THUMBPRINT
by Eve Merriam

In the heel of my thumb
are whorls, whirls, wheels
in a unique design:
mine alone.
What a treasure to own!
My own flesh, my own feelings.
No other, however grand or base
can ever contain the same.
My signature,
thumbing the pages of my time.
My universe key,
my singularity.
Impress, implant,
I am myself,
of all my atom parts I am the sum.
And out of my blood and my brain
I make my own interior weather,
my own sun and rain.
Imprint my mark upon the world,
whatever I shall become.

Senses:
 Make a list of 16 words for each of the five senses.

Touch: erasers, pencils, chairs, cat fur, silk

Sight: Sunlight, dogs, puppies, kittens, leather, Justin Bieber,

Sound: Music, Eminem, crying babies, sirens, Trey Songz, Green Day, Linkin Park, Of Monsters and Men

Taste: Strawberries, ice cream, sodas, chips, candy, salads, mac-n-cheese, crackers and cheese, tamales, tacos, hot sauce

Smell: Cologne, trash, food, Irish Spring, Lacoste, coffee, eggs, Earl Grey tea,

Ten Action Words: Running, stretching, dancing, swimming, talking, yelling at the police, throwing money out the window of your car as you are fleeing the police, kissing, body building,

Ten free words: body building, video games, t.v., music, family, friends, pets, your bed, a roof over my head, laptop, i-pod, iphone5, Starbucks, Wretzel Pretzel, Tim Horton’s, Project X

Important ideas or concepts: kindness, life, honesty, golden rule, love, work, hatred, wealth, personality, freedom, liberty

Page 83 in DAYBREAK: Critical Reading and Writing
Construct a word map of the concept word (freedom, love, etc.). Charles Schulz made the concept word happiness concrete when he said that “happiness is a warm puppy”. What makes you happy?  Draw a silhouette of the thing that makes you happy.  Fill in the silhouette with other words that you associate with this thing, item or being.

If your concept word is freedom, let’s say, (your concept word is the thing that is important to you) draw a thing that represents freedom to you; then fill that silhouette with things that represent freedom to you.

Or:

Draw a neighborhood that represents your universe.  Name the streets, buildings, and parks after the things or concepts that important to you.

Then:

Take your concept word (freedom, love, happiness) and write:

_________________is like:


Sight  Sound Taste Touch Smell  Action    Free Word

Then:
(Your concept word) is like (taste word).

(Your concept word) is like (sight word).

Create your poem: