50 Shades of Graphite -- the 2015 Sardis Secondary Writing 12 Blog

50 Shades of Graphite -- the 2015 Sardis Secondary Writing 12 Blog

Monday, September 28, 2015

Prose-to-Poem Assignment
Find an existing piece of prose that you've written--a journal entry, a quickwrite, a section of a short story, a paragraph of an essay, a letter, your atmospheric description of a setting, or something else--and re-format it with a sense of line.  Create line breaks to add pacing, drama, emphasis, suspense, or new associations. 

Two rules:  

1. You're not allowed to add anything new.  What was there originally is all you've got to work with.

2. You may cut as much of the original as you want.

Lastly:  Post your new creation, your Prose-turned-Poem, in the "Comments" box of this post by Wednesday, Sept. 30th.  Be sure to attach your name to the post itself.

10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I look up to the sky,
    as I wait for words to form in my throat.
    I wonder if he is up there, looking down
    on us.
    Maybe he is he white roses that his mother used
    to decorate the church's pews.
    Maybe he is the rays of the sun,
    that bronze my shoulders. It hits me,
    the cruel fact that I will never see
    him again.
    I know that I am selfish,
    but his death has seemed like nothing
    but a punishment to me.
    At night, I find myself waiting
    for him to burst through the damned door.
    Not caring to knock, because he always knew
    that he was welcome.
    I sit there for hours and finally at 2am, I realize
    that he isn't coming.
    He is never going to come home again.
    But nothing is ever perfect is it?
    He promised me a forever, a future, a reason to keep pushing through life's crap,
    and then he just quit on me.
    I hate him for quitting on me and leaving me
    here. Most of all I hate him for promising me
    the cliché everything will be ok, because
    it is not ok.
    I cannot believe that
    he is gone.

    Nicola Laurillard (from short story).

    ReplyDelete
  3. A symphony of crashing toys
    performed
    by my brother and sister, took place
    on the stage of pink, tacky carpet behind me.
    Stale cigarette smoke penetrated
    my nostrils, the smell seeped
    into the fabric of the small confined living room furniture.
    A fresh, cool breeze cascaded
    around me, lifting my hair. Hot suffocating
    air quickly refilled its original place, leaving behind
    barely breathable oxygen.
    angry flies buzzed relentlessly
    around my body seeming to thrive off
    the growing stench
    perfuming my clothes.
    The only décor adorning the eggshell
    white walls was a huge window
    residing directly in front of me letting just enough
    sunlight in to see
    the dirt-drenched dust motes dancing
    on each of the sun’s different rays.
    Cars pursued each other like
    desperate heartbeats as they polluted
    the crammed air with their fumes
    outside the window. Each honk tells a different story
    involving flying birds
    and imaginative epithets, thrown
    like knives into each other’s faces.

    Viveca Braaten (from Multi-Sensory Piece)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've always wondered
    What happens to those who have drowned,
    But we're never found

    Maybe the drifted into the vast ocean
    Where not even
    Millions
    Of species have been discovered.
    Or maybe,
    They swam off not wanting
    To be found

    It is said
    Drowning is the most
    Painful
    Way to die
    But maybe
    You get greeted by not angels
    But creatures that look just like you
    From the waist up

    Their skin
    Radiates
    Elegance
    Their smiles
    Warming
    The water around you
    And their eyes showing
    Mischeif
    And adventure

    And when you grab their hand
    You know youre beautiful
    As well.

    (Mackenzie Johansen)
    Undiscovered species

    ReplyDelete
  5. Breathing becoming laboured
    sweat dripping down
    me body, the heat
    of the blankets
    does not help.
    Can not
    breathe,
    my oxygen
    cut off
    blocked.

    I cling
    to what little
    I have
    left,
    what little
    has not
    been taken from
    me,
    what little...
    what little...

    I see his face
    above me, the face
    I've been searching
    for. I will never leave
    him I vow as I scream.

    No.
    I'd rather
    believe this
    is real. I
    don't want
    to realize
    I no
    longer need
    to breathe.
    I don't
    want to
    know I am
    ... I am...
    I am...

    Brianna Payne
    (short story)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Matt McGifford - Philosophy Notes

    When you get to the edge
    of “I know”,
    all you can say is
    “I don’t know”.

    When you reach the end
    of understanding,
    you have succeeded.

    Know who you are
    in reality.

    A humble person see themselves
    realistically,
    in order to see
    who they really are.

    The unexamined life
    is not worth living.

    Know thyself.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Growing up does not mean Growing dull.

    Yes, taxes and a 9-5 might seem pretty lame,
    But that doesn’t mean growing up has to be!

    All you have to do is pay your bills,
    File your taxes and,
    Get to work on time.

    Growing up is awesome!

    Growing up means finding yourself! So get up!
    Dance
    Fall in love, break your heart
    Go for a drive or stay at home
    Find a cause
    Make mistakes
    Learn
    Laugh
    Breathe
    Carpe frigg’n Diem!

    Make growing up what you want it to be
    But don’t make it dull.

    Life it too short to be boring,
    And just long enough to be fun.

    All you have to do
    Is show up.

    -Veda

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Young boy,
    madmen know nothing.

    Her heart is insane
    becoming paranoid, frightened.

    They know nothing.

    She admits
    wanting to murder for his eye
    when he lies
    at night.

    Young man,
    tell your mother.

    -Rose de Bruijn (Synthesis essay)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Compelling.

    I'd love
    to have been the person
    that invented the word compelling. Although
    the phonetics of the word,
    the literal word itself,
    isn't anything amazing- the emotion behind the word is really what
    intrigues me.
    Who could've come up with the word
    Compelling? Who could've possibly taken a feeling of pure...

    entracement

    and

    awe

    and put a name on it?
    And by giving this feeling a name, said person must've been
    transparent enough, or
    confident enough
    to allow themselves to be so
    vulnerable
    to share such an emotion with others.
    By sharing this
    new word
    the creator of this word would've learned that
    others too
    had experienced this same kind of sheer

    amazement.

    ReplyDelete