the poetry portfolio

The Poetry Portfolio

BY: TREVOR BYRNE

Creative Writing Block 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Authors Forward

2. Portfolio

3. Non Fiction

Truth Event

4. Extended Work Of Fiction

Shipwreck

5. Two Works Of Micro Fiction

Twitter Fictions 1 and 2

6. Five Formal Poems

Villanelle

Triolet

Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

Haiku

Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

7. Five Free Verse Poems

Conceit My Gecko Is A Track Star

Imagist Words

Imagist Kiwi

School

If I Were A Bird

8. Authors Notes

AUTHORS FORWARD

This class, Creative Writing, greatly improved various writing techniques and

showed me countless outstanding strategies. The thing I surprisingly enjoyed the most was

poetry. I was amazed at how simple yet complex it is, and I never realized until this class

that there are hundreds of formats and styles of poetry. I thought going into it that they

were all very similar or the same. I really liked writing the free verse when we started and I

felt that I could challenge myself to write a story or tell of an event in a way that utilizes

rhyming and rhythm. I used to be "afraid" so to say of writing poetry because I thought it

was girly or too emotional, but I am very glad that I got into it because it is a great way to

put emotion into writing, either on paper or on a computer. I wrote my favorite piece from

this whole class as the first workshop, It was the poem titled If I Were A Bird, this was my

favorite piece because I spent a lot of time writing it, and it just seemed to have a neat idea

to it. I loved learning new techniques to incorporate into poetry and writing in this class, one

of my favorite techniques was learning about line breaks and punctuation in poetry. I just

like how you can emphasize words without capitalizing or making them bold, I liked the

idea of being able to capture your readers attention and direct it to certain things just by

putting a comma before the last word in a line. Many great poets do this and pull it off in

such amazing ways and that really fascinated me.

Another thing I liked learning about were the formal poems. I liked the challenge of

having a set number of rhymes and repeating lines and making it all flow and make sense.

I also really loved the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, I enjoyed researching it and learning

about how they use a plot twist separating the first stanza, or eight lines, from the second

stanza, which consists of six lines. This led me to become interested in micro fiction,

because I found that I really liked putting twists into my poems and stories. Micro fiction is

not as easy to write as I expected it to be, you need to use a lot of detail and still get the

story across while using good imagery, all while being stuck at a set number of words you

are allowed to use. This became a little bit challenging to me, but I really enjoyed doing it. I

did not like writing the long stories such as short stories or long micro fiction, so I became

more interested in twitter fiction. I did not know of twitter fiction, or twit. fic., until I came to

this class. I had read some stories on twitter using 140 characters or less, but I never knew

it was an actual type or writing. I got interested in this because this is a type of writing that

our generation basically created, and it is very neat to watch it get bigger and have more

people participate in writing it.

The type and piece that I struggled with the most was without a doubt the short

stories. I do not like writing a lot, let alone a few pages, I get bored and I lose my train of

thought so I found it hard to focus on it. I also do not like doing dialog very much, I am not

sure why, but it is definitely not one of my strong points. I did a short story and did not like it

too much, then I ended up completely getting rid of it, which I found hard to do, and it was

the first time I did that

probably ever when writing. I changed it to a story about a ship crashing during a storm

and causing the crew that survived to get stranded on an island. I ended up kind of liking

my second story, but I would like to make it into a bigger story eventually, I just never found

time to do that. I want to put more detail in and go over what happens right when the boat

crashes, which I neglected to talk much about.

Learning about poetry and stories really helped me to appreciate the work that poets

and writers put into their writing. I learned a lot in this class and all of the techniques will

always stick with me when I write. Making a big portfolio of stories and correcting some

showed me how tough it must be to write a book and it made me reflect on all of my

writings. As well I really enjoyed doing the workshops and they helped me out a ton. I

found it hard to be "mean" to people in their writing and I also knew that some of my pieces

are far from the best. I just really enjoyed being able to meet new students I had not been

able to talk to, and share what we liked with them about their stories and also tell them

some things we did not like or give them suggestions on what to change, fix, or do next

time.

PORTFOLIO

Non Fiction

A truth that I have learned in the past is perseverance. This has really impacted me

through life because I am always striving to do better. I first learned this back when I was

about 13 years old or so. I had always just gone on and did my thing my own way, but

slowly I started thinking, why not do it better than the rest? Why should I act the same as

everyone else? This was not as much directed toward school as it was towards sports and

what I do in my every day life.

When I was around that age of 13, I swam, like I always did, but I was at a special swim

meet this time at ETown college's pool. I woke up around 3:30 AM, then got into the 2006

graphite colored Honda Accord for my parents drive to the meet. Now being like any other

13 year old I was not excited, but rather tired and very mad that we had to get up so early to

go compete. I swam for the Lancaster Lightning, which was the Lancaster YMCA's club

swim team. I remember in warm ups thinking about how if I did good enough I could earn

medals, and they are much more fascinating than ribbons are, so I wanted to push myself

to get to them. I got done warm ups, and put on shorts and a tshirt, then sat in the long

narrow crowded hallway with the rest of my team because they did not have enough room

for us on their bleachers. The whole team was there, and it was all age groups which

meant anyone from about 10 or younger to 18. I was only 13, but since I had been doing

very good during the past few meets, I was placed in the top heat for all of my events, and

for many of my events (all but one) the next youngest kid was 15, about to turn 16 the next

week. So being only about 13, I was the youngest by a couple of years, and the other kids,

I thought, would have a very unfair advantage. This meant I had to try my best. Which is

never as easy as you think when your first event is at 5:00 in the morning.

My first race came up, the 100 meter breaststroke. I was happy to see a 14 year old in

my race, although that was still not really a good thing. I stood behind the blocks focusing

and praying for a medal, and even more for a first place. Finally, being very nervous, I

stepped up on the blocks, looked left to right then back at the pool, then the starter said

"Take your mark", then I heard that loud obnoxious siren sound and faster than ever I dove

off of the block and rocketed through half the pool before I even surfaced. During the race

for the first two laps, I was head to head with a 16 year old, and as everyone was

screaming for me from my team, I out touched him at the finish. Winning a gold medal, a

first place.

It all started then after I won and beat one of the best 16 year old boys in my league, that

I realized how much practice and perseverance pays off. I had been practicing at least

once a day, many times twice or even three times. I had been working hard to get to my

goal of being the best in my age group, and I realized that pushing through even though I

told myself I hated all the practicing really did pay off long term. The other older kids did not

like practice as much as me, but they were doing the bare minimum, whereas I was putting

my heart into it and practicing with the opens age group which is the 1518 year old

swimmers on my team.

Back to the meet; I had another event approaching soon. I was not expecting to do as

good because the next youngest kid was 16, and back then I had a lot of doubt. I also put

all of my energy into my first event, and when someone does that, they are not expected to

do as good for the rest of the meet. My next event finally came up, it was the 100 meter

freestyle. I knew I could try for a best time in this, but I would have never thought I would do

so good, after diving in and swimming, not only had I dropped about 2 seconds, which is a

lot to do near the end of the season, but I had gotten another first. I just beat an 18 year old

also which made me more proud than I ever was before.

My coach, Dan, started talking and saying he thinks the times I got were good enough to

make it to districts, which is very good. It was an honor to make it to districts, and although

we did not know if I had made it yet, I had a very good feeling that I did since I came in first

in both events so far. I still had 2 events left and I was more pumped than ever. My last 2

events were not as stressful though since they were both relays. The 200 Medley relay, and

the 200 Freestyle relay. In a 200 relay, each of the 4 swimmers swims a 50, which is down

and back, or 2 laps. The Medley would be the harder of the two, but we were very confident

going into it. My relay team consisted of the same kids for both relays, and we were all

best friends. We got up to the blocks, took our spot, and waited. Once the official started

us for the 200 Medley relay, the first person got up, then he went, we had a huge lead, but

on our competitors team they had a 17 year old doing breaststroke, which of course I was

swimming. It was my time to shine, I got up on the block, looking over at this kid with a red

beard and mustache who looked like he was in his mid 20's, then I kind of lost all hope. I

dove in ahead of him, and the first lap he tried to catch up to me, then the second lap I blew

back ahead and ended up catching up and passing where I should have been. My relay

won, and I beat a kid that looked like a man, so I was very happy.

My last race was up about an hour later. It was the 200 Freestyle relay, which we went in

expecting to win after the days everyone had had, especially mine. As it approached, I got

more an more nervous, but I kept thinking about how much my practice paid off. We dove

in, one by one, and when it was my turn to go I got on the block, waited for Conner to come

in, then spun my arms around like a hurricane and dove. I went as fast as I could and got a

best time, my relay team won, and I made had made it to districts in every even I swam.

While at districts I swam my events, came in first in both, and before we could finish the

meet and swim the relays, the lights flickered and there was a tornado on its way. The pool

had a lock down, then the filters broke, and it was as chaotic as a scene from a movie. All I

could think about though is how I came in first in those two events, and even though I was

so much younger than many of the kids, I was going to states for the first time, seated 10th

in breaststroke, and 15th in freestyle.

The pool filter was never fixed and instead they looked at the brackets for the relays and

other events that did not get to swim and they sent them in that order to states. With my

Freestyle relay ranked 1st in the district and league, and 2nd in the state.

After all of that was over and the season ended, I really changed, I had learned that

practice really does pay off if you do it enough, and that although some things in life are

very hard to overcome, if you persevere through it, you can do it. At states I ended up

placing 8th in breaststroke like I was seated, and I got a medal for 8th so I was still happy,

and I came in 5th in freestyle, moving up 10 spots. My relays came in 3rd in the freestyle

one, and 8th for the medley one which took place after one of the kids got sick. So all in all

it was a life changing season for me and I learned that whatever I put my mind to, I can

accomplish.

Extended Work Of Fiction

Shipwreck

One cool summer morning, Jason woke from his bed and stepped onto the soft

beige carpet of his room. He owned a small townhouse in Baltimore, and he set high goals

for himself. He would research nicer houses, and cars to buy, in hopes that one day his

crew would catch enough large fish to make them all rich. They would go out once a month

on their fishing vessel and usually were disappointed and just made enough to get by.

Jason got into the shower, washed up, and got out within about 5 minutes, which was rare

for him to do because he usually took long hot showers to relax himself, but today was a

Sunday, so he had to go to church. Jason did not always attend church, but he decided to

today since he was leaving that night to go on a fishing trip. He went to pray that this would

be his lucky trip and he could make enough money to move away and get a new job. The

sun was bright, and when he walked into the small church, everyone turned and stared at

him.

“You should really consider another career, Jason,” said an elderly gentleman, “that

is a dangerous job, and you should start a family.”

Jason nodded to the man, knowing that he loved what he did but he just wanted to

catch bigger fish. He turned around and another man said, “Good luck.” and shook his

hand. The whole church knew that if he was there he was going out that night on the boat to

catch. He sat through the service thinking to himself about how well set off he could be

after this run if they got enough.

The night was black around 6:30, and he was getting in his rusty car to drive over to

the dock. Jason was excited to see his fishing buddies, but he found it odd that it was dark

at a somewhat early time. By the time he got over to the dock the wind had picked up and

he could see the ship shaking viciously in the water. He knew that if it was this bad at the

port then out in the ocean would be insanity. He had his royal blue rain poncho on and a

pair of dark green fishing boots. He walked out to the boat and the crew was yelling off the

boat for him to hurry up. He looked back toward his town, smiled, then got interrupted by

an obese middle aged man with a long beard shouting at him, “Just get in the damn boat

already!”

Once on the long, rusting offwhite fishing boat, Jason and the crew had to be

careful not to fall off. The boat was shaking and almost overturning with every wave it hit.

They had to take buckets to scoop the water off of the boat deck so it did not sink them.

The storm picked up and the wind was strong enough to blow the crew off of the boat, so all

of the crew members packed into their rooms and waited. The rooms were small and

made of wood. They were under the main deck, so all of the water piling up on deck

started dripping through their ceilings. Eventually the hallway with their rooms in it started

to fill up as well. Everyone on the crew started to become claustrophobic as the boat

shook and the people in the small packed rooms slid into each other. The captain was in

the room that Jason was in, and he had a walky talky hanging from a hook in the wall in all

of the rooms. Jason said, “Why don’t we call over to the other rooms to see how they are

holding up?”

The captain said to Jason, “I’m sure they are all fine. We have gone through many

storms before, just not as bad as this one.”

Jason replied, “Do you think we will make it to our spot to fish?”

The captain shook his head and said, “It’s looking pretty bad,” then he said, “and we

forgot to put the rescue boats and life rafts on board for this run because we were in a hurry

to try to beat this storm.”

Jason walked over and called one of the rooms containing 5 crew members. They

told him that one man had fallen and hit his head pretty bad and it was bleeding. He

needed a doctor, but no one had any medical training. Jason opened the door a crack to

see if he could make it over to the other room to look at the man, but as soon as he opened

the heavy wooden door just a crack, the water took it and slammed it against the wall. The

door was too heavy to get closed again, and with the massive waves it was nearly

impossible to close it. The water was not pouring into the room and flooding it very quickly.

Jason dashed out to get to the other room and the same thing had happened, they could

not close it once it had opened. the man with the bleeding head was getting faint and

about to pass out, so they gave him some water out of a canteen. the man thanked them

just before he fell backward onto one of the cot style bunk beds.

The night came closer to day, but the sky remained black as night. Jason planned

on staying with the man until he woke up, but the man never did. The storm just kept getting

worse the further out they went. Jason called the captain on the walky talky and the captain

said he wanted to get to the control panel to try to move it out of the storm. Once he did, he

made it up to the top deck then the wind blew him against the railing. He could not grab it

in time, and the boat tipped almost vertical. The captain fell off the boat, then the boat

smashed down off of a giant wave and crashed on to him, killing him.

The crew and Jason were now stranded without any food or anywhere to go, in the

middle of the ocean. After about 2 of the ships lookout man trying to find land, he finally

came across a small island covered in dense forests and bright plantation. The crew

swam out to it but it took them about 4 hours to get there. Only about half the crew

managed to survive the ship sinking, because the doors would not open to the rooms that

had not opened them. Others were killed by objects sliding and falling. Once at the island

Jason headed out for food, he made some other people make shelters and some try to find

wood for a fire. Within 6 hours they had a fire started and shelter, but no food.

Another three days went by and they had to filter the sea water to drink. They

started to turn against each other, and the fat man killed one of the fishermen from the

crew. They had no food and little water, but his survival instinct got the best of him and he

cooked and ate him. Jason refused to do it and eventually became too hungry to survive

any longer. It was either kill the fat man or die himself. He finally brought himself to doing it.

He murdered one of his own crew members for food. Eventually after a few weeks of living

off the fat man and plants, Jason died as well, only to be discovered when a group of

tourists on a cruise ship stopped at the island.

THE END

Two Works Of Micro Fiction Twitter Fiction

1. Twit Fiction 1

1) I entered the ring, boxing for my life, trying only to win. Then my wii remote ran out of

batteries.

2) The tiger chased me down the narrow path, then I came to a wall. It lunged toward me,

then I awakened.

3) My son asked me why the dummys come visit him at night. I asked him what he meant, I

threw them away years ago.

4) I ran down the street, monsters chasing after me; I shouldn’t have egged that house on

Halloween.

5) Dripping with sweat and panting, I gasp for air, then run straight ahead; I came in first in

the mile.

2. Twit Fiction 2

1. I stare, watching the man with the gun get up and run toward the business man. I adjust

my scope then shoot, watching him drop.

2. I ride down the grass field on my horse, I turn my head then get a bullet to my arm. You

always expect to be shot in war, but never want it.

3. Walking through the forest, I noticed something on the ground. A picture. I bent down to

pick up a burnt picture. It was a picture of me.

4. I open my eyes but only see black, I try to move, I feel claustrophobic. I claw out until my

fingers only bone. I was buried alive.

5. I awaken to a thud, I see a dark figure moving around the floor of my room. I get the bat

next to me and swing at the object. It was my dog.

5 Formal Poems

1. Villanelle

Downtown in the barber shop,

There are people of all races,

The place I get my hair cut.

At times the city may be scary, but

There are so many familiar faces

Downtown in the barber shop.

So welcoming to whomever enters their hut,

The men inside are hair cutting aces,


I only go once a month, but

It is one of my favorite places.

Downtown in the barber shop.

Always trying to entertain, they act like nuts.

I sit staring at the TV, watching drag car races


Give them my money, then the door shuts.

My hair is cut faster than a baseball player running bases,

Downtown in the barber shop,


2. Triolet

How boring my job is, how long the day goes,

I would not have chose to work if I'd have known.

I hate my job, and my boss the same,


I watch the empty pool, wishing to play video games.

No one is in the pool, so I stare out the window


I would not have chose to work if I'd have known.

3. Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

I am trapped in this jail

With bullet proof glass.

They rarely let us outside, I miss the smell of grass.

I miss my reptile at home and his scales,

I also miss the taste of cold ale.

Just to walk out in the hall you need a pass,

I am constantly getting annoyed by everyone's sass,

I want to escape, then take a boat and sail.

____________________________________________

The bell finally rings,

School is all done.

I listened to the teachers,

And I learned too many things.

School is no fun,

I'd much rather be at the bleachers.

4. Haiku

1)

I run like the wind

Faster than a speeding bullet;

The cop on my tail.

2)

The scent of berries,

I walk through the wilderness.

Then rise from my bed.

3)

Blossoms, new life forms,

I watch the grass roots growing,

From down here below.

4)

Ice on the solid ground,

The lights shine bright through windows;

Man crawls down chimney.

5)

My jeans get too tight;

Turkeys ran for their lives, to

Escape the shots fired.

5. Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet

As I stare out over the land,

I look at the flowers, then the palm trees,

I admire the beauty and stare at the leaves.

I see the bright sun so I put up my hand,

Then I walk to the beach to sit on the sand.

There is nothing I like more than the beach.

I sit there alone and eat a peach,

I feel as if I need a fan.

I then leave the beach to go eat another sinner,

I walk among the other dinosaurs, I am so hungry and big.

Everyone wonders who will go next,

There are so many sinners, but I just want my dinner.

I am one of the biggest carnivores and I am off again to perform another violent gig.

The beach is the only thing that calms me down, but I need to eat and get away from this

hex.

5 Free Verse Poems

1. Conceit

My Gecko Is A Track Star

My gecko is a track star,

Always exercising and practicing by running down his cage,

He can explode off his start fast enough to run up the walls,

Trying to catch the crickets intruding in his home,

They try to invade his living space,

But he is fast enough to catch them,

My gecko will even catch and kill anyone that gets in his way.

He can run faster than any human,

He can travel at speeds impossible to man, and he can run on the ceiling of his cage.

My gecko does not sell car insurance like some,

But he can run better than all other.

2. Imagist

Words

Sharp as they cut through,

they come in all sorts of shapes and sized,

some shiny and bright, some dark as night

they can bring people to you or push them away

words are like knives.

3. Imagist

Kiwi

Bitter and sweet,

and its texture is neat.

A little bit sour,

as I devour.

Opposing colors inside and out,

its taste is unique without a doubt.

They are sensitive to temperatures outside,

warm and cold,

they grow and are picked off of vines,

they then get picked and sold.

They are filled with seeds,

and also very healthy indeed.

4.

School

Every morning I sit up in bed,

I stayed up too late, but now it is time to wake up,

Brush my teeth, then eat, shower and wash from toe to head,

At least I'm a guy and I don't have to wear makeup.

I wake up so early,

Just to drive to this prison.

I used to ride the bus,

But now it is all annoying freshmen.

The parking lots are packed,

And most of the kids drive like they are drunk.

Then I enter the high school,

To be bumped into by some stupid punk.

I arrive to class as the bell rings,

The teacher marked me late.

I can never believe the crazy sights I see,

Sorry teacher, someone I was stuck behind a car with a South Carolina plate.

5.

If I Were A Bird

If I were a bird

I would soar through the sky to admire the beautiful view.

If I were a bird

I would not be a follower

I would journey off alone to see famous places from above,

I could visit the Colosseum in Rome during a sunset,

And I could maneuver my way through tropical rain forests.

If I were a bird

I would have a free tickets to any outdoor event.

If I were a bird

I would have to find my own food

I would not have a mother that is there for me my whole life, especially after I left the nest,

I could fly to a beach and steal peoples french fries, pizza, and ice cream,

And I could eat whatever fruits I pleased right off the trees.

If I were a bird

I would fly just above the sea.

If I were a bird

I would need to be careful living my life

I would avoid cars and humans at all costs,

I could stay high up to avoid cars and to see the earth from above,

And I could evade through the trees.

If I were a bird

I would sing all day long.

If I were a bird

I would try to be the fastest bird alive

I would race other birds and try to find obstacle courses to fly through,

I could fly miles high into the sky,

And I could soar above the clouds just for fun.

AUTHORS NOTES

1. Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

Jail Original





I also miss the taste of cold ale.

Just to walk out in the hall you need a pass,

I am constantly getting annoyed by everyone's sass,

I want to escape, then take a boat and sail.

____________________________________________

The bell finally rings,

School is all done.

I listened to the teachers,


School is no fun,

I'd much rather be at the bleachers.

Jail Revised





I also miss the taste of cold ginger ale.

Just to walk out in the hall I need a pass,

I’m always getting annoyed by everyone's sass,

I want to escape, then ride the train on the rails.

***

The bell finally dings,

School is all done.

I will not miss school,


School is no fun,

I don’t have to keep watching kids sleep and drool.

Some changes I made to this poem include making it all first person point of view,

and breaking the eight and six line sections of the poem into two. I changed the ale part to

ginger ale to make it more appropriate for school. I shortened some lines as well and tried

to get them to flow better. I also changed two lines in the last stanza, because I did not like

the original ones. I changed the rhyme to involve school to give a better picture of how the

plot twists. I wrote this after researching the Italian (petrarchan) sonnet, but after I wrote a

first one for the presentation in class. I did not like that one though, so I decided to make

this. I also made it a plot twist in this one instead of a plot change like I did in the other. I

really enjoy doing the plot twist in the end of stories and I loved this style of poem because

it involves a plot twist like micro fiction pieces do. I thought of some of the reasons this

school is like a prison and we are being held here, then I put it into a poem form to make

the reader think in the first eight lines it is about a jail, with some hints, then the next six

show that it was school the whole time.

2. Haiku

Original

1)

I run like the wind

Faster than a speeding bullet;

The cop on my tail.

2)



Then rise from my bed.

3)

Blossoms, new life forms,

I watch the grass roots growing,


4)




5)

My jeans get too tight;

Turkeys ran for their lives, to


Revised

1) Escape

I run like the wind

Faster than the speed of light;

Cop right behind me.

2) Forest



Beautiful views.

3) Buried

Blossoms of life form,

I watch the grass roots growing


4) Christmas




5) Turkey Day

The day is coming;

Turkeys run for their lives, to


This was my collection of haiku. I did not name them, so for my first change I added

titles to each one. In my first haiku, which I titled Escape, I tried to tell the same story

through haiku form, but this time I decided to get rid of almost the whole two last lines and

change them into different seven and five syllable lines but have the same story behind

them. For the second, which I named Forest, I took out the last line after hearing the

comments of classmates, and changed it from the twist of the kid waking up, to make the

poem just a poem describing a forest or nature. The third I took out some punctuation to

have a different approach to it and see if I could pull it off with minimal punctuation. The

fourth haiku I kept the same because I liked it and could not find anything to change in it. In

my fifth and final haiku I changed the second line to make it sound better and fit a point of

view better. I also changed the first line from “My jeans get too tight” to “The day is

coming”. I did that change because many people from the workshop did not like the way I

worded it or got confused by it. By changing this I changed the story and made it fit better

in my opinion, making it one common theme or turkeys, instead of having it involve humans

then switch to turkeys which threw people off.

3. Free Verse

School Original




At least I'm a guy and I don't have to wear makeup.

I wake up so early,



But now it is all annoying freshmen.



Then I enter the high school,





Sorry teacher, someone I was stuck behind a car with a South Carolina plate.

School Revised




I have to go and feed my pup.

I wake up so early,



But now I have to go be todays lessons.



I then enter the high school,





I should not have come to this place that I hate.

I changed the last line because it originally did not flow right and after reading the

workshop comments and talking about it, the kids did not like that line so much, neither did

I. So I decided to make it flow better and fit better, as well as shortening it to make it fit the

whole poem. I also changed the last line of the first stanza, because I did not like it, and it

had the same word ending as another line in the stanza. I changed it from makeup to pup,

which fit better in my mind. I also changed the sentence to make it fit. Some other

revisions include changing the second stanza because of what people said at the

workshop, and fixing a few sentences to flow better throughout.

4. Micro Fiction Twitter Fiction

Original

1. I stare, watching the man with the gun get up and run toward the business man. I adjust my scope then shoot, watching him drop. 2. I ride down the grass field on my horse, I turn my head then get a bullet to my arm. You always expect to be shot in war, but never want it. 3. Walking through the forest, I noticed something on the ground. A picture. I bent down to pick up a burnt picture. It was a picture of me. 4. I open my eyes but only see black, I try to move, I feel claustrophobic. I claw out until my fingers only bone. I was buried alive. 5. I awaken to a thud, I see a dark figure moving around the floor of my room. I get the bat next to me and swing at the object. It was my dog.

Revised

1. Sniper I stare, watching the man with the gun get up and run toward the business man. I adjust my scope then shoot, watching him drop. 2. War I ride down the grass field on my horse, I turn my head then get a bullet to my arm. I am grateful to be alive. 3. Alone in the Forest Walking through the forest, I noticed something on the ground. I bent down and picked up a burnt picture. It was of me. 4. Buried Alive

I open my eyes but only see black, I try to move, I feel claustrophobic. I claw until my fingers only bone. I was buried alive. 5. Intruder I awaken to a thud, I see a dark figure moving around the floor of my room. I get the bat next to me and swing at the object. It was my dog.

I added titles to all of the Twitter Fiction stories, because people told me in

workshop that you need them, and I think it makes them better. I also revised the third

story, Alone in the Forest, because it did not make sense, and it needed to be revised. It

said the word picture too many times, so I took out and replaced it with other sentences

while keeping it the same length. In the fourth twitter fiction, Buried Alive, I took out the

word “out”, because I thought it fit better. I left the first, Sniper, and the fifth, Intruder, and did

not change anything in them because I thought they were good the way they were written.

And in the workshop they were the two that people seemed to like the most. The second

one I changed though, I took out the last sentence because I did not think it fit, and it

sounded odd, the way I fixed it was by keeping it in first person and telling how the

character is lucky to be alive because he could have been shot somewhere else, or even

killed.

5. Short Story

Shipwreck Original

One cool summer morning, Jason woke from his bed and stepped onto the soft beige

carpet of his room. He owned a small townhouse in Baltimore, and he set high goals for

himself. He would research nicer houses, and cars to buy, in hopes that one day his crew

would catch enough large fish to make them all rich. They would go out once a month on

their fishing vessel and usually were disappointed and just made enough to get by. Jason

got into the shower, washed up, and got out within about 5 minutes, which was rare for him

to do because he usually took long hot showers to relax himself, but today was a Sunday,

so he had to go to church. Jason did not always attend church, but he decided to today

since he was leaving that night to go on a fishing trip. He went to pray that this would be his

lucky trip and he could make enough money to move away and get a new job. The sun was

bright, and when he walked into the small church, everyone turned and stared at him.

“You should really consider another career, Jason,” said an elderly gentleman, “that is a

dangerous job, and you should start a family.”

Jason nodded to the man, knowing that he loved what he did but he just wanted to catch

bigger fish. He turned around and another man said, “Good luck.” and shook his hand.

The whole church knew that if he was there he was going out that night on the boat to catch.

He sat through the service thinking to himself about how well set off he could be after this

run if they got enough.

The night was black around 6:30, and he was getting in his rusty car to drive over to the

dock. Jason was excited to see his fishing buddies, but he found it odd that it was dark at

a somewhat early time. By the time he got over to the dock the wind had picked up and he

could see the ship shaking viciously in the water. He knew that if it was this bad at the port

then out in the ocean would be insanity. He had his royal blue rain poncho on and a pair of

dark green fishing boots. He walked out to the boat and the crew was yelling off the boat

for him to hurry up. He looked back toward his town, smiled, then got interrupted by an

obese middle aged man with a long beard shouting at him, “Just get in the damn boat

already!”

Once on the long, rusting offwhite fishing boat, Jason and the crew had to be careful not to

fall off. The boat was shaking and almost overturning with every wave it hit. They had to

take buckets to scoop the water off of the boat deck so it did not sink them. The storm

picked up and the wind was strong enough to blow the crew off of the boat, so all of the

crew members packed into their rooms and waited. The rooms were small and made of

wood. They were under the main deck, so all of the water piling up on deck started

dripping through their ceilings. Eventually the hallway with their rooms in it started to fill up

as well. Everyone on the crew started to become claustrophobic as the boat shook and the

people in the small packed rooms slid into each other. The captain was in the room that

Jason was in, and he had a walky talky hanging from a hook in the wall in all of the rooms.

Jason said, “Why don’t we call over to the other rooms to see how they are holding up?”

The captain said to Jason, “I’m sure they are all fine. We have gone through many storms

before, just not as bad as this one.”


The captain shook his head and said, “It’s looking pretty bad,” then he said, “and we forgot

to put the rescue boats and life rafts on board for this run because we were in a hurry to try

to beat this storm.”

Jason walked over and called one of the rooms containing 5 crew members. They told him

that one man had fallen and hit his head pretty bad and it was bleeding. He needed a

doctor, but no one had any medical training. Jason opened the door a crack to see if he

could make it over to the other room to look at the man, but as soon as he opened the

heavy wooden door just a crack, the water took it and slammed it against the wall. The







The night came closer to day, but the sky remained black as night. Jason planned on

staying with the man until he woke up, but the man never did. The storm just kept getting






The crew and Jason were now stranded without any food or anywhere to go, in the middle

of the ocean. After about 2 of the ships lookout man trying to find land, he finally came

across a small island covered in dense forests and bright plantation. The crew swam out

to it but it took them about 4 hours to get there. Only about half the crew managed to

survive the ship sinking, because the doors would not open to the rooms that had not

opened them. Others were killed by objects sliding and falling. Once at the island Jason

headed out for food, he made some other people make shelters and some try to find wood

for a fire. Within 6 hours they had a fire started and shelter, but no food.

Another three days went by and they had to filter the sea water to drink. They started to turn

against each other, and the fat man killed one of the fishermen from the crew. They had no

food and little water, but his survival instinct got the best of him and he cooked and ate him.

Jason refused to do it and eventually became too hungry to survive any longer. It was either

kill the fat man or die himself. He finally brought himself to doing it. He murdered one of his

own crew members for food. Eventually after a few weeks of living off the fat man and

plants, Jason died as well, only to be discovered when a group of tourists on a cruise ship

stopped at the island.

THE END

Shipwreck Revised

One cool summer morning, Jason woke from his bed and stepped onto the soft beige

carpet of his room. He owned a small townhouse in Deleware, and he set high goals for

himself. He would research nicer houses, and cars to buy, in hopes that one day his crew

would catch enough large fish to make them all rich. They would go out once a month on

their fishing vessel and usually were disappointed and just made enough to get by. Jason

got into the shower, washed up, and got out within about 5 minutes, which was rare for him

to do because he usually took long hot showers to relax himself, but today was a Sunday,

so he had to go to church. Jason did not always attend church, but he decided to today

since he was leaving that night to go on a fishing trip. He went to pray that this would be his

lucky trip and he could make enough money to move away and get a new job. The sun was

bright, and when he walked into the small church, everyone turned and stared at him.

“You should really consider another career, Jason,” said an elderly gentleman, “that is a

dangerous job, and you should start a family.”

Jason nodded to the man, knowing that he loved what he did but he just wanted to catch

bigger fish. He turned around and another man said, “Good luck.” and shook his hand.

The whole church knew that if he was there he was going out that night on the boat to catch.

He sat through the service thinking to himself about how well set off he could be after this

run if they got enough.

The night was black around 6:30, and he was getting in his rusty car to drive over to the

dock. Jason was excited to see his fishing buddies, but he found it odd that it was dark at

a somewhat early time. By the time he got over to the dock the wind had picked up and he

could see the ship shaking viciously in the water. He knew that if it was this bad at the port

then out in the ocean would be insanity. He had his royal blue rain poncho on and a pair of

dark green fishing boots. He walked out to the boat and the crew was yelling off the boat

for him to hurry up. He looked back toward his town, smiled, then got interrupted by an

obese middle aged man with a long beard shouting at him, “Just get in the damn boat

already!”

Once on the long, rusting offwhite fishing boat, Jason and the crew had to be careful not to

fall off. The boat was shaking and almost overturning with every wave it hit. They had to

take buckets to scoop the water off of the boat deck so it did not sink them. The storm

picked up and the wind was strong enough to blow the crew off of the boat, so all of the

crew members packed into their rooms and waited. The rooms were small and made of

wood. They were under the main deck, so all of the water piling up on deck started

dripping through their ceilings. Eventually the hallway with their rooms in it started to fill up

as well. Everyone on the crew started to become claustrophobic as the boat shook and the

people in the small packed rooms slid into each other. The captain was in the room that

Jason was in, and he had a walky talky hanging from a hook in the wall in all of the rooms.

Jason said, “Why don’t we call over to the other rooms to see how they are holding up?”

The captain said to Jason, “I’m sure they are all fine. We have gone through many storms

before, just not as bad as this one.”


The captain shook his head and said, “It’s looking pretty bad,” then he said, “and we forgot

to put the rescue boats and life rafts on board for this run because we were in a hurry to try

to beat this storm.”

Jason walked over and called one of the rooms containing 5 crew members. They told him

that one man had fallen and hit his head pretty bad and it was bleeding. He needed a

doctor, but no one had any medical training. Jason opened the door a crack to see if he

could make it over to the other room to look at the man, but as soon as he opened the

heavy wooden door just a crack, the water took it and slammed it against the wall. The







The night came closer to day, but the sky remained black as night. Jason planned on

staying with the man until he woke up, but the man never did. The storm just kept getting






The crew and Jason were now stranded without any food or anywhere to go, in the middle

of the ocean. After about 2 of the ships lookout man trying to find land, he finally came

across a small island covered in dense forests and bright plantation. The crew swam out

to it but it took them about 4 hours to get there. Only about half the crew managed to

survive the ship sinking, because the doors would not open to the rooms that had not

opened them. Others were killed by objects sliding and falling. Once at the island Jason

headed out for food, he made some other people make shelters and some try to find wood

for a fire. Within 6 hours they had a fire started and shelter, but no food.

Another three days went by and they had to filter the sea water to drink. They started to turn

against each other, one man died from the crew, and they were running out of food. The

remaining crew attempted to build a raft, but none of the attempts worked. One evening

they finally decided to help each other and work together, the made a fire and continued

fueling it until it was as tall as a one story house. They had no hoses to spray around it, and

since it was so large, the wind blew it around and it caught a tree, the whole island was

doomed, the fire was getting intense, and they would have no chance of putting out a forest

fire without any equipment. Not long after, an airplane passed by a few hundred miles

away, and contacted a nearby cruise ship. The ship went over to investigate it, and they

saw people freaking out for help. They went over and saved them.

I changed the location of where he lived to a broader one, I changed it from

Baltimore to Delaware, because Baltimore is a city and it did not fit the story as well when I

talked about a small town and had Baltimore as the setting in the beginning. I took out the

“THE END” because I think eventually I would like to add on to this story. I completely

changed the ending from them eating each other to them being saved, just to experiment

with how I could make the story turn out. I also corrected the mistakes I found in it along the

way. The ending was the biggest part, I felt that although I should make it longer, it was the

good start and short story version of something that has potential. I decided to make the

ending a non violent one also because everyone in this class, including me, seems to

always say twisted things and worst case scenarios, so this is the good outcome of what

happened.

the poetry portfolio

Documents