Reviewing Your Poetry
2023-03-17
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1In the past few weeks, we asked readers and listeners to write structured poems using either parts of speech or syllables.
2Many of you wrote in with cinquains, haiku, and diamond poems.
3In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will read some of your poems.
4Thao wrote a cinquain poem with parts of speech. Let's take a look:
5Summer
6Warmer, dry, bright
7Lighting, heating, cuddling
8Waiting for the raindrops
9Passion
10Thao's subject is "summer," which is his one-word noun.
11The second line has three adjectives that describe the season.
12This line should only have two adjectives, but it is okay.
13The poem is still a cinquain with five lines.
14Next, Thao moves onto the third line with three -ing verbs.
15The fourth line uses the phrase, "Waiting for the rain drops."
16This line describes Thao's feelings about summer and the longing for relief from the warm weather.
17And in the last line, Thao uses the word "passion" which is a strong emotion of love and considers his thoughts about summer. Wonderful job, Thao!
18Our next two poems come from Francis and Muhammad.
19They both wrote diamond poems.
20Let's start with Francis' poem:
21Mother
22Gentle, kind
23Caring, loving, understanding
24Sister, daughter, aunty, wife
25Worrying, crying, protecting
26Sweet, beautiful
27Woman
28Francis wrote about a "mother." He used four adjectives, two in the second line and two in the sixth line, "gentle," "kind," "sweet," and "beautiful."
29In the third and fifth lines he used six -ing verbs.
30While the two lines describe the subject, "mother," there is a change in the 5th line to more powerful images of "crying," "worrying," and "protecting."
31The fourth line includes other nouns and parts the subject might play.
32Lastly, Francis ends his lovely cinquain with "woman."
33Francis created his cinquain with synonyms, words with similar meanings.
34Now let's read one with antonyms, words with opposing meanings, that Muhammad sent in.
35Teacher
36Kind, caring
37Teaching, perspiring, inspiring
38Notebooks, books, chalk, duster
39Advising, leading, bearing
40Disrespectful, unruly
41Student
42In his diamond poem, Muhammad starts with "teacher" as his subject and ends with "student."
43He describes a "teacher" as "kind" and "caring."
44Then he compares a teacher to a student using adjectives in the seventh line like "disrespectful" and "unruly."
45Those negative adjectives are a smart choice for the antonym poem.
46There is one word we would like to give feedback on, "perspiring."
47It means to sweat when our bodies work hard.
48I will admit teaching is a physical activity, and we do sweat as teachers.
49Another word we could use is "enduring," which means working hard over a long period of time. Such a fun poem, Muhammad!
50Lastly, we have two poems using syllables from Jack.
51One is a haiku with 17 syllables, and another is a cinquain with 22 syllables.
52Let's start with Jack's haiku:
53We were always doomed,
54I will never understand,
55Inevitable.
56Jack uses powerful words like "doomed" and "inevitable."
57All the words fit the syllable structure of the haiku with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five again in the last line.
58Here is Jack's cinquain:
59Grey sky,
60Shepherds delight,
61The blue sky is tranquil,
62A natural phenomenon,
63Look up.
64All of Jack's words fit the structure of a cinquain with syllables.
65Grey sky, (2 syllables)
66Shepherds delight, (4 syllables)
67The blue sky is tranquil, (6 syllables)
68A natural phenomenon, (8 syllables)
69Look up (2 syllables)
70There is a connection to the common saying, "red sky at night, shepherd's delight."
71It means that if there is a bright red sky in the evening, the following day will bring good weather.
72Instead of red, Jack chose "grey," followed by "blue sky."
73We know that once grey skies clear, blue skies and sunny days will follow.
74Jack ends with a request, "look up."
75The mood of this poem is very peaceful, and your word choices fit the syllables! Thank you, Jack!
76In today's report, we read structured poems from our listeners. You chose subjects like "summer," "sky," mother" and "teacher."
77You chose words that fit poem structures, parts of speech and syllables. Your poems were filled with emotion and descriptive images.
78We hope that you have enjoyed learning about ways to create poetry in English. And we thank all of you who sent us your good work.
79I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1In the past few weeks, we asked readers and listeners to write structured poems using either parts of speech or syllables. Many of you wrote in with cinquains, haiku, and diamond poems. 2In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will read some of your poems. 3Your poems 4Thao wrote a cinquain poem with parts of speech. Let's take a look: 5Summer 6Warmer, dry, bright 7Lighting, heating, cuddling 8Waiting for the raindrops 9Passion 10Thao's subject is "summer," which is his one-word noun. The second line has three adjectives that describe the season. This line should only have two adjectives, but it is okay. The poem is still a cinquain with five lines. Next, Thao moves onto the third line with three -ing verbs. 11The fourth line uses the phrase, "Waiting for the rain drops." This line describes Thao's feelings about summer and the longing for relief from the warm weather. And in the last line, Thao uses the word "passion" which is a strong emotion of love and considers his thoughts about summer. Wonderful job, Thao! 12Our next two poems come from Francis and Muhammad. They both wrote diamond poems. Let's start with Francis' poem: 13Mother 14Gentle, kind 15Caring, loving, understanding 16Sister, daughter, aunty, wife 17Worrying, crying, protecting 18Sweet, beautiful 19Woman 20Francis wrote about a "mother." He used four adjectives, two in the second line and two in the sixth line, "gentle," "kind," "sweet," and "beautiful." In the third and fifth lines he used six -ing verbs. While the two lines describe the subject, "mother," there is a change in the 5th line to more powerful images of "crying," "worrying," and "protecting." 21The fourth line includes other nouns and parts the subject might play. Lastly, Francis ends his lovely cinquain with "woman." Francis created his cinquain with synonyms, words with similar meanings. Now let's read one with antonyms, words with opposing meanings, that Muhammad sent in. 22Teacher 23Kind, caring 24Teaching, perspiring, inspiring 25Notebooks, books, chalk, duster 26Advising, leading, bearing 27Disrespectful, unruly 28Student 29In his diamond poem, Muhammad starts with "teacher" as his subject and ends with "student." He describes a "teacher" as "kind" and "caring." Then he compares a teacher to a student using adjectives in the seventh line like "disrespectful" and "unruly." Those negative adjectives are a smart choice for the antonym poem. 30There is one word we would like to give feedback on, "perspiring." It means to sweat when our bodies work hard. I will admit teaching is a physical activity, and we do sweat as teachers. Another word we could use is "enduring," which means working hard over a long period of time. Such a fun poem, Muhammad! 31Lastly, we have two poems using syllables from Jack. One is a haiku with 17 syllables, and another is a cinquain with 22 syllables. Let's start with Jack's haiku: 32We were always doomed, 33I will never understand, 34Inevitable. 35Jack uses powerful words like "doomed" and "inevitable." All the words fit the syllable structure of the haiku with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five again in the last line. 36Here is Jack's cinquain: 37Grey sky, 38Shepherds delight, 39The blue sky is tranquil, 40A natural phenomenon, 41Look up. 42All of Jack's words fit the structure of a cinquain with syllables. 43Grey sky, (2 syllables) 44Shepherds delight, (4 syllables) 45The blue sky is tranquil, (6 syllables) 46A natural phenomenon, (8 syllables) 47Look up (2 syllables) 48There is a connection to the common saying, "red sky at night, shepherd's delight." It means that if there is a bright red sky in the evening, the following day will bring good weather. Instead of red, Jack chose "grey," followed by "blue sky." We know that once grey skies clear, blue skies and sunny days will follow. 49Jack ends with a request, "look up." The mood of this poem is very peaceful, and your word choices fit the syllables! Thank you, Jack! 50Closing thoughts 51In today's report, we read structured poems from our listeners. You chose subjects like "summer," "sky," mother" and "teacher." You chose words that fit poem structures, parts of speech and syllables. Your poems were filled with emotion and descriptive images. 52We hope that you have enjoyed learning about ways to create poetry in English. And we thank all of you who sent us your good work. 53I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Jill Robbins. 54Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 55___________________________________________________________________ 56Words in This Story 57syllable - n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced 58cuddle - v. to hold (someone or something) in your arms in order to show affection 59passion - n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something 60relief - n. a pleasant and relaxed feeling that someone has when something unpleasant stops or does not happen 61aunty - n. diminutive your mother or father's sister 62role - n. the function, job, or position of a person, organization, or thing 63perspire - v. to sweat through the skin 64inspiring - adj. causing people to want or create something or to lead their lives in a different way 65chalk - n. a soft, light-colored rock used for writing 66sweat - v. to give off salty moisture through the pores of the skin 67duster - n. a cloth that is used to remove dust from objects 68bear - v. to carry the weight of 69unruly - adj. to be disruptive 70sweat - v. to give off salty moisture through the pores of the skin 71doom - v. to make certain the failure or destruction of 72inevitable - adj. sure to happen 73shepherd - n. a person whose job is to take care of sheep - sometimes used figuratively 74delight - n. a strong feeling of happiness 75tranquil - adj. quiet and peaceful 76phenomenon - n. an event or interesting happening that can be observed and studied and that is not easy to explain or understand 77mood -n. the way a person feels 78____________________________________________________________________ 79What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 80We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 81Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.