Poetry Prompts

Read this poem by Ogden Nash

THE TERMITE
Some primal termite knocked on wood
And tasted it, and found it good,
And that is why your Cousin May
Fell through the parlor floor today.
 

Have you ever had an accident or a disaster happen to you?

• How did it happen?

• Where were you when it happened? Did you have a part in it? Explain.

• Who was affected by this accident, and who caused it?

• Has your life changed as a result? Explain.

Don't forget to get off to a good start!

Name        Class

Here is another poem by Ogden Nash.

THE CENTIPEDE
I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepy-time he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he's not,
Or, if he is, he makes a spot.

What is Ogden Nash's opinion about centipedes?

What is it about centipedes that disturbs him?

What do you think the word objurgate (first line) means based on reading the rest of the poem?

• Is there an insect or animal you really don't like at all?
• Why don't you like it?
• Did it ever harm you or a member or your family? How were you affected by it?
• How did you deal with the problem it caused?
• What will you do to prevent it from happening again?

Don't forget to get off to a good start!

Name        Class

Here is another poem by Ogden Nash.

The People Upstairs
The people upstairs all practice ballet
Their living room is a bowling alley
Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.
Their radio is louder than yours,
They celebrate week-ends all the week.
When they take a shower, your ceilings leak.
They try to get their parties to mix
By supplying their guests with Pogo sticks,
And when their fun at last abates,
They go to the bathroom on roller skates.
I might love the people upstairs more
If only they lived on another floor.

Where Monsters Can Grow

Beware of the monsters
Who dwell in the mind,
Who grow in the shelter
Of shadows they find.

Beware of the demons
Who hide from the light,
Who only survive
When our spirits lose sight.

Those creatures can thrive
Where our knowledge is low;
They fill in the spaces
Of what we don’t know.

Beware of the monsters
That cause us to hate,
To strike out in anger
When we can’t relate.

For ignorance darkens
The mind and the heart,
And helps all our monsters
To tear us apart.

But learning and thinking
Will strengthen us so
We won’t be the places
Where monsters can grow.

Have you experienced these kinds of monsters?
Hopefully not, but certainly you have heard stories about others who hate or judge other people unfairly
because they look, act, speak, or dress differently.

• Write a story about bullying.

• Who were the people involved? (Please don't use real names of people we know.)

• Where did it take place?

• How did it start?

• Explain how the bullying problem was solved. If it was not solved, explain what happened.

• How did it affect the person who was treated unfairly?

  Don't forget to get off to a good start!

Name                       Class