We have all experienced a host of things 'just once' across our various lives. The poem presented below grew from a list I compiled in my writer's notebook concerning things I have only experienced once.  My initial quest was to create a list of things and then see what emerged. I did not know, at that time, a poem would rise up and out of my list.  Lists are important to writers/ poets. They stimulate thinking and ideas, and each listed item holds potential as a future writing topic or focus. Our 'Once' lists are not only fun to create, they can reveal hidden treasure... Once upon my time Once, Just once, In a lifetime -My lifetime to be exact I bought a small red car, -because it was all I could afford I had my haircut in Mooloolaba, -a somewhat spontaneous act Owned a cat named, Alice -who suffered strange fits Bought a goat herder’s hat on the recommendation of George Harrison well, through an advertisement to be accurate. Visited Halifax Nova Scotia and met a...

What do you do when you want to remember something?  Do you say it to yourself again and again until you learn it?  That’s using repetition.  Repetition in poetry may include a word, a phrase, a line, or even a stanza the poet  wants to use more than once for particular effect. We hear it, We see it. We begin to feel its presence. When using repetition  the poet must make sure that what is repeated is important to the poem,  otherwise it can feel or sound overdone. In the poem, Bully For Me , I consciously repeated the words, 'But ours left'   in each stanza hoping to create a sense of relief in the mind of the reader. Bully For Me We had a bully at our school I think every school has one -But ours left Now, I can ride to school Relaxed We had a bully at our school -But ours left And now playtime is fun again We had a bully at our school -But ours left I wonder if that person is happy? Like me and my friends  Are now ...

To assist young poets to polish their raw words and transform them into poetic pearls  requires some scaffolded support. I have created the following  Revising  and  Editing  checklists. Feel free to use them as a starting point with your student writers. Remember writing poetry is about using powerful words in tight spaces. That way you are more likely to create some sparks! My Revising Checklist For Poetry SKILL Student Teacher I have tried using repetition of words, sounds or phrases. I have experimented with lines and white space. I have read it aloud to see if the line breaks work for emphasis. I have tried to use surprising language. I have replaced ordinary words with stronger words. I have tried different leads or endings. I have tried different titles. I have used st...