The UW Bothell Writing and Communication Center
helping students become stronger, more confident writers and communicators
Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day: Poems by Writing Consultants
It is National Poetry Month and to celebrate our Writing Consultants have written some poems.
Ode to White and Strunk
By Cate Foster
I sat at the table of contents
feasting on serial commas
and mixed metaphors that went
straight to my head
periodic sentences came at the
beginning and stayed
to the end
but happily,
needless words were omitted
from the guest list
the vowels were late, having
stopped at the Glottal Café
for tea
the tenses and the participles
were present, but
the tenses kept shifting and
the participles
merely
dangled
all the while, overdressed
adverbs
ate awkwardly
in the end,
the infinitives
split
trespass
By Heather M
I can only
tell
so much of my soul
through narrative speech
the rest, I must communicate
through images which words can paint
poems seeking to eliminate
the boundaries of experience
and skin.
Borders broken, joy and grief
spring forth unbidden
and understanding
sneaks in.
Seasoned Words
By Kat S.
Spring, a joyous celebration of words
new growth and reemerging favorites
before the impact of grammatical fences
or the weeds of run-on sentences
have time to overtake subtler blooms
images painted with the written word
spoken in the rain’s poetic rhythm
bud, blossom, flower, fruit
season of poetry
