Student Spotlight: MODG Poet, Sarah Zoch

How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry for a little over a year.

Did someone teach you to write poetry, or did you teach yourself?
I taught myself how to write poetry, I have had no formal training in poetry writing.

What is your favorite kind of poem to write?
I like writing lyric poems because I love singing, but I find the easiest poems to write are couplets.

Do you ever submit your poetry into any contests?
I have never submitted my poetry for a contest.

Has the MODG curriculum, with the readings of such great authors and poets, helped you become a better poet?
The MODG curriculum has definitely help me in writing poetry. It has exposed me to different types of poetry and given me an appreciation for it. I would not be writing poetry if it wasn’t for what I learned from the MODG curriculum.

Can you describe the process of writing a poem?
When I write poetry, I start by thinking of the subject, what I will be writing the poetry about. Next I make short or long phrases describing the subject of the poetry. Then I make sure that whatever phrase length I decide to use is consistent and that the ending words rhyme.

Where do you get your inspiration for poems?
Inspiration can come in a wide range. Of the poetry I have written, the inspiration for it has ranged from what I am doing while procrastinating to describing the exploits of groups of fantasy characters. I would have to say it comes from whatever I am doing or have been working on.

Do you write anything besides poems (besides school essays, of course \;)?
Yes. I also like creating melodies, though I have never written any of them down. I have created melodies for poetry I have found and I have written down words to piano music that I have played. I also love making stories, most of my stories never make it onto paper. However, the one I wrote on paper turned into a story long enough to be a book.

Do you have a favorite poet, or one that you look up to?
That is a tricky question. I have read poetry from several different poets so picking a favorite is not easy. I would say that my favorite poet is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His words are descriptive and I have enjoyed reading several of his poems including “Paul Revere’s Ride.”

What would your advice be to someone who is just starting to write poetry?
My advice to someone just beginning to write poetry would be, don’t stress over making a poem. Also, it is easiest to make a poem in one sitting. So don’t do half of it and come back to it later because you will likely have forgotten what you were doing and that makes finishing the poem really hard.

Poems

What I had hoped cannot be done
So instead I’ll look at the sun.
Look at the rabbit, oh look at the bun,
But I have work, how much? A ton!
I wish instead I could go out and run,
But if I did it would be no fun
Because of the ton of work to be done.

Adventure Poem

We all came together, to find a magic harp
With which to heal a dying man and turn his son young too
Completing this mission, we fought together through
Caves and forests acting both brave and bold and true.

Even when out at sea, our glory did shine bright
As pirates came to take our lives, but not without a fight.
Titania with her arrows put the foe in a sorry plight,
But with Dare’s help a shattered mast most assuredly held them tight.
Jayce with spell-bolt and Keth with javelin spear
Sealed the fate of the foe as those enemies drew near.

But what of the dragon, whom while out at sea,
These heroes met and thought, “what’s this, it simply cannot be.”
With Dare’s healing music and the company’s whole wit,
The copper dragon’s riddles matched until at last she quit.
And flew away, for content she was, without a heated fit.

Together these heroes fought through mazes
Where instruments were ill made in phases
And in assembly did sit.
Warlike bards were in charge of it
With whom we did do battle.
But with Dare’s silence, as Saam and Keth made clear,
Those woeful villains had little music we wished to even hear.
Tis better that they met with us than who was next to come,
For our dragon friend had come and would have struck them down and dumb.
Once our party braved a tunnel that dwarves had ceased to travel.
For within we beheld a fortress made of solid gravel.
With cunning we entered and then found a giant at his anvil.
Jayce and Dare then presented with eloquence their thought,
And made their way for another day which cleverness had bought.
In that fortress those warlike bards we fought
And once again did win against them as surely as we ought.