DEDICATION PAGEFor the Aaltonens, who supported me throughout my life.
For Miss Johnson, my fabulous writing teacher, who helped me come this far as a writer.
For my wonderful editors, Jean and Christina, who made my poems publishable.PREFCACE
Note from the Author
My most inspired work comes when I usually lie on my bed letting my mind wander anywhere and my ideas flow on and on. I can go into detail and look for specific thoughts that I could work with in my writing. Ideas flow in and out of my head while I check and categorize the ideas as good, bad, funny, interesting, scary, mysterious, etc. I tend to get more fascinating ideas when I rest or relax because the more relaxed I am, I can think more broadly, resulting in more different and wide variety of ideas to come through my head.
Things that inspire me the most would probably be…nature. Nature is just so amazing, in how everything is created so perfectly and balanced. It is so incredible in how the ecosystem and the environment is fit for every living thing on earth. There are so many aspects of nature and it contains unlimited amount of elements.
Events that inspire me the most would probably be when it snows, when it rains, when the wind blows through the trees, and when the sun is shining down on me. These events might be pretty small, but it can be so powerful containing deep emotions, creating passion to move my soul. It seems like for a second, that I glimpsed something that is untouchable. When everybody of this harsh world is trying to have control over everything, these events that are happening everyday in our life, events that no one really pays much attention to, shows the right of nature and originality—God’s creation.
Person who inspired me the most would probably be God. He created this world, with the perfect, balanced, nature which really gets me thinking. Most of the times, my thoughts about Him and his creation is what makes me keep on writing. I feel like sometimes I could reach the truth, or at least further than the prejudices that builds a wall between us and Him when I keep on writing. I feel something likes trust building within me with God when I write.
In the writing process, I value ideas the most. Without ideas, you can’t get anywhere with your writing. Ideas give you a start and from there you can branch out, explaining in detail and supporting your main idea. Also, the idea is the center—without a good idea, your writing won’t be interesting, resulting in your audience getting bored and just throwing away your piece of writing. Ideas are always important, and for me, the most valuable part of the writing process.
Throughout this semester, I have learned so much in writing class. I learned about ideas, organization, voice, word choice, and conventions. As we learned from one trait to another, the only thing my writing did was get better and better. The knowledge of these five traits helped me to write better quality work—focused, well-planned, understandable, interesting, etc.
SOUND POEM
High School Students
School
Students chattering
Feet shuffling
Pens clattering
Papers ruffling
This is our school.
Hundreds of students
S W I S H
We pass one another
Too busy to even whisper “hi”
As we rampage down the hall
Slamming of lockers
Grinding of doors
The bell rings,
Sings out its music
Silence creeps over
As students go to classes
Halls are hollow
It’s too LOUD
The silence
Inside classroom:
Teachers shouting
Over our loud roars
Students pouting
As teachers punish us with work
Complaints!
Whines!
Cries~
Whimpers. . . .
All too common
Soon school ends
And the students cheer
Once again filling the halls
As they meet their friends
They fly across the hall
Down the stairs and up the stairs
As one runs to the arms of another
And embrace each other with tears
“Thank God it’s over!” one yells
“But there’s tomorrow!” the other wails
“Oh no!” both cry out
“Just go home!” the teachers shout
Laughter, cackle, chortle, snicker
Giggle, chuckle, snortle, titter
Mixed with the only language: Korean
It sounds quite bitter
The buzzing of murmurs,
Secrets and rumors
Everybody gossips
And the news flies around fast
Five minutes whiz by, then ten
Slowly we break apart
And sadly do we croak out our “Good Byes”
And “See You Tomorrows”
The next day same routine.
Students blathering
Feet scuffling
Pens clinking
Papers crumpling
This is our school.
NARRATIVE POEM
Young Atheletes
On the FieldHair tied
Slick and back
Maybe hardened with gel
I stand out there
The sun blazing over our bodies
As we get ready for the next move
All are tense
Watching the ball as it flows from
One player to another
I get ready to leap!
And tackle
If I have to
Making sure the ball doesn’t go past me
The enemy is coming closer
Digging its own grave
I plant myself in front
Ready to take on anything
As soon as the opponent glides in front of me
I stick out my foot and tip the ball to my side
I take charge! Dribbling down the field
I could hear the shuffling of feet beside me
Trying their best to catch up
I pass the defenders
The goalie gets ready
But too late
I kick the ball with all my might
Aiming for the top left corner
Swish~ it hits the net
Shaking the whole goal
The goalie falls
THUD!
She punches the ground
She’s blaming it
My teammates come
All cheering me on
Because I broke the tie
The whistle blows
Like a sweet song for our team
But a shrilling threat,
And a baleful song
For the other
Our team celebrates
Let our spirits free
We are happy,
Happy indeed
For our victory!
PROCESS POEM
Kindergarteners
How to Eat VegetablesGrab many at once; maybe a handful?
Carrots, celery, cucumber, everything
Stuff them in your mouth
And feel the soggy texture.
Scrunch your nose
Cringe your face
Shut your eyes
Hold your nose
And then chew. . .
Chew. . . .and chew. . .
Think about playing with friends
Rolling with your dog
Swinging on swings
All the while chew. . . chew. . .chew. .
Think about the colorful playground
You play on every day
The snacks you get to eat
The TV show: Sesame Street
All the while chew. . chew. . chew. .
Now stop! Stay still! And concentrate!
Collect the bits and pieces
Make a pile on your tongue
Swallow all at once
Do
Not
Choke.
Drink a glass of orange juice
To vanish the after taste
Tell your mom
You’re done
And
Run
Away!
PANTOUM
Young Women
Coming of ChristmasLook over there, it’s coming
The beginning of Christmas, how lovely
It wanders around, roaming
Arriving here, slowly
The beginning of Christmas, how lovely
It carries white, fluffy snow
Arriving here, slowly
While we stand under the mistletoe
It carries white, fluffy snow
Gigantic and small green trees
While we stand under the mistletoe
Oh! I hope everybody sees
Gigantic and small green trees
With angels, stars, and shining light
Oh! I hope everybody sees
It is beautiful and bright
With angels, stars, and shining light
It wanders around, roaming
It is beautiful and bright
Look over there, it’s coming
CONCRETE POEM
Kindergarteners
Mysterious Star
A
glow
in the
d ay r k
starry sky
starry night
small and B I G
shine shine shine shine shine shine shine shine shine shine shine
bright bright bright bright b r i g h t bright bright bright
twinkle sparkle t I n g l e twinkle sparkle t I n g l e
light light faraway bright bright this way
blac black dark black dark black black
can’t see can’t see can’t see can’ tsee
disappears appears!!!disappears fades
gone gone gone SNAP!! back back back
bright bright brightstarbright bright bright
light light lightstarstarstarstarlight light light
glow glowstarstarstarstarstarstarstarglow glow
a starstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstastara star
starstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstarstarsstar
SELF-ASSESSMENTS
MYSTERIOUS STAR
I wrote a concrete poem called “Mysterious Star.” Like a concrete poem should, it shows a picture of the topic of my poem. My shape is very crisp, meaning, it is well-formed or well-shaped. It is definitely inevitable that my shape is a star with five points and congruent sides. I think that my message of this poem is clear and concise. My title states that the star I’m talking about in my poem is mysterious. Well, throughout my poem, I give reasons why, completing my task about staying on my topic and explaining it to my audience.
My poem is easy to summarize and the main idea/thesis is easy to identify. It is well-defined, giving the piece a strong sense of direction. The words and short phrases I used within this poem support the main idea/thesis. I tried creating a bit of suspense within my words to give my text a more mysterious feeling (e.g. “black. . dark.” and “can’t see…)
I don’t think there are any errors in this poem, or even though there were a few, none are serious or affects the clarity of my message of the poem. Citations are not needed, and the presentation has eye appeal and highlights key information. The organizational suits the genre, topic, and purpose ideally. The structure guides the reader through the piece and showcases main ideas. Elements within the piece are creatively arranged to promote understanding. The pacing of this poem is just right. The opening is appealing and functional and the ending wraps up the discussion.
I think that this paper stands out from the others. You might share it aloud. The writing is clear and original and the words are used accurately. The language is well suited to the writer’s purpose and audience. I think I achieved a strong, consistent sense of balance. The modifiers support meaning, voice and imagery, but they are never overdone. I clearly know what I’m talking about was self-assured when I was writing this poem. My curiosity keeps my audience/readers reading. The voice used for this poem is appropriate for the audience and purpose. I think that I did fairly well writing this poem and that this poem is virtually ready to be published.
ON THE FIELD
I wrote a narrative poem called “On the Field.” This poem is a showcase of one of my soccer games I have played previously. As a narrative poem should, it talks about one event, and tells the story about this event. The message of this poem is clear, focused, and concise. My poem is easy to summarize and it shows my in-depth understanding of the topic. The main idea/thesis is east to identify because the details and descriptions I used support my main idea. The result is satisfying, answering the reader’s questions thoroughly and well.
A few errors are noticeable if you look closely, but none affect the clarity of my message. I show control over numerous conventions, particularly the basics (easy spelling, end punctuation, basic capitalization, simple stanzas). However, I need to separate my stanzas into smaller ones to make the poem more clear and understandable. Citations are not needed. The organizational pattern is appropriate for the genre, topic, and purpose. The structure makes the story easy to follow and the main ideas stand out. Elements within the piece are effectively arranged to promote understanding. Pacing is appropriate, meaning, I give extra time to complex or technical issues. Transitions connect ideas clearly, making the piece understandable and coherent. The opening is appealing and functional and the ending wraps up the discussion.
This paper stands out from others. It shows a balance between honesty and passion and courteous restraint. I clearly know the topic well and I was self-assured when I wrote this poem. My enthusiasm keeps my audience reading. The voice I used for this poem is appropriate for the audience and purpose. Words used in this poem are generally used accurately. The language is well suited to the writer’s purpose and audience. The phrasing is lively and the writing is generally balanced. However, I need to re-word or re-phrase few parts of my stanzas to make my writing clearer and less vague. Some phrases make an interesting part boring, so I have to change that too. Generally, I think that this poem is pretty well-written and is ready to be published after some corrections.
HOW TO EAT VEGETABLES
I wrote a process poem called “How to Eat Vegetables.” The message of this poem is clear and focused. My title is not confusing, whereas to say that it pinpoints the exact idea: How to Eat Vegetables. Throughout this poem, I do not flow onto a different topic but clearly explain only how to eat vegetables in an easier way. This poem is directed to young children, specifically kindergarteners, because that is the age when you hate to eat any kind of vegetables.
There are a few errors in this poem, including spelling mistake and capitalization, but none of them affect the clarity of my message of my poem. I show control over numerous conventions, particularly basics (easy spelling, end punctuation, basic capitalization, and simple stanzas). Citations are not needed for this poem and the presentation has eye appeal and highlights key information. The organizational pattern is ideally suited to the gene, topic, and purpose. The structure makes the discussion or story easy to follow, meaning, the poem isn’t confusing and leads the reader/audience to my main point and lets them understand it easily. Elements within the piece are creatively arranged to promote understanding.
I know the topic in-depth and I was self-assured when writing this poem because I’ve personally experienced this struggle and went through this hard phase. I think I have showed enough enthusiasm to keep the readers reading and make the poem fun so that my specific audience (kindergarteners) would be interested in it. My poem and the voice I used for this poem is appropriate for my audience. My poem is clear, original, and precise. The language is well suited to the writer’s purpose and audience. The writing is generally balance, not inflated or simplistic, meaning I did not exaggerate too much making the process shown in the poem impossible. Instead, I used fun, descriptive words to make the poem interesting and still possible to do/act out in reality. However, I think I needed to be a bit more specific. Little kids have a wild imagination and could fall in a different direction anytime. So, to prevent my audience to accidentally falling in a different direction, I should be more specific and narrow down all the possibilities. Overall, I think I did pretty well with the poem and I think that this piece is ready to be published with minor tough-ups.
