Lately I’ve been reminiscing about my days as a teacher. I miss watching children enjoy learning by trying the activities I created for them. One activity we did together was as much fun for me as it was for them. I’d like to share it with you today.
It’s called “Copycat”. Think of a poem you know and like. Now copy the style of the poem using your own theme or idea.
Here’s one from Sylvia Plath’s Mirror.
Computer
I am sleek and black. I have no thoughts of my own
Whatever you type, I save immediately
Just as you typed it, unedited or revised
I am not a critic, only a device –
The batch of nanoes, four-cornered
Most of the time I’m booted, clicking on a desk
It is hard, cluttered with paper. I have stayed on it so long
I think it is part of my hard drive. But I flicker.
Sleep mode and blank screens separate us over and over.
Now I’m a tablet. A woman bends over me
Searching the internet for what she wants
She turns to those search engines, google and yahoo
I show her favorites and posts on face book
She rewards me with giggles and tapping fingers
I am important to her. She opens and closes me.
With me she has news feeds and weather apps, and with me she
Shuts off the TV, like an ugly lamp.
Have fun writing today. And thanks for stopping in.
(I would love to see a new Robert Frost in the comments.)
I love this idea! It has taken me a long time to get over the feeling that I was ‘not supposed’ to copy someone’s work – one lesson from school that definitely stuck with me
Guess I didn’t have a teacher like YOU 
Try it the next time you find a poem you like. Post it here. I’d love to read it. Thanks for stopping by!
It’s a lesson
It’s wonderful how engaging in life through blogging can become a classroom unto itself. I look forward to posting my completed poem!
“Copying” is a great way to learn. I did my fair share of trying to imitate styles I admired as I was writing my memoir. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
It made it easier for students to learn from “the greats”. I think we do copy our most admired writers, don’t you agree?
I definitely agree! Why not learn a lesson from what’s already been done?