Experimenting with Poems: Line Breaks

Work together with a partner to practice line breaks for poetry. Just add a / wherever you would switch to the next line. Be prepared to defend your choice! You'll compare your results with the author's original poem, but don't worry there's no right answer on this activity.

"Across the Back Fence"

Mr. O'Brien (red brick house across the back fence) tries to train his grass- not his dog to fetch or his son Paul to pitch but one million blades of bluegrass- to behave! Twice a week he cuts it down whips back the edges blows the cuttings and sweeps the strays. He even claps his shoes like dirty chalkboard erasers out in the street so the whiskers of grass can't follow him home. I know I shouldn't but when the puffs of dandelions appear in our yard, I twist their rubbery stalks and blow the seeds light as snowflakes across the back fence.  

from Sketches from a Spy Tree, Clarion Books 2005

© 2005 Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Discussion:

How were your choices different from the authors? Why do you think she made the choices she did? Do you think your are better? Why? How arbitrary are line breaks? Do you think it can change the meaning of a poem? How? Give an example.