The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices

When a boy is "seized by a rhythmical beat," he extemporaneously crafts poems in response to the events of the day: "I tried to eat my breakfast/ but didn't hesitate/ to scribble on the napkins/ and doodle cross my plate." During a storm, he conducts a symphonic poem: "I play the wind, the thunder, and the sea!/ I am in charge, this power is intense%E2%80%94/ A world of rhythm that is huge, immense." With poems running amok in his mind all night, the boy is almost too exhausted to eke out another word during class: "I'm running out of steam%E2%80%94/ I've got to halt./ This inspiration spree has reached its end./ My fevered Brain Train screeches, brakes, and stops." Brooker's (When We Go Walking) stucco-like collages create cheerfully cluttered home and school environments. In notebook-style pages at the end of the story, Graham (Flicker Flash) introduces the basic poetic forms that the boy samples (including a sonnet, limerick, and villanelle) along with additional definitions, which may spur some readers to similar flights of verbal enthusiasm. Ages 6%E2%80%9311. (Jan.)