The Storm that Was

Here's one of Sara Holbrook's poems that I particularly like, not only for the content, but also for how the poem itself is like the building up and dwindling away of a storm.

The Storm that Was
By Sara Holbrook
From: I Never Said I Wasn’t Difficult

Me?
I rolled in like a storm,
darkening the room,
ominously rumbling,
then erupting with a BOOM!

I HATE PEOPLE.
I HATE SCHOOL.
I HATE WHAT’S HOT.
I HATE WHAT’S COOL.
I CAN’T STAND RIDING BUSES.
ALL MY FRIENDS ARE MEAN.
THE WORLD IS GUACAMOLE
AND
I HATE THE COLOR GREEN.

And you?
You didn’t run for cover
or have that much to say.
You listened to my cloudburst.

And the storm?
It blew away.


What I like:
-Use of capital letters to illustrate the storm
-Shorter, fewer lines a the end, like a storm dwindling away
-Presence of onomatopoeia “Boom”
-The use of rhyming isn’t forced, but is effective when used
-I love the line: “The world is Guacamole and I hate the color green”
-The poem is something my students can relate to, just feeling so mad and then once they’ve had their chance to speak out, they settle down

Using this poem to teach:
-How lines and letters can be manipulated to illustrate an event, in this case, a storm building and then dying away
-The capital letters are like the height of the storm, they look angry, all big and shouty. We, as writers can make our poems do things that illustrate an event.
-Rhyming can be used when it fits but doesn't have to be used throughout a poem.