In the past, I have taken two other poetry classes. We did not write poetry in those classes, we just read poets and learned about different styles. In my second poetry class, we read poets like: William Carlos Williams, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes. Usually, I'm the kind of poet that likes to rhyme. I started out by free writing. However, this class is teaching me how to write in meter and in more complex ways. I'm beginning to have more confidence in my writing. One poet that really impresses me that we've cover is Vladimir Mayakovsky. He uses short lines and his writing is very visual and malicious. I hope that soon I am able to write in meter innately. Like Mayakovsky, I believe that you should write about suffering. I've been influenced by Edgar Allan Poe to write in a dark tone. Vladimir is helping me improve in terms of using my surroundings to describe emotion. Here's a poem I came up with last night, it is only four lines: Last kiss was through a cigarette I don't regret it- Silence wrapped in Silhouette Remembering the first time we met. The poem contains end- rhyme and I enjoy it cause the lines kind of make the shape of a mouth. This was unintentional, which is great about poetry, how you can free- write and do something that you did not intend to do. In other poems, I've been avoiding rhyme. I really enjoy it when we write poems at the end of class, because at the time I'm usually in a good state of mind. It's nice to empty out different emotions that develop after rising from bed. Worries flood my mind and I'm able to release the worry through writing. I am going to try and write a poem now that does not rhyme. I'm going to try and avoid writing in meter. Time to run with the midget: The birds weren't even singing- They were screaming Volcanoes explode while flowers bloom. A soldier over seas says he'll be home soon. Hopeless nights- Faithful days- The clock seems to tick a bit quicker. The knock seems a bit louder. Again I begin to fill- Your eyes with tears- Like rain drips down a window- Fills a window sill. - Ben Abate