October: 2/5-Day Writing Challenge

October’s writing inspirations come from Andy Schoenborn. Andy is a teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.  As a past president of the MCTE and an NWP teacher consultant for the Chippewa River Writing Project, he has over 90 professional development contact hours and continues to facilitate learning locally and nationally. Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter and follow him on Twitter@aschoenborn.

Inspiration

Life comes at us fast. Without a doubt there are hills, valleys, and plateaus. On occasion these moments make for a memorable (if not defining) experience – one that is remembered throughout a person’s life. For many, the senior year of high school is ripe for remembering and celebrating. Let’s choose a moment or series of moments from your senior year of high school that captures your fondest memories.

Process

• Take a few minutes and write down a series of memories from your senior year of high school.
• Start with the year you graduated to give the poem context.
• Don’t worry about rhyme or chronological order, just weave in the highlights of the memories you will always carry with you.
• End the poem by sharing what you thought your future would hold during that time.

Sample poem: “Exit 131” – Andy Schoenborn

Nineteen-ninety four was many things for me.

Lollapalooza with the Beasties 
who were Smashing Pumpkins with George Clinton, 
and A certain Tribe Called Quest.

Nineteen-ninety four was a mosh pit memory 
and a black eye I wore like a badge of honor - forever on display 
hanging on National Honor Society walls of Ithaca High School.

Nineteen-ninety four brought my very first [real] love - 
an auburn haired alternateen beauty 
whose love for the Beatles was equal to her love of Barenaked Ladies.  

In those days it felt like we were ‘Born on a Pirate Ship’ 
as we sang along to “If I had a Million Dollars” - 
where we’d be rich and still eat Kraft Dinner.  

We were pushed and pulled 
by waves of alternative fuzz
crackling through blown out speakers.

We smoked cigarettes and laughed in our resale shop flannel.  

In nineteen-ninety four we wore the tires of a broken down Festiva 
thin riding the black ribbon of M-57 east 
as though we were on a tightrope daring life to pull us down. 

We sought the shelter of 
St. Andrew’s, 
Meadowbrook, 
the Pine Knob, and 
the Palace 
as they pulled us 
through the fading moments 
of our adolescent lives.

In a fading Detroit 
the sun 
cast shadows of steel 
longer than our dreams.  

We always left in darkness - eyes heavy with sleep, 
exhausted 
from using up the remnants 
of our naive irresponsibility.

In the quiet of the night, 
While friends slept, I drove 
North on I-75 there was one sign 
that comforted me as I traveled 
from the known world into the unknown. 

Hands loosely on the wheel I waited 
for the melancholic face of Jesus 
on a billboard yellowed with age 
whom eternally asked, “ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT ROAD?”

“Man, I don’t know, Jesus, but I sure am enjoying the ride.”

White stripes on the highway blur on my left 
and disappear into the darkness - I don't look back.

My vision reached only 
as far as dim headlights 
could lift the night.

In nineteen-ninety four 
I took Exit 131 in the last moments of my youth and 
headed west. 

A beat up white Festiva cradled friends 
as we sped toward adulthood 
in the dead of night - no 
clear vision 
of the 
future. 

Your Turn

Scroll down to the comment section and write your poem. It need not be long nor follow the prompt but give it a try if you wish. Just write whatever is in your heart or on your mind in any form it takes. Then (or before), respond to at least three other writers using any of the sentence-stems offered below. Check back throughout the day to read the response to your writing (and smile).