Inspiration:
- You are stranded on a planet alone for 700 years (not aging). What must the planet look like and do for you to be able to sustain a life alone for so long?
- With Summer vacation up-and-coming, today you may write a poem about the excitement you may have for the promise of summer. Use descriptive language, and put your poem in any form you would like. You may want to make it silly. Guidance: Need an idea for your summer poem? Search images- Find a summary-picture, and describe the scene. What are the people in the photo thinking? Are they happy, sad, excited? Describe what your favorite summer activity is. Write about some of your favorite memories. If you’re reading a book that takes place in the summer, try using your book as inspiration.
- How you prepare to do one of your hobbies: food, clothing, routine, superstitions, gathering equipment, setting up comfort, putting on your gear, tuning your instrument.
Now try writing this in TANKA form, a Japanese verse (similar to the Haiku) with five lines and 31 syllables — 5-7-5-7-7.
- Think of one or two images from your topic and describe them in concrete terms – taste, touch, texture, color, sound. Write that in two lines.
- For the third line, state the importance of that moment: all your joy, an escape, pride, comfort, freedom, peace, anxiety, safety, pain. This is a pivot line.
- For the fourth and fifth line, reflect on what the speaker feels and thinks in this moment: wondering, pondering, asking, hoping, worrying, wishing.
- To test the pivot line, you can flip the first two and the last two lines. It should make sense either way, but you, as the poet, can decide which sequence more resonates.
Take my hand. Let’s climb
the sand dune of rejection,
pushing hurt with toes
kicking up woes. Chin up. Take
the blows with grace, smiles `pon face.
Kicking up woes. Chin up. Take
the blows with grace, smiles `pon face.
Pushing hurt with toes,
take my hand. Let’s climb
the sand dunes of rejection.