar Allan Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
''Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber doorOnly this, and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost LenoreFor the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name LenoreNameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,

''Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber doorSome late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;This it is, and nothing more.'
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
'Sir,' said I, 'or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you'- here I opened wide the door;Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, 'Lenore!'Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
'Surely,' said I, 'surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery exploreLet my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;'Tis the wind and nothing more.'
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and
flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed
he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber doorPerched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber doorPerched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
'Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, 'art sure no
craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shoreTell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber doorBird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as 'Nevermore.'
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he flutteredTill I scarcely more than muttered, 'other friends have flown
beforeOn the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, 'Nevermore.'
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
'Doubtless,' said I, 'what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden boreTill the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never- nevermore'.'
But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and
door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yoreWhat this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking 'Nevermore.'
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
'Wretch,' I cried, 'thy God hath lent thee- by these angels he
hath sent thee
Respite- respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
'Prophet!' said I, 'thing of evil!- prophet still, if bird or
devil!Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-

On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I imploreIs there- is there balm in Gilead?- tell me- tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
'Prophet!' said I, 'thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or
devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us- by that God we both adoreTell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name LenoreClasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.'
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
'Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend,' I shrieked,
upstarting'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my
door!'
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the
floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore! top 500 poets
.
Trees - Poem by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.
Charge Of The Light Brigade - Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
HALF a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns! ' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade! '
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Oh Captain, My Captain - Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weatherd every rack,
the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart!
heart!
O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and
dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up- for you the flag is flungfor
you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbond wreaths- for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
Youve fallen cold and dead.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

STYLES
Cinquain (five stanza)
To Helen
Edgar Allan Poe, 1809 - 1849
Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore,
That gently, oer a perfumed sea,
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.
On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece.
And the grandeur that was Rome.
Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche
How statue-like I see thee stand!
The agate lamp within thy hand,
Ah! Psyche from the regions which
Are Holy Land!
Haiku (5-7-5)
Lines on a Skull
Ravi Shankar
(Haiku Erasure of Lord Byrons "Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed from a Skull")
Start spirit; behold
the skull. A living head loved
earth. My bones resign
the worm, lips to hold
sparkling grapes slimy circle,
shape of reptiles food.
Where wit shone of shine,
when our brains are substitute,
like me, with the dead,
lifes little, our heads
sad. Redeemed and wasting clay
this chance. Be of use.

Poems for children

Mannahatta
Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892
I was asking for something specific and perfect for my city,
Whereupon lo! upsprang the aboriginal name.
Now I see what there is in a name, a word, liquid, sane,
unruly, musical, self-sufficient,
I see that the word of my city is that word from of old,
Because I see that word nested in nests of water-bays,
superb,
Rich, hemm'd thick all around with sailships and
steamships, an island sixteen miles long, solid-founded,
Numberless crowded streets, high growths of iron, slender,
strong, light, splendidly uprising toward clear skies,
Tides swift and ample, well-loved by me, toward sundown,
The flowing sea-currents, the little islands, larger adjoining
islands, the heights, the villas,
The countless masts, the white shore-steamers, the lighters,
the ferry-boats, the black sea-steamers well-model'd,
The down-town streets, the jobbers' houses of business, the
houses of business of the ship-merchants and moneybrokers, the river-streets,
Immigrants arriving, fifteen or twenty thousand in a week,
The carts hauling goods, the manly race of drivers of horses,
the brown-faced sailors,
The summer air, the bright sun shining, and the sailing
clouds aloft,
The winter snows, the sleigh-bells, the broken ice in the
river, passing along up or down with the flood-tide or
ebb-tide,
The mechanics of the city, the masters, well-form'd,
beautiful-faced, looking you straight in the eyes,
Trottoirs throng'd, vehicles, Broadway, the women, the
shops and shows,
A million people--manners free and superb--open voices-hospitality--the most courageous and friendly young
men,
City of hurried and sparkling waters! city of spires and masts!
City nested in bays! my city!