36 Writing Assignment: Everyday Moment Poem

Directions

Write a poem that reflects an everyday moment. You may write it in first-person point of view (I, me, my,  we, us, etc.) or third-person point of view (he, she, it, they, etc.). Here is a list of poem suggestions:

• Write about a specific sight in the city like William Carlos Williams did in “The Great Figure.”
• Write about a specific event in nature like Emily Dickinson did in her poems: “A Bird Came Down the Walk” and “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass.”
• Write about a specific occurrence on a farm.
• Write about a specific incident at a school.
• Write about a memory of a childhood toy.

You get the idea, right? Brainstorm a list of your own ideas, a variation of one of the above, or use one of the above ideas.

Show Don’t Tell

Remember to use specific nouns and strong action verbs. Remember to use your senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell. Of course, poets use less words than fiction writers, too.

Line Breaks

Follow the traditional line breaks and format that most free-verse poets use. Make the line breaks where there is punctuation, an end of a phrase, or the end of a sentence.

Final Draft Instructions

Follow these instructions for typing the final draft:

• The poem must be typed in a Microsoft Word file (.docx)
• It must have one-inch margins, be single-spaced, and typed in a 12 pt. readable font like Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial.
• Don’t allow the auto-correct in Microsoft Word to capitalize the first line of each poem. Use conventional English rules to write your lines.
• In the upper left-hand corner of page 1, type your first and last name, the name of the class, the date the assignment is due, and the assignment name. Example:

Jane Doe
ENGL 1465–Creative Writing
Due Date:
Writing Assignment: Everyday Moment Poem

• Be sure to give your poem a title. Do not bold, enlarge, or punctuate the title. Capitalize the first word and each important word in the title.