During class today, our professor had us work on "black-out poems". I had never made one before, and I really like how mine turned out. If you're lost, a black-out poem is where you take an original piece (poem, story, etc.), highlight the phrases, words, or sentences that stand out to you, and then 'black out' the rest of the words. Literally. You mark through the rest of the words with a black marker and leave only the highlighted ones standing.
The original piece that we worked with was the book Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles. After working through the black-out process, here is what I ended up with:
He's not allowed.
He's not allowed,
no matter what color.
Our feet felt stuck;
I know this job has made him angry.
I want to do everything you can do.
I want to see this town with John Henry's eyes.
I want to pick it out myself.
We look at each other,
then we walk through the front door together.
Equal enjoyment.
Freedom Summer.
That was the summer I began to pay attention,
this story grew out of my feelings.
