2. Week 4 Quick Writes August 1- August 5

3. Quick Write #16 Monday, August 1, 2011 Don’t You See “It’s just a drink,” he says. But it’s really bottled-up rage, Waiting to explode And drown my world In delirium and hatred. When unleashed, This simple drink Destroys families Shatters lives And etches nightmares That beg to be forgotten. At least 5 sentences = Take 2 minutes to write all that this poem brings to mind for you. Borrow any line, and write what that one line means to you, letting the line lead your thinking.

4. Quick Write #17 Tuesday, August 2, 2011 Watermelon Day It’s watermelon day. Nothing left to do but soak up the summer. Feel the sun up and down your spine, Warm and tingling in a reassuring way. Laze around and dream of cool water down your back, Cold lemonade down your throat, And juicy sweet watermelon on your tongue. Lie in a hammock and sway In a breeze you conjure in your mind, Imagining a checkered blanket beside a cat-tailed pond. The blanket is covered with pickles and pasta and ants, And slightly burned pork chops. Think about catching your imagination’s fireflies, While you lie in a freshly mowed field. Listen to the crickets as they sing their August song. Watch as the watermelon day passes you by. And love life while you have it. At least 5 sentences = Take 2 minutes to write all that this poem brings to mind for you. Quickly write all of the sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and touches that come to mind when you think of summer.

5. Quick Write #18 Wednesday, August 3, 2011 Buttermints It doesn’t get much better- buttermints on a wind-blown day, when the iced October air mingles them in your mouth and makes you want to live forever. Against the sapphire sky, when bright leaves fall like embers from the trees, reach out and catch just one leaf before it hits the ground. Then make a wish. There is so much to ask for- a hundred prismed diamonds, a team of stallions, or a ladder to the moon. Yet all you’ll wish for is another autumn day, just like this one, and one more pocketful of buttermints. At least 5 sentences = For 2 minutes write as quickly as you can about all that this poem brings to mind for you. Borrow any line, and write what that one line means to you, letting the line lead your thinking.

6. Quick Write #19 Thursday, August 4, 2011 A Hollow Smile My street filled with people Glancing my way. My school filled with students What will they say? I look at my life. Will this be my last breath? When my friends look at me They see inescapable death. Once people know my illness They pretend that they care. So, I smile, I laugh, But my heart is not there. My hopes, my dreams, my life They slowly all fade. Life is not easy With HIV/AIDS At least 5 sentences = For 2 minutes write as quickly as you can about all that this poem brings to mind for you. In what way has life not been easy for you or someone you know?

7. Quick Write #20 Friday, August 5, 2011 The Unwritten Pages I know That somewhere Are the words that remain invisible They would love to sing But they have no voice They would love to breathe But they have no air So they wander Unheard Like music without a staff And I know Sometime I will find those words Help them sing and help them breathe My pen will no longer remain still My soul no longer Unwritten At least 5 sentences = For 2 minutes write as quickly as you can about all that this poem brings to mind for you. Borrow any line, and write what that one line means to you, letting the line lead your thinking.