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March 2, 2012

Poetry Friday--Things We Used to Do


We were all kids once, and as kids, we were involved in some tasteless activities--like wearing white lipstick (girls) or tossing spitballs across a classroom (boys). Of course, once you reach adulthood, these things make you cringe. On the upside, though, these memories are grist for the poetry mill!
Spitwads

by Michael McFee

Little paper cuds we made
by ripping the corners or edges
from homework and class notes
then ruminating them into balls
we’d flick from our fingertips
or catapult with pencils
or (sometimes after lunch)
launch through striped straws
like deadly projectiles
toward the necks of enemies
and any other target where they’d
stick with the tiniest splat,

read the rest here.
Remember those days?

I trust you'll be on your best behavior as you visit this week's Poetry Friday host, Dori Reads!

Don't you love Flickr? It's a rare day that I don't find what I need on Flickr. The spitballed ceiling was photographed by iandavid.

5 comments:

  1. Love that 'tenacious utterance'. I substitute taught for a while & had to be careful about these spitwads. One school asked that I make sure that they didn't end up on the ceiling! I really looked forward to that day! Thanks for the memories!

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  2. As my daughter the 6th grade teacher says, sometimes kids make poor decisions! Flinging paper soaked in bodily fluids--poor decision! ;-)

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  3. "little white words we learned
    to shape and hold in our mouths
    while waiting to let them fly,
    our most tenacious utterance."

    LOVE that!

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  4. Who would ever think of writing a poem about spitwads? Don't you love what poetry can make of even those gross little things!

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  5. Yes, poets love the quirky things, too!

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