Type of Poetry: Ode

Type of Poetry: Ode Dates back to Ancient Greece An ode is a poem that praises and celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea.

Ode to Pork I wouldn’t be here Without you. Without you I’d be umpteen Pounds lighter & a lot Less alive. You stuck Round my ribs even When I treated you like a dog Dirty, I dare not eat. I know you’re the blues Because loving you May kill me—but still you Rock me down slow As hamhocks on the stove. Anyway you come Fried, cured, burnt To within one inch Of your life I love. Babe, I revere your every Nickname—bacon, chitlin, Cracklin, sin. Some call you murder, Shame’s stepsister— Then dress you up & declare you white & healthy, but you always come back, sauced, to me. Adam himself gave up A rib to see yours Piled pink beside him. Your heaven is the only one Worth wanting— You keep me all night. Cursing your four- Letter name, the next Begging for you again.

Tips for Odes Pick a subject from your everyday life that you have strong feelings about common household object food works well Describe the subject inside and out Exaggerate its admirable qualities, until it seems to become central to human existence

Tap into all five senses Use metaphors and similes Perhaps directly address the subject of the ode (Oh, ice cream, I adore you) Tell your feelings about the subject and give exalted descriptions of its qualities Keep the lines short (not written in paragraph form) Choose strong vocabulary Use a planning sheet before you begin writing