Monday, May 24, 2010

MyPoWriYe #54 - Poem for Two Voices


I have always enjoyed reading poems for two voices, poems like the ones in Paul Fleischman's book Joyful Noise.  And while this poem began with a back-and-forth structure, it was only as I kept writing that I imagined it as being read by two people.  The ending was the trickiest part, trying to put those voices together.

If you have never read a poem for two voices, it is like a see saw.  Two people take turns with the different sides, alternating lines.  If the two parts are written directly across from each other, both people read them at the exact same time, expressing two different thoughts in the air at once.  It was fun to experiment with this kind of writing.

I am a mother now, but we moms don't always feel like adults.  Sometimes we remember exactly what it felt like to be children, and how some grown up answers did not make sense at all. 


This poem may have sprung from Georgia's question on Saturday.  As soon as we left the driveway for a 4-H event, she asked, "How much longer?"

Here are a few titles with poems for two voices.  Or four! 



 

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This book by Georgia Heard includes two poems for two voices.
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If anyone out there tries writing a poem for two voices and would like to share, please let me know.  It'd be fun to feature a few of these.  Of if you have favorite books to add to the list above, please do tell!

Last week, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect focused her "Monday Poetry Stretch" on colors.  She posted the submissions yesterday, and my brown poem is cuddled in with the other colorful poems.

'Waiting for more lambs...

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