This form consists of ten lines; and the poems grow by add one syllable to each line. There are no rhymes. Trisha got us started early in the month by posting about the form on here Monday Poetry Stretch. I submitted my first poem there, and then later worked on a few others. You might be able to tell I am in the fall term in my college library; since both of these poems have academic subjects.
Print.
Ebooks.
Not the same
but somehow… yes.
A format question.
Encyclopedia
Britannica online claims
it updates daily and covers
the world. In print it fills a bookcase
back home in my father’s dusty study.
-Andromeda Jazmon; submitted to Trisha’s Monday Poetry Stretch
I scribbled this one down while proctoring a test:
One
by one
in blue light
of laptop screens
students take the test
that measures their success
in connecting research skills
with their daily tasks as scholars;
eighty-nine freshman struggle as one
each in a faint glow from the same website.-Andromeda Jazmon
Check out what the other Poetry Sisters have done at their websites linked below. I am really quite taken with the beauty of what they have done!
Sara
Laura
Trisha
Kelly
Liz
Tanita
And today's Friday Poetry roundup is hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe. Enjoy!
12 comments:
"eighty-nine freshman struggle as one" I love that line! And I love those dusty bookshelves in the first etheree. And...I love how this project gives me a glimpse into each of our lives as we turn the lens of poetry on it. So many blessings in being part of this group. I'm grateful to "struggle as one" with all of you...
I remember our encyclopedias... it seems such a strange world where they are no longer that important - the hardbacked books, anyway. Just a formatting issue, indeed!
These are so great! The first one lovely, and the second one eerie in a good way. Isn't it amazing that "technology" can be the fodder for poetry?
The shift from virtual to actual in the first one is fabulous, and, like Sara, I adore the "eighty-nine freshmen" line. Such good work!
I've enjoyed each one from the group, Andi, and now your respectful and nostagic moving back to the past. I imagine my granddaughters might never know the joy of opening an encyclopedia and finding wonders. Then that move to the screen shared by 89 freshman. Oh my, what a strange time of testing.
I love how you use very plain, matter-of-fact vocabulary here, Andi, and yet create this contemplative mood in both, and say such big things. Kinda Robert Frostish the way you do that, though different rhythms and topics, of course. Lovely!
I love these. My favourite phrase is "in my father’s dusty study." It says so much.
I love that this first poem came early in the month as part of the stretch. I still look longingly at the encyclopedias I see in consignment shops. I was so jealous of my neighbors who had a brand new set when I was growing up. I do miss the print editions, though I know it's easier to keep up electronically. You have captured that tension between old and new here. Bravo!
And the second poem, I love that "blue light" and "fain glow." Oh how test taking has changed!
Both of these are great, Andi.
These are great! I love the phrase "a format question." It makes our obsession with the question which will win? seem a little silly. I was glad to see that printed books are making a comeback but of course ebooks are also here to stay. Reading will be the winner, not the format.
Just last summer we tried to get rid of our shelf of encyclopedias from the 1970s. The resale shop wouldn't have them, the library book sale couldn't sell them, they stood by the dumpster waiting for someone to steal them...they ended up IN the dumpster. So sad.
We may be the last generation that actually remembers using encyclopedias, Andromeda! Nicely done. Brought back memories of our first set and the smell of them. Really liked the "89 freshman" line; great image.
Very interesting poems-I still have my Golden Book Encyclopedias-relics of the past. On testing, students involved with one screen direction. I like them both.
Post a Comment