Person/Place/Thing: Single Dad, Dairy Queen, Magic Ukulele

"I can't believe that after 29 years of marriage, she decides to leave me for an unemployed man who can barely afford a shack to live in." As the man sat alone in a velvet red booth at a Dairy Queen, he drank his melted ice cream which his waterfall of tears had melted. His life seemed to be over. Suddenly, a midget holding a sparkly ukulele, which looked like a regular guitar in proportion to his body, winked at him and disappeared into thin air. The only evidence that the man was ever there, was the ukulele, which sat on the neighboring table next to the man. The lonely father picked up the instrument, and it played a sharp, high pitched tone. He looked around the restaurant and noticed that no one else could hear the sound. Then, the man heard a piercing voice coming out of the body of the ukulele. He put his ear very close to the source of the sound, and then it screamed "Go to hell" and it began to laugh hysterically. Furious, the man stormed out of the Dairy Queen and slammed the ukulele on the ground, sending the stings flying and the rest broken into millions of pieces. He sprinted to his car, slammed his door shut, and blasted the radio to tune out any of the negative thoughts in his mind. As the music played louder and louder, it abruptly came to a stop, and complete silence filled the car. Confused, the lonely father tried to restart his car. This time, the same voice that came out of the ukulele in the restaurant came on even louder and said "Go to hell!" As the laughing continued, the man swerved out of the parking lot and wrapped his car around a tree. Immediately, the depressed man was taken out of his misery.

Ironic Story: The Book

The ocean breeze blew through the young girl’s hair, and she sat on the towel soaking up the sun’s rays. She had her headphones in, and she was reading a book about teenage relationships, dreaming she could take the spot of the girlfriend.

Her mom yelled loud enough to be heard through the headphones, “I can’t believe I drove you two hours to a beach to watch you sit there doing nothing. You could do this at home! At least go in the ocean for a couple minutes.”

“Just let me finish this chapter.”

Up on the towering chair, an attractive and muscular man sat observing everyone in the water. He blew his whistle, alerting the boys in the water to stop wrestling. His strong arms and toned back made everyone in the deep blue water feel safe.

“Are you almost done? Just go swim for two seconds to cool off.”

“Fine but when I get back, just leave me alone for the rest of the day”

She approached the cool water and stuck her toes in. A string of seaweed wrapped around her leg, and she retreated towards the dry sand.

“Gross. I hate the ocean”

The water felt nice, however, on her burning legs, and she moved back towards the water. Soon, she was knee deep. The dipped her head underwater like a swan searching for fish. When she got back to the surface, she was tossed by a retracting wave that sent her body flying uncontrollably through the water. She could feel herself being pulled out deeper and deeper into the endless water.

On the shore, the man in the white chair noticed an arm waving above the water. He took his binoculars to get a closer look. This time, two legs were flailing and approaching the deeper and darker waters. He sounded his whistle, grabbed his red life preserver, and sprinted into the ocean.

Back on shore, the girl’s mom heard the loud whistle, and she saw everyone in the water retracting to the land. She began to search the crowd with her eyes for her daughter.

“Sarah? Where are you?”

After 30 seconds with no response, she ran towards the water to see the girl stranded, struggling for breath.

The lifeguard grabbed the girls hand and forced it to the float and began sending her back to shore to receive CPR. A huge wave swallowed them, and the man’s hand was ripped off the float. The girl remained strapped to the floating device, and her life was spared. The man, however, was nowhere to be seen.

The girl’s life was spared, and she continued her life as though nothing happened. She continued to read the book in every minute of spare time she had. One day, her mom walked in on her crying late at night in her room.

“What’s wrong, sweety”

“I was supposed to be in love with the man who saved my life! In the book, Johnny was killed in the ocean trying to save Kate’s life. That was supposed to be me! Why did he have to die? This book was written about my life, but I never got a chance to fall in love with him!”

Three days later, the man’s body was found floating to the land, holding the girl’s new favorite book.

Visual Found Poem

3 Poems with Revisions

Nature Walk- Tanka:

• Along the worn trail,

          The echoing chirp of bugs,

          Relaxes my mind,

          And as I close my soft eyes,

          My painful struggles leave me.

Nature Walk- Tanka REVISED:

• Along the worn trail,

          The deep chirps of cicadas,

          Relaxes my mind,

          And as I close my soft eyes,

          My harsh struggles soar skyward.

Rhyme- Memories:

He used to tell me all about the old times,

The days where we would spend trying to find a nice tree to climb,

In times when we could actually have a conversation,

We could accomplish anything with our imagination.

Suddenly, creating new games with friends outside,

Turned into days we would run into our rooms and just hide.

           

Now, no one is social enough to have a talk,

Or even just go outside for a walk.

We spend all of our hours behind computer screens,

Watching videos, texting friends, and shopping for jeans.

All of our lives revolve around the internet,

And no one even remembers the days we had to use a cassette.

“My dear, dear child” he always said,

“Sit right here, and don’t you fled,

Remember these words I speak,

Even though I may just seem like an antique,

After my many years of living and viewing,

Listen closely, for I know very well what I am doing.”

           

Take some time to get off your phone,

Enjoy your friends, and never waste time alone.

Live your life to the best you possibly can,

And I promise you, you will be a very wise man.

           

Rhyme- Memories REVISED:

He used to tell me all about the old times,

The days we would spend trying to find a satisfying tree to climb,

In times when we could hold a conversation,

We could accomplish anything with our imagination.

Suddenly, creating new games with friends outside,

Turned into days we go to our rooms like a turtle and hide.

           

Now, no one is social enough to have a talk,

Or even just go outside for a walk.

We spend all of our hours behind computer screens,

Watching videos, texting friends, and shopping for jeans.

All of our lives revolve around the internet,

And no one even remembers the days we had to use a cassette.

“My dear, dear child” he would always say,

“Sit right here, and stop wasting every day.

Remember these words I speak,

Even though I may just seem like an antique,

After my many years of living and viewing,

Listen closely, for I know very well what I am doing.”

           

Take some time to get off your phone,

Enjoy your friends, and never waste time alone.

Live your life to the best you possibly can,

And I promise you, you will be a very, very wise man.”         

Free Verse- Tragic Love:

It was a beautiful day when the two first met

He was beautiful, she was depressed

Somehow they fit together like puzzle pieces

they fell in faster than she fell out

His blood fell like teardrops into the porcelain sink

And down the drain without a flinch

He never felt so alive, and so alone.

Free Verse- Tragic Love REVISED:

It was an unforgettable summer day when the two first met.

She was beautiful, he was depressed.

Somehow they fit together like puzzle pieces,

Then suddenly, she moved on to a new picture.

His blood fell like teardrops into the porcelain sink,

And down the drain without a flinch.

He never felt so alive, and so alone.

Death Bed: Opposite Tone Passages

Finally, after all these years of surgery and pain, I am being put out of my misery. The doctors have finally realized that I have been through enough suffering, and they have officially given up on me. There is no hope. I will finally be able to see my old friend and mother again, and I will be healthy and happy. The doctors have tried everything, but nothing has worked and I am in more agony than ever. I am excited to see what is in store for me in the afterlife. Laying here on my death bed, I am satisfied with the life I have lived, but all good things must come to an end, right?

No! It can’t be over yet! I still have so much life left in my body, and I know I can make it through this. There must be something the doctors can do to save my life one last time. This can’t be the end. I will fight through anything. I can’t leave my father or my children to fend for themselves! They rely on me for so much, and I cannot just leave them here! No, I will fight through it. I am not giving up yet. This isn’t the end. Laying here on my death bed, I regret much of my life, and I would give anything to make it through this disease.

Tone in Scientist Excerpt

Discussing the negative effects of scientific experiments against nature in the excerpt, the narrator uses a change in point of view, imagery, and diction to reveal his attitudes towards the scientists. By describing these people in first person then transitioning into a tone which directly accuses them, the narrator uses negative words, such as “poor empty head” and “nasty science” to show his opinion on the harmful experiments the audience is using, and he gives them a clear picture of this effect. The narrator uses these techniques to portray his disapproval of these procedures in an angry and judgement tone to the reader. This excerpt is a critic of the scientists that use experiments that harm forms of nature against the narrator’s idea.

Relaxation: A 200 Word Sentence

As I lay on the warm, white Cape Cod sand, an intense sense of relaxation takes over my inert body, and as the sun glistens down on me, I can feel it’s warm rays radiating my skin, and the pointless, irritating drama going around all of my friends right now leaves; all I can imagine is my so-called happy place, and I consider the place in which I lay right now my happy place, and sweat begins dripping from my forehead, so I wander over to the vast ocean which expands for eternity, but suddenly a cold, salty wave of water hits me, so I stand up and on my way to retrieve my warm, comforting towel, a very large crab bites my leg and I scream “ouch”, but right after I scream, I come to the realization that the crab is actually a small shark and I am slowly bleeding to death; a strong, handsome lifeguard comes over to try to save my life but it is too late, I am already walking slowly towards that light, which I suppose is heaven, and I remember that I will now be able to live in that same state of peace I experienced a few moments ago for the rest of eternity.