Power
by Corrine Hales
No one we knew had ever stopped a train.
Hardly daring to breathe, I waited
Belly-down with my brother
In a dry ditch
5 Watching through the green thickness
Of grass and willows.
Stuffed with crumpled newspapers,
The shirt and pants looked real enough
Stretched out across the rails. I felt my heart
10 Beating against the ground
And the terrible long screech of the train’s
Braking began. We had done it.
15
20
25
30
Then it was in front of us –
A hundred iron wheels tearing like time
Into real flannel and denim, shredding the child
we had made – until it finally stopped.
My brother jabbed me,
pointed down the tracks. A man
Had climbed out of the engine, was running
In our direction, waving his arms,
Screaming he would kill us –
Whoever we were.
Then, very close to the spot
Where we hid, he stomped and cursed
At the rags and papers scattered
Over the gravel from our joke.
I tried to remember which one of us
That red shirt belonged to,
But morning seemed too long ago, and the man
was falling, sobbing, to his knees.
I couldn’t stop watching.
My brother lay next to me,
His hands covering his ears,
His face pressed tight to the ground.
The memory poem assignment!
This one is as straightforward as it gets! It’s called a memory poem, so you need to
have…a memory! Below are the requirements:
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Start with a vivid (clear, bright, and detailed) memory. The stronger the memory,
the stronger the poem.
This poem must include several examples of sensory detail. Bring the memory
to life!
Include three “basic poetry” techniques from the packet. List the techniques you
used on the back and be sure to write down the example from your poem as
evidence of the technique you used.
Type and print this poem.
Any readable font is acceptable. Please do not make it larger than size 14.
Poems will be single spaced. Please do not “center” the poems.
Poems should be a minimum of 15 lines in length.
This is a 20-point assignment.
Scoring Rubric
18-20 Points
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Poem is the correct
length.
Based on a strong
memory.
Several sensory details
added.
Three basic poetry
techniques used.
Basic poetry
techniques used are
listed on the back
WITH examples from
your poem.
Font is readable;
single-spacing used.
15-17 Points
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Poem is too short.
The memory used is
vague or unclear.
Some sensory details
missing.
Too few basic poetry
techniques used.
Basic poetry
techniques used are
not listed on the back
or examples from your
poem are missing.
Font is not readable;
single-spacing not
used.
0-14 Points
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Poem is really short.
A memory may not be
present at all.
No sensory details
included.
Too few basic poetry
techniques used.
Basic poetry
techniques were not
used. Examples from
your poem are missing.
Font is not readable;
single-spacing not
used.