Slam+Poetry

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=On Girls Lending Pens= By Taylor Mali

I walked into the classroom and straight to my chair, But when I reached for my pen, it wasn’t there! I had no pen! or crayon! or pencil! I was stuck before class without a writing utensil.

I could have asked the teacher if I had dared, But I knew she would have said, “You’re unprepared!” So to be diplomatic and avoid the fight I quickly turned to the girl on my right,

Do you possibly have a pen I could borrow? I’ll use it today and have it back by tomorrow. “Oh! For sure!" She said "I’ve got plenty.” And she turned around with a handful of twenty.

“But this one always comes out in tons, The yellow one skips and the purple one runs. When the brown one dries, it looks real icky, And the orange one’s covered with something sticky. This one’s for emergencies in case I get confused ‘cause it’s clean and it’s fresh and it’s never been used. I keep this one for quizzes ‘cause it brings good luck, And the ballpoint’s splotchy and the cap is stuck. And this one’s empty, with the silver band, And the felt-tip will leak all over your hand. And this one’s cracked, and that’s gone berserk! And this one would be perfect except it doesn’t work. But here! Take this one! This one’s fine! Oh no wait… sorry, that one’s mine.” I think she went on but I couldn’t have cared. I decided it was better to go unprepared.

Several types of poetic devices are used in this poem by Taylor Mali. A couple hyperbole's are used, for example, "And she turned around with a handful of twenty" the girl doesn't actually have 20 pens, but just has a lot. As well as, "no, that one hops" and "But this one always comes out in tons, the yellow one skips and the purple one runs." however, the pens don't literally do all of these actions, I believe she's just saying that it doesn't work properly. Rhythm and rhyme are definitely used in every stanza and starts with an AABB pattern, one section has an ABAB pattern then it moves to and ABCB pattern then back to the AABB pattern. An example of some rhyme would be "But this one always comes out in tons ,the yellow one skips and the purple one runs. When the brown one dries, it looks real icky. And the orange one’s covered with something sticky." Some repetition does occur in the beginning of each sentence is this a particular part of the poem where "And this" or "and the" is repeated. For example " And the ballpoint’s splotchy and the cap is stuck. And this one’s empty, with the silver band, And the felt-tip will leak all over your hand. And this one’s cracked, and that’s gone berserk! And this one would be perfect except it doesn’t work." Personification is found where it says "Then how bout the blue? No, that one hops." giving the pen the characteristic of hopping. This also happens where it says "The yellow one skips and the purple one runs” and "And this one’s cracked, and that’s gone berserk!", so personification is used a few times. Imagery is sometimes created in parts of the poem like when it says "I’ll take that fountain pen, I said with a smile. “Oh, you don’t want that one. It comes out all ugly. Plus it’s made of pure gold,” she said to me smugly." This creates the image of a gold, expensive pen that doesn't work all that well. Every time the girl describes a pen it gives the image of however that pen is described, for example, one description was "When the brown one dries, it looks real icky" which creates an image of a brown pen drying and leaving an unpleasant colour behind. Irony is used in the story when the little girl finally finds a pen, but it turns out that the pen is her own pen and she can't give him a pen.
 * Poetic Devices:**

I think the theme of this poem was that always be prepared for as much as you can in life because if you aren't you will just end up letting yourself down. I also think that this poem was about not relying on anyone else and know that you can only count on yourself to get things done.
 * Theme:**

I chose this poem because mostly because it's funny and easy to understand. I also chose it because I've been on both ends of this story, where either you're the one with all of the pens or you need to borrow a pen from someone who takes ridiculously long to get one for you. I think that everyone can relate to this poem and overall, I thought it would be more fun to work with.
 * Why I chose this poem:**

- Pen - Fear - Teacher - Unprepared - But, when I reached for my pen it wasn't there. - I quickly turned to the girl on my right. - I decided it was better to go unprepared.
 * Key words/phrases:**