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Let’s write a list poem which uses lots of metaphors to describe who we are. You might take a moment to look up the word “metaphor.” We are going to use the five senses as the basis of our metaphors. Can you name all five? And by metaphor we mean that we will name ourselves something that we are not literally (for example, a stinging bee) but that describes some part of who we are (if you bother me, I might say something mean!)
Writing Prompt: Here are some ideas to get us started!
If my name was a color it would be….because…
If my name were something in nature (tree, bird, etc.) it would be….because…
If my name were something a person made (truck, building, etc.) it would be….because…
If my name was a sound it would be…. because ….
If my name was a smell it would be…. because ….
If his/my name was a taste it would be…. because ….
If my name was a texture it would be…. because….
My name used to be (color, sound, smell, taste, touch).
Back then I….(something about your life then)
Now my name is ….(something about your life now)
Someday my name will be….
Here's an example poem. Notice that the poems do not use all the questions, and that they mix up the order and also vary the ways in which the questions are answered. You can do that to! Sometimes, when you are writing what will be a list poem (that is a poem that is made up of a list of related things) it is good to just write down all your ideas in response to the prompt (that’s sometimes called brainstorming), then choose the responses you like best, and put them in an order that sounds good to you. That’s what Pauletta did when she made these poems using lines from all the writers in the class.
My name used to be a rose with thorns.
It reminds me of a stinging bee.
Now, it’s mostly a bouquet—
a single rose surrounded
by lavender from my mother’s garden,
something you would love to keep tasting
on the tip of your tongue.
Just a smidge for taste.
If my name were a smell,
it would smell like Endless Weekends,
if a texture, rough within a hidden soft,
something so big you just want
to touch it— allowed only
with good behavior and time.
I am what I am,
single and content.
If my name were a sound,
it might be the creak of that window.
You can’t always hear
where one letter ends
and the other begins.
There’s going to be an answer.
WordPlay Weaving Women’s Words
Now choose your own favorite answers and put them in an order that feels right to you.
Now choose your own favorite answers and put them in an order that feels right to you.
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