Two

The Assignment: Utilize the three following literary devices in a poem.

-play with diction. What are some words that, for some reason, make you laugh when reading them? (for me, this includes "pickle," "tuber," "nincompoop," "shenanigans," "strumpet," "weiner (don't judge me!), "tushy," "mumbo jumbo" and "whippersnapper," among many others.) Come up with a list of at least five, and work at least three of them into the poem.

-use assonance. Brainstorm at least ten words that use a similar vowel sound. Then, incorporate at least five of them into the poem. Do you find that they add a certain "musicality" to the poem, acting as a "sound-glue" that helps hold it all together?

-use anaphora. Anaphora is "good" repetition, successive phrases or lines that begin with the same word or phrase (it's not a poem, but a famous example of this is Dr King's "I Have A Dream" phrase that repeatedly is used in his great speech). Feel free to look up literary examples of this online for inspiration. Use that word/phrase at least three times, and not just for the sake of meeting this requirement-when done well, it adds detail and depth to one's writing.

Guidelines- The poem must be at least fifteen lines long and no more than thirty. It must incorporate all three of these devices. 

Of course, any other time, use whatever devices you'd like and in whatever amounts you believe helpful. Some poems only use one, some might use a dozen; this is only an exercise to help make each poet here aware of how the use of poetic devices can enrich one's art.