For my 1,000th post I'd like to share a poem.

[Jed Dilligan]

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A56998

snip

Soldier's Blood

Young man dies over the sea
Fighting a foreign enemy
But for what reason did he fall?
Peace? Liberty? Justice for all?
Overseas, his soul was sold
For a few drums of black gold
He died so the fatcats at Shell
Can laugh to the bank while he rots in hell
This bold young soldier; Name: Smith, Allen
Was sold by his leader for $2.95 a gallon
So fill ’er up, America! Guzzle that oily muck
There’s always a soldier to fill up your truck
Take out your 4x4! Go play in the mud!
It’s not run on gas, but on soldier’s blood

--Ben Drahmann
Tenth grade, Union Mine High School

snip

It won 2nd place in the high school category even though it's a much tighter poem than the sonnet about Jimi Hendrix that took first. I hope this kid is in a punk rock band because this would make a terrific punk song.

[katinmn]

1. Thanks for posting and congrats, Jed!

:)

[Dora]

2. They're both sonnets.

The rhyme schemes are right, and the number of lines are right, but each poem struggles with the metrics. The first one is probably closest to being formally accurate, but the second poem (the one you shared with us) is most successful at making its point.

Thanks for sharing it. I'm happy to see that our kids can write about something besides the trauma of adolescence. Goodness knows I couldn't when I was their age.

[katinmn]

3. kick for Jed!

[Jed Dilligan]

4. thanks

I really like this poem

[katinmn]

5. Me too. Hats off to the kid who wrote it.

High school kids get a raw deal sometimes. This guy is obviously a thinker. I bet he even knows where Louisiana is on the map. :)