I have this friend who is a bread maker and an educator. I call him Chet-the-Bread-Guy. His favorite loaf of bread is his "High Nutrition Bread." For that he needs a series of ingredients. He needs flour: bread, wheat, soy, and wheat grain. Wait there's more! He also uses yeast, salt, honey, eggs, water, and butter in his famous recipe.
"What's this got to do with poetry?"
"Everything!"
Yes, Chet uses these ingredients like a poet uses words — with tender loving care — a sprinkle here, a dash there — fresh ingredients here! He has a magic touch, and he follows his recipe. I know. I've eaten many of his yummy loaves.
You can cook up nutritional poems by following certain word patterns, easy as 1-2-3. And before you know it, you will be cooking in the kitchen or at the writing table without anyone else to guide you. Your words are the ingredients, and the repeating pattern is the recipe. Now, make your own butter coated-loaf — I mean, your own delicious poem.
Now, if you study David's winning poem for the month of June in the poetry section, you see that it has a wonderful pattern that you can use to create your own poem. Just pick your favorite animal and fill in the blanks below. Before you know it, you will be a poet!
The name of the animal goes here in the plural form.
I like them.
Ask me why.
Because they...
Because they...
Because they...
Because they...
Because they...
Because they...
Because they...
Because.
Because.
Because. That's why
I like…(Same animal as in the first line written in the plural form.)