Alexandra Halas

Mr. Schurtz
English 12 AP Pd. 7/8
13 April 2011

Poetry
 Thesis

Self-publication, a tedious endeavor, strains the

self causing numerous impediments; however
must be overcome to produce a pristine,
finished product.
 The
Building
Blocks

How to essentially
form a poem.

(“Building Blocks”)
Organization is Key
(“Fun Shelves”)
Expand Your Mind

(“Expand Your Mind”)

b
g i
u u
t a
w b
i g
k il
j C H u
s T a
RE

d b
b g
Your
ST

f u
k

Creativity
a
u g
r b
(“The Morning Stretch”)
 Think
OUTSIDE
The Box

(“Dancin’ Danbo”)
Therapeutic
Depressed? Anxious?
(“Fountain Pen”)
Publishing vs. Self-Pubishing

(“The Colorful Library of an Interaction Designer”)

Publishing

(“The Colorful Library of an Interaction Designer”)

Self-Publishing

(“The Colorful Library of an Interaction Designer”)

Types of Self-
Publishing

(“I Tend to Scribble A Lot”)

(“Thirty Five Cents”)
Cheaper than Cheaper

(“In One We Trust...”)

(“Coins”)
Pros

(“Angel’s and Devil’s Food Cake”)

 Cons
(“Angel’s and Devil’s Food Cake”)
Steps
to Self-
Publishing

(“Steps and Shadows”)

First
Step

(“One Step”)
Second
Step
(“Foot Prints”)
Third
Step

(“Where Does These Foot Prints Lead To?”)

V A R I -

O U S

W A Y S

(“Blank Keyboard”)
T hi s That?
or
(“The Colorful V”)
 Poets &
Their
Struggles

(“Mintyana Jones and the White Thingy”)

Leaves
of Grass

(“Water Drops on Grass”)

(“More Old Books...”)
(“Never Explain What You Do”)
(“Pens on Parade”)
(“Waiting for Godot Tickets”)
My Process

(“Office Park”)
 T
E
D
I
O
U
S
(“Eternal Clock”)
FRUS
TRA
TI
NG! (“Buy My Desperation”)
 The
Self
Critic

(“Mirrored Self-Misidentification”)
 E
M
O
T
I
O
N
S

(“Pork”) (“Zeus”)
(“For the Love of Books”)
(“Tearful”)
IDEAS
(“Exploring an Idea”)
(“Notturno”)
(“Balance”)
(“That Was Easy”)
(“Caged Bokeh”)
 Blank Verse Tanka
Name Poem Rhymes
Narrative Poetry
Epitaph Dactyl Poetry Odes
Carpe
Verse Limericks
Diem Irony
Free Verse ABC Poem Terza Rima
Rhyme Royal
Prose Poetry
Sonnets
Senryu Epithalamium Form
Cinquain Poetry
Haiku Imagery Poems
Lyric Poetry
Couplet Poetry Quatrain
Conceit Poetry
Cacphony Poetry
Allegory
Enjambment Refrain Poetry Blank Verse
 October 7, 2010
After three years of waiting. Interceptions.
Blocking. Just for girls.
Cheerleaders were guys. Kick-off.
Defense. Long practices.
Everyone watched. Memorizing plays.
Flag football. Never giving up.
Getting all muddy. Offense.
Having fun. Powder Puff.
 November 19, 2010
Driving fast. Having sleepovers,
Windows down. Always laughing.
What happened to that? What happened to that?

Music blasting, Beach trips,

Never caring. Loving families.
What happened to that? What happened to that?

Late nights, “Sisters forever.”

Sharing secrets. “Best friends til the end.”
What happened to that? What happened to that?
 December 3, 2010
Dazed and confused.

Angry and sad.

All of these feelings I once had.

When I’m not with you, I miss you.

As crazy as it seems
But I’m not really sure what this all means.
But then I met you.

So random and unexpected.

It was weird, the way we just connected.

I have been given an offer,
One hard to refuse,
But at stake, there is so much to lose.

Whenever I’m with you,

Those bad feelings die out,

Because you show me what “having fun” is really all about.

Before making a decision, there’s something I need to know.
I like you a lot, this you should know firsthand,
But, with you, where do I stand?
 February 1, 2011
I hear the whispers,
And the hushed tones,
When I walk by.
They’re talking about
The actions that can’t
Be undone. So I just sigh.
When I hear them talking
I just sit there and
I hold my head up high.
Pretending not to care.
Little do they know that
It makes me cry.

Going from the inside Sobbing for hours,

To the out; Watching the tears fall.
In under a day. The only release I can bear.
Real people, But everyday I get stronger,
Fake friends, Get better at hiding the pain.
There is nothing more to say. Slowly realizing, life is truly unfair.

Dwelling on drama.
Thriving off pain.
Never theirs, always mine.
Taking what doesn’t belong to them,
The knowledge of my life.
I guess the wounds will heal in time.
 June 14, 2011

What we waited for.

Our time here is ending soon.
Graduation Day.
Only memories are left.
Not looking back, just forward.
 Flyer, Bases, Back.
Champions is what we are.
We are cheerleaders.

CLASS ACTIVITY

Unfamiliar.
Upset, Angry, Frustrated.
Champions no more.
(“Alfaro”)
 Works Cited
Aliprandini, Michael. "E.E. Cummings." MAS Ultra - School Edition. Great Neck Publishing, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.

Boisseau, Michelle, and Robert Wallace. Writing Poems. 6th ed. Pearson Longman, 2004. Print.

Bolton, Gillie. "'Every Poem Breaks a Silence That Had to Be Overcome': The Therapeutic Power of Poetry Writing." JSTOR. N.p., Summer 1999. Web. 15 Dec. 2010.
Harris, Tom. "How Self-publishing Works." HowStuffWorks.com. N.p., 4 June 2004. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Jeffares, Alexandra Norman, and Gay Wilson Allen. "Whitman, Walt." History Reference Center. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.

Means, Richard. "Shel Silverstein." MAS Ultra - School Edition. Great Neck Publishing, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.

Mills, James. "About the Playwright: Samuel Beckett." Utah Shakespeare Festival. N.p., 2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <
http://www.bard.org/Education/studyguides/Waiting/godotplaywright.html>.

Moore, Daphna. "Famous Authors Who Have Self Published." Self Publishing Seminars. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. <
http://www.selfpublishingseminars.com/famousauthors.htm>.

Owen, Audrey. "Is Self-Publishing for You." Writer's Helper. N.p., 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. <http://www.writershelper.com/self-publishing.html>.

Pascale, Christopher. "Self-publishing Today." Suite101.com. N.p., 10 June 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Span, Paula. "Making Books." The Washington Post 23 Jan. 2005: BW08. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

"Types of Poetry." Types of Poetry. N.p., 20 Oct. 2005. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. <http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk>.
 Works Cited (Images)
"17 Un De Manos." FlickrCC. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

"Angel's and Devil's Food Cake." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"Balance." FlickrCC. Web. 8 Apr 2011.

"Blank Keyboard." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"Building Blocks." FlickrCC. Web. 2 Mar 2011.

"Buy My Desperation." FlickrCC. Web. 17 Mar 2011.

"Caged Bokeh." FlickrCC. Web. 8 Apr 2011.

"Coins." FlickrCC. Web. 18 Mar 2011.

"Dancin' Danbo." FlickrCC. Web. 4 Apr 2011.

"Eternal Clock." FlickrCC. Web. 28 Feb 2011.

"Expand Your Mind." FlickrCC. Web. 4 Apr 2011.

"Exploring an Idea." FlickrCC. Web. 2 Mar 2011.

"Falling With Grace." FlickrCC. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

"Foot Prints." FlickrCC. Web. 10 Apr 2011.

"For the Love of Books." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"Fountain Pen." FlickrCC. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

"Fun Shelves." FlickrCC. Web. 16 Mar 2011.

"Hot Rocks Massage." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"I Tend to Scribble A Lot." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011

"Journal Entry." FlickrCC. Web. 2 Mar 2011.

"Mirrored Self-Misidentification." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"Mintyana Jones and the White Thingy." FlickrCC. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

"More Old Books...." FlickrCC. Web. 2 Mar 2011

 Works Cited (Images)
"Notturno." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"Never Explain What You Do." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011

"No Denial." FlickrCC. Web. 17 Mar 2011.

"Office Park." FlickrCC. Web. 28 Feb 2011.

"One Step." FlickrCC. Web. 10 Apr 2011.

"Pens and their Marks." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"Pens on Parade." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"Pork." FlickrCC. Web. 1 Mar 2011.

"Steps and Shadows." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"Tearful." FlickrCC. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

"That Was Easy." FlickrCC. Web. 8 Apr 2011.

"The Colorful Library of an Interaction Designer." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"The Colorful V." FlickrCC. Web. 17 Mar 2011.

"The Morning Stretch." FlickrCC. Web. 4 Apr 2011.

"The One We Trust...." FlickrCC. Web. 17 Mar 2011.

"Thirty Five Cents." FlickrCC. Web. 4 Apr 2011.

"Waiting for Godot Tickets." FlickrCC. Web. 12 Apr 2011.

"Water Drops on Grass." FlickrCC. Web. 3 Mar 2011.

"Where Does These Foot Steps Lead To?." FlickrCC. Web. 10 Apr 2011.

"Zeus." FlickrCC. Web. 1 Mar 2011.