Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
I realize this poem is not seasonally appropriate, but this week I’ve been reading about 2015’s disastrous Mt. Everest avalanche, and it made me think of this acrostic I wrote years ago.
Revenge of the White Dragon
(An Acrostic)A dragon wakes, his winter sleep disturbed. He
Vows to punish you, the intruder.
Air swells with a low rumble.
Land beneath you trembles.
Above, a wave of concrete snow thunders down. The dragon roars your
Name. But he can’t find you.
Chewing up trees and spewing them out, he searches for you.
His steamy, snowy breath clouds the sky, and the
Earth cradles you to its rocky chest as the dragon’s belly slides by. Safe!—Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
I pulled it off my Poetic Pursuits page about acrostics, so if you’d like to read some more examples or get some thoughts on how to write acrostics, check it out:>)
For more poetry fun, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted this week by poetry advocate and teacher educator Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link.
16 Responses
I love reading and writing acrostics! Thanks for the link to your page about writing them. I’m adding that to my resources. I want to try writing a phrase acrostic!
I’ve only written a couple phrase acrostics but want to write more, too, Mary Lee. They are challenging but have such depth, I think.
Mary Lee, were you doing MoP when we wrote the acrostics that started AND ended with the word? So that the acrostic was at the start & end of each line? Not sure if it has an actual name — but it’s another challenge, for lovers of the acrostic. This is really lovely, Laura. Meaningful and poetic.
Oooh, a double acrostic. You did one? Or more? I have never tried one. But I would like to:>) I may have to do a month of acrostics, as my friend Tanita Davis recently did on her blog during Poetry Month (tanitasdavis.com/wp/). Maybe this fall… And–thanks for the kind words.
Hi Laura, Wonderful ode to the white dragon! Just FYI, I followed your link from Carol’s site, but it took me to Biopoems from last week. I had to surf a bit to find this page.
Thanks for heads-up, Brenda! I can’t remove the wrong one, but at least added a new, correct link:>)
What a cool acrostic, Laura. This is, ideally, what the form should do: the poem explores a metaphor for the word running down the page.
Thanks, Laura!
Wonderful acrostic poem! I love your word choices and the image of the dragon’s belly sliding by. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
I thought it was a good poem, until I saw the acrostic. Then, I realized it is a great poem. Love the comparison.
Aw, thanks!
Comparison of an avalanche to a dragon is so right-on. I too saw this event revisited lately and your poem is perfect for the event and its aftermath.
Thanks, Violet. I had read that metaphor, which is used fairly often and originated in China, I believe, and it stayed with me. I had to write a poem with it–years ago. And I just did another writing project with it. We’ll see if that pans out. I’ve been watching avalanche videos (not just Everest, though that, too), and the power of avalanches is breathtaking…
Laura, if you can believe this I am watching the movie, Everest, and just opened to your Poetry Friday entry. What you have described is so amazingly real in its descriptions .The avalanche has just started to roll down Everest. The white dragon is powerful as a visual.
Oooh, I loved that movie. Broke my heart.