First Assignment

I thought you all might enjoy trying this one. I have never really done anything quite like this in my schooling. I remember my creative writing class in high school. I wrote an epic about monsters from space trying to take over the world and only being able to kill them by throwing peanut butter on them. So needless to say it is difficult for me to expand writing in this way. I promise not to share all of Michelle’s assignments with you, but thought this one was fun for all if not to write but to think about.

1) Write 25 words you like and dislike on cards (this is harder than one thinks).
25 words I like
empathy finger really darn wowsers
seriously piñata perception funky technically
sunshine banana behooves asparagus Uranus
peace reality flush odor foul
nature spring fall growth why

25 words I dislike
right wrong should like quiet
smart change prick comb attitude
past know intention manager restriction
booger beat march obey impossible
sudoku poop wind chill can do glop

2) Pick 5 words, at least 2 you don’t like, and write a 5 line poem, one word for each line.
Empathy allows us to feel the way
It behooves us to pay attention to flow
There is no wrong
No other we must obey
We must smell the odor of intuition

3) Take the abstract words LOVE and BEAUTIFUL and make them concrete. What are the first things that come to your mind when you hear these words.

Love is a tree with huge branches reaching out and long roots going down. It ebbs and flows with the seasons, and may look dead at times, but always has sap, its life blood, flowing through the roots, branches, trunk waiting for the next season to arrive.

Beautiful is a brook with the sunlight glistening off the water as it flows over rocks. The appearance can constantly change, leaves, branches can obstruct the flow. Logs may fall in creating new ponds and water routes. But the beautiful water is always there.

4) Write a poem of any length, any style with no rhyming.

Birds chirping
Wind blowing
Sun behind clouds
We see the signs of nature around us
Organic, changing, yet staying the same
And ignore the nature inside us
Thinking we can make ourselves
Beyond nature
Like a building tall against the sky
Standing strong against the elements
Until the wrecking ball comes
To make way for a parking lot
Or a better, taller, stronger building
Would we be better off being a tree
Swaying with the wind
Losing branches that are weak
Conserving energy when seasons change
Providing a peaceful place in the world