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Poem Builder

The Poem Builder will show you 3 flip cards to help you build a poem.

  1. The first card reveals the subject of the poem, a spark to ignite the imagination.
  2. The second card suggests a poetic form, a structure within which to shape the words.
  3. And the third card offers a bounty of language, a treasure trove of words to be woven into the fabric of the poem.

Hover over each image below to reveal the choices:

Look below the flip cards for the poetic form definition and how-to.

Subject:

Write about:

The feel of grass between your toes

Poem Form:

In this format:

Cento Poem

Definition: A cento poem is a form of poetry in which the poet takes lines or phrases from existing poems and rearranges them to create a new poem. This allows the poet to play with the meaning and context of the borrowed lines and to create a new work that is both original and heavily influenced by the source material.

How-to: Draw inspiration from past poets by incorporating lines and phrases from existing poems into your own, giving them new meaning and context. Allow these borrowed elements to shape your new work as the words flow onto the page, resulting in an original poem with influences from the source material.

(definition below images)

Words:

Use these words:

  1. gargoyles
  2. woods
  3. licorice
  4. fruit
  5. savor
  6. spangle
  7. appear
  8. starkly
  9. broken
  10. divine

Cento Poem

Definition: A cento poem is a form of poetry in which the poet takes lines or phrases from existing poems and rearranges them to create a new poem. This allows the poet to play with the meaning and context of the borrowed lines and to create a new work that is both original and heavily influenced by the source material.

How-to: Draw inspiration from past poets by incorporating lines and phrases from existing poems into your own, giving them new meaning and context. Allow these borrowed elements to shape your new work as the words flow onto the page, resulting in an original poem with influences from the source material.

Free Stock photos by Vecteezy