At Planet Word's photo booth,
acting out the definitions of SAT words
Last month, I had to take a break due to travel, but for this month's challenge, I'm definito-ly here.
Oooh, that joke was...
Awful:
Not filled with awe,
but the opposite,
things that drain you
of delight, on the scale
of bad to worse,
it's nearly dreadful--
a dire expression of shared
pain: awwwww, noooooo...
that's---
awful.
---Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
See how easy that was? A definito (according to its creator, Heidi Mordhorst) is "a free verse poem of 8-12 lines (aimed at readers 8-12 years old) that highlights wordplay as it demonstrates the meaning of a less common word, which always ends the poem. You can see her full explanation and several wonderful examples here.
I admit, this kind of poem is right up my alley. Definitions? Word play? Less common words? Yes! But it also got me thinking, as great poetry does: What about the,..
In-definito?? Would that be....
A poem that vaguely
runs on and on and on...?
Well....not exactly...
It's hard to say...
I can't pin it down...
Maybe it's just...
unbounded...
not settled...
word-wobbly...
Oooops.
I didn't mean
to define an
Indefinito.
---Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
Then there's the Imagin-ito.
That's where you write a poem that defines an imaginary word---or as I call them "words that should be words." I keep a list of such words on my phone. Not sure why-- maybe it's in honor of Frindle by Andrew Clements. Or to use in my own books one day. In any case, here's one:
Dimpert
a person
who hides their
true smarts
behind a perky
attitude, appearing
dim-witted
until they skewer
you unexpectedly
with a dimpled smile.
---Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
So what word would you like to define, imaginary or real? Drop your Definito, In-definito, or Imagin-ito in the comments.
My poetry sisters Definitos can be found here:
Andi
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Tabitha Yeatts.
