Poetry
Heart Of Gold
• I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
• I've been to Hollywood
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean
for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind,
it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
• Keep me searching
for a heart of gold
You keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm growing old.
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
– Neil Young
Thunderball
• He always runs while others walk.
He acts while other men just talk.
He looks at this world, and wants it all,
So he strikes, like Thunderball.
He knows the meaning of success.
His needs are more, so he gives less.
They call him the winner who takes all.
And he strikes, like Thunderball.
Simple, four line rhyme
scheme
• rhyming a,b,c,b:
Mary had a little
lamb A
It’s fleece as
white as snow B
And everywhere
that Mary went C
The lamb was
sure to go B
• rhyming a,a,b,b:
Twinkle, twinkle
little star A
How I wonder
what you are A
Up above the
world so high B
Like a diamond in
the sky B
Simple Rhyming Schemes
• rhyming a,b,a,b:
The rain was like a
little mouse, A
Quiet, small, and
grey B
It pattered all around
the house A
And then it went
away B
• rhyming a,a,a,a:
Rain, rain go away A
Come again another
day A
Little children want
to play A
So rain, rain go away
A
Cinquain
• A short poem consisting of five, usually
unrhymed lines containing respectively
two, four, six, eight and two syllables:
Popcorn
Jumpy, bouncy
White, yellow and bumpy
Jumbly, rumbly, hot and mushy
Popcorn
Haiku
• Japanese poem of 17 syllables
arranged in three lines of 5, 7
and 5 syllables:
The pond I used to
Swim in has hardened now, but
It is mine year round.
Free Verse
• Rhymed or unrhymed verse made free of conventional
and traditional limitations and restrictions in regard to
metrical structure.
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Dreams
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
Homework
• Find the lyrics of a song (copy
only 2 or 3 verses), of any style
(as long as it is appropriate for
school) .
• Write a paragraph or two
explaining what makes this
song a poem.
• Use the poetry terms that you
have learned in this lesson.
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Bid me to weep, and I will weep, "A"
While I have eyes to see; "B"
And having none, and yet I will keep "A"
A heart to weep for thee. "B"
Four Line Rhymes
advanced
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There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, O God, I'm one.
If I had listened to what my Mamma said,
I'd be at home today.
But I was young and foolish,
Let a rambler lead me astray.
Four Line Rhymes
advanced
Mrs. Steve Lawrence
Has an abhorrence
For junk food-you might say
She's a gourmet.
Daniel Defoe
Lived a long time ago.
He had nothing to do, so
He wrote Robinson Crusoe
George the Third
Ought never to have occurred.
One can only wonder
At so grotesque a blunder.
Steve &
Eydie
Now use your name
Mr. Nicholson
Started to run
To have some fun
And not weigh a ton
Mr. Stuart
Is not good art
He had a false start
And shops at WalMart
Now you try
• Using your name and one of the
rhyming schemes, make a fun
four line rhyme.
Cinquain
• A short poem consisting of five, usually
unrhymed lines containing respectively
two, four, six, eight and two syllables:
Popcorn
Jumpy, bouncy
White, yellow and bumpy
Jumbly, rumbly, hot and mushy
Popcorn
Cinquain
• The traditional cinquain is based on a syllable count.
line 1 - 2 syllables
line 2 - 4 syllables
line 3 - 6 syllables
line 4 - 8 syllables
line 5 - 2 syllables
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The modern cinquain is based on a word count of words
of a certain type.
line 1 - one word (noun) a title or name of the subject
line 2 - two words (adjectives) describing the title
line 3 - three words (verbs) describing an action related
to the title
line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the titlem, a
complete sentence
line 5 - one word referring back to the title of the poem
A Threat
Stormclouds,
casting shadows
over weary soldiers,
threaten to cry heavy buckets
of tears.
Waiting
Empty
Old rocking chairs
Once creaking back and forth
Now sit motionless on the porch
Waiting
Sharing
Yesterday's dream
Is just a memory
They used to sit in unison
Rocking
Drought came
The lovers left
Leaving the chairs behind
They will rock again with new life
One day
How to write a cinquain
• Line 1 - a one word title
Line 2 - a 2 word phrase that describes
your title or you can just use two words
Line 3 - a 3 word phrase that describes an
action relating to your title or just actions
words
Line 4 - a 4 word phrase that describes a
feeling relating to your topic or just feeling
words
Line 5 - one word that refers back to your
title
Names
Thomas
Nice, kind
Football, basketball, dodgeball.
Nice, kind, polite, sharing.
Tom
Victoria
Brave, Fast
Racing, Football, Soccer
Loyal, Friendly, Helping, Protective
Vicki
Now you try
Write your own cinquain for each
season of seasons of the year.
Write a cinquain for your favorite
holiday
What is Haiku
• Modern Haiku.
• The history of the modern haiku
dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform,
begun in 1892, which established
haiku as a new independent poetic
form. Shiki's reform did not change
two traditional elements of haiku:
the division of 17 syllables into three
groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and
the inclusion of a seasonal theme.
How to write Haiku
• In japanese, the rules for how to
write Haiku are clear, and will
not be discussed here. In
foreign languages, there exist
NO consensus in how to write
Haiku-poems. Anyway, let's
take a look at the basic
knowledge:
What to write about?
• Haiku-poems can describe almost
anything, but you seldom find
themes which are too complicated
for normal PEOPLE's recognition and
understanding. Some of the most
thrilling Haiku-poems describe daily
situations in a way that gives the
reader a brand new experience of a
well-known situation.
The metrical pattern of
Haiku
• Haiku-poems consist of
respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables
in three units. In Japanese, this
is a must, but in English, which
has variation in the length of
syllables, this can sometimes
be difficult.
The seasonal theme.
• Each Haiku must contain a kigo,
a season word, which indicate
in which season the Haiku is
set. For example, cherry
blossoms indicate spring, snow
indicate winter, and mosquitoes
indicate summer, but the
season word isn't always that
obvious.
Examples
Autumn
An island song
Like a floating river
Rain Rain Fall Fall
Computers
• Spring backup in CS lab:
time to fall in love with
certain humanware.
• alone, on the web,
drops of sensitivity
embrace an eyelash
Food
• Sushi and Soya
The Spring comes
When the day is over
Now you try
• For our writing project, we are going
to create several haiku that work as
riddles. This means that your poem
is about a thing (or an animal), but
the poem does not say exactly what
the thing (or the animal) is. The
poem only gives clues, and the
reader must guess what it is talking
about.
How?
• First choose your answer to the
riddle you are going to make from
the following categories.
• 1. An animal (pet, farm animal, wild
animal, fish, bird, insect, etc.)
2. A thing from nature (sun, moon,
cloud, rain, ocean, mountain, river,
flower, plant, fruit, etc.)
3. A man-made thing (food, tool, toy,
clothes, appliances, etc.)
How (con’t)
• Let’s say, as an example, that you picked the word,
“book”. Now consider the following questions and
make brainstorming webs.
• What does it look like? (Color, size, shape, etc.)
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What is it made of? What are its parts?
What does it do? What is it for?
In case of an animal, what does it eat? Where does
it live?
How (con’t)
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Example: Book
made of paper
made from a tree;
has words
printed with ink;
people read for fun or for study;
bookstores and libraries have them;
can have pictures and illustrations;
authors write books, etc, etc.
How (con’t)
• Then create a haiku using words
associated with your answer, but not
the answer itself. Here is an
example of haiku riddle, whose
answer is a “book”.
Made from trees and ink
I’m full of words, fun and wise,
for you to enjoy
Limericks
• Limericks are meant to be funny. The last line of a
good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or "heart of
the joke." As you work with limericks, remember to
have fun. The rhyme pattern is a,a,b,b,a. The first
two lines contain 9 syllables each, the second two
5 syllables each, and the last 9 syllables:
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were caught, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "Let us flee."
"Let us fly," said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
Getting started
• To help you get started, here's some
helpful information about writing
limericks. To begin, a limerick is a
funny little poem containing five
lines. The last words of the first,
second, and fifth lines rhyme with
each other (A), and the last words of
the third and fourth lines rhyme with
each other (B).
• Rhyme scheme a,a,b,b,a
Lets try one
There once was a pauper named Meg
Who accidentally broke her _______.
She slipped on the ______.
Not once, but thrice
Take no pity on her, I __________.
Example
• There was an old man from Peru, (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
He awoke in the night (B)
da DUM da da DUM
with a terrible fright, (B)
da da DUM da da DUM
and found out that it was quite true. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
Some funny ones
• A clumsy young fellow named Tim (A)
was never informed how to swim. (A)
He fell off a dock (B)
and sunk like a rock. (B)
And that was the end of him. (A)
An exceedingly fat friend of mine,
When asked at what hour he'd dine,
Replied, "At eleven,
At three, five, and seven,
And eight and a quarter past nine.
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There once was a fly on the wall,
I wonder why didn't it fall.
Because its feet stuck
Or was it just luck
Or does gravity miss things so small?
There once was a slimmer named Steen
Who grew so phenomenally lean
And flat, and compressed,
That his back touched his chest,
So that sideways he couldn't be seen.
How to write one
1) Brainstorm on a topic or
theme you want to write.
Whether it's love, friendship,
hatred or even cupcakes, you'll
do well if you understand and
like the topic.
Step 2
• Think of two different words
that have a lot of other 'rhymes'.
"Cat" is one example, "ball" is
another.
Step 3
• The next two lines should
rhyme with a different word.
These should be shorter than
line number 1 and 2.
Step 4
• The last line should be funny or
the 'punch line'. The last words
should rhyme with the word of
the 1 and 2 lines.
Step 5
•Read it and
laugh!
Now you try
• Write a funny limerick about
each one of your classes
• Keep it classroom appropriate
• Have fun!!!!!!
Math
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My math teacher makes us subtract
She makes us write down all the facts
She makes us add too
With the lace of my shoe
Because she likes the gym teacher
Jack
Math
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My math teacher makes me subtract
I have to get him off my back
I will work hard
So my report card
Will show I’m on the right track
Acrostic Poems
Poems in which the first letters of
each line form a word or message
relating to the subject.
Example: Hockey
History,
Orr,
Crosby,
Kesler,
Erickson,
Yzerman.
Acrostic Poems (Cont’d)
• Another example: Stuart
Sometimes smiles
Taller than most
Unusually brilliant
Artistically mediocre
Really good fudge maker
Teacher
Acrostic Poems (Cont’d)
Another example: Whiskers
White and orange striped,
He reminds me of a tiger.
Idly laying in the sun,
Stretched out across the grass.
Kitten who dreams of being ferocious,
Even as he purrs in his sleep.
Runs after his toys until tired,
Soft and warm, he sleeps on my lap.
Acrostic Poems (Cont’d)
One final example: chocolate
Cadbury
Hershey
Oozing
Creamy
Outstanding
Luxurious
Awesome
Tantalizing
Enjoyable
Acrostic Poems (Cont’d)
• Now you do a couple. Think of
two things you would like to do
acrostics about, then do them.
Tanka
• A type of poem of Japanese
origin. It consists of 5 lines,
with a total of 31 syllables:
line 1 – 5 syllables
line 2 – 7 syllables
line 3 – 5 syllables
line 4 – 7 syllables
line 5 – 7 syllables
Beautiful mountains
Rivers with cold, cold water.
White cold snow on rocks
Trees over the place with frost
White sparkly snow everywhere.
• The leaves change colour
When the fall winds start to blow,
Yellow, orange and brown
Are the colours of fall leaves,
Slowly falling from the trees.
Abandoned schoolhouse,
Children use to run and play,
One teacher in one room,
Many grades, all taught at once,
Sad building rotting away.