Ze Mandy’s Poem

by Greg on September 2, 2010

in Family & Parenting,Poetry

When Mandy got home from school today she had me read something she wrote in her creative writing class. Her teacher does writing exercises where she gives the students a prompt and then they’re supposed to freewrite for a given amount of time. Mandy says she prefers to do her freewriting in poem form. Today’s prompt was “seashells.” Posted below is her rough draft, freewritten poem “Seashells.”

I’m impressed!

Seashells

I could feel seashells under my feet as I ran.
THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

‘Faster – I need to go faster!’
I said to myself as I could feel a bead of sweat forming on my forehead.
I swung my legs as fast as I could,
The sand flying up behind me
As I ran.

THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

I was almost to the top of the cliff
I thought smiling.
There was the water, it was just in sight
And just out of reach.

THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

I could smell the salt
And feel the breeze
As those seashells climbed to touch my feet
As I ran.

THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

There was the edge!
One more step
And then a l-e-a-p
Then I am flying…
And my heart starts to beat harder.

THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

Then the water embraces me;
But again my head pops up on the surface.
I look back up at the cliff and long to do it all over again.

THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump

– by Mandolin Loebel

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