The Toaster

by William Jay Smith

A silver-scaled dragon with jaws
flaming red
Sits at my elbow and toasts my bread.
I hand him fat slices, and then, one by
one,
He hands them back when he sees
they are done.
A metaphor-comparing an
every-day appliance to a
dragon. Creating effective
imagery and humour.
Personification - human
like qualities to something
that is not human.
Created by Sofia Delios
Figurative Language
City Jungle
by Nicole Townsend
Here I am
In the jungle city.
Tigers, like cars,
Chase our feet.
Wild birds,
Like children,
Scream bitterly.
Elephants lumber around
Like buses,
Giraffes have necks
As tall as buildings
And the monkeys' chatter
Sounds like my sister's.
The poet has cleverly sparked my
imagination with the opening statement.
(Metaphor)

Throughout has used simile for
comparisons.

Personification with the chatting
monkeys and humour because it
sounds like his sister.
Non-rhyming / free verse poems
The garden hose
by Beatrice Janosco

In the grey evening
I see a long green serpent
With its tail in the dahlias

It lies in loops across the grass
And drinks softly at the faucet.
I can hear it swallow.
The poet has used long sounds to slow
down the poem and create an effect of
leisurely summer and the stillness of a
serpent.

The second stanza develops the hiss
of a snake by selected words having
the 's' sound.

Imagery, emotion and mood best
words in the best order
Alliteration
Until I saw the sea
by Lilian Moore

Until I saw the sea
I did not know
that wind
could wrinkle water so.

I never knew
that sun
could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor
did I know before,
a sea breathes in and out
Upon a shore.
1. What is the poem about?
2. Poet's imagination, what words
might confirm this?
3. What stands out in the poem for
you?
4. What senses the poet draws on,
sound, sight, taste, touch or smell?
5. Is there anything you don't
understand?
6. Identify positive or negative words.
7. How does the poem make you feel
and why?