Assignment #17: The Slam!

This is a response to Ms. Pollock's post.

3)a) What did you learn from Greg and Beth Ann? (at least 2 things)

- I learned a lot about how to perform and how to make my poems flow better.
- Both of them gave me new ways to write my poetry.

3)b) When writing your own poem, what did you use as inspiration? (at least 3 things)

- I made a list of world wide problems and then I chose one that I thought was the most important to me.
- I also chose a topic that I knew I would be able to work with easily.
- A topic that the audience can relate to and understand is also important, so I chose a topic that everyone has heard of before.

3)c)  What are you most proud of from your poem or your presentation of it? (at least one thing)

- Well I was proud of how I thought of nice metaphors, I usually suck at them, but since I chose a topic that I think is really important, I was able to write a lot about it.

3)d) How did you feel before you performed?

- I felt super nervous. I kept on reading my poem and making sure everything was okay.

3)e) How did you feel AFTER you performed?

- Right after my performance I felt embarrassed because I kind of messed up. After a while I felt relieved that I got it over with.

3)f) What would you change about your own poem or performance for next time? (at least 1 thing)

- I would try not to be so nervous and I would also make more eye contact with the audience.
- I would rehearse a little more next time because I didn't really feel ready.

3)g) What did you learn/like about someone else's poem?

I liked how some people didn't just read words from their paper, they added actions and performed well. I think everyone in our class had really deep poems and I thank everyone for sharing their words with us, I really enjoyed the slam!

Here's the poem I read at the slam:

  Mother Earth

    Crystal clear oceans. Fields of green grass with colourful plants, like precious gems. Wonderful white snow all the way up north and way down south. Rainforests rich with exotic life. She tries her best to sustain it all. Everyday we wake up to the sweet melodies of birds chirping. Breathing in fresh air and drinking fresh, ice cold water. We take her beauty and protection for granted and what do we do for her in return? We build factory after factory, filling up her lungs with smoke. We tear too many trees for our own needs. Using the fertile ground as a garbage can. Staining the clear, blue oceans with our own filth! Slowly, we're turning her into a furnace, melting away all the magnificent glaciers. We behave selfishly, using up all of her resources. Her beauty is slowly fading away, she's turning green to grey. If we keep this up then we'll be living in a colourless world, slowly burning her up. But, it's not too late, we can still make a difference. There is still time to save all her glorious wonders. Start by doing little things because they all add up. We can all work together to patch her up, and remember, by hurting her we are only hurting us.

Well, that's my poem. Feel free to comment! Hope you enjoyed it!