Mask Poems

As I was preparing for my Monday morning stint on mask poems for my son's second grade class, I realized something. I've never (that I can remember) written a mask poem myself. So, I decided if it's good enough for the goose...or is it I should take my own medicine?

I started by reading lots of mask poems. There's a fun picture book anthology called Dirty Laundry, in case you want a good sample. Then I played. I wrote poems as feet, as toes, and oranges on my neighbor's tree. There's something refreshing about stepping outside yourself and writing from a totally different perspective.

Sure, you say, we write from our characters' POVs all the time, but I challenge you to write a mask poem - now, here! - as an inanimate object and tell me it's the same feeling.

So, tune into ALL of your senses, then ready, set, write!