Poems to Use as Models
One great model is William Stafford’s “What’s In My Journal.” The poet uses a marvelous cluster of noun phrase to emphasize the spirit of “no ideas but in things.” His phrases show us not only the “things” that are in his thoughts but the feelings he has about them…and the feelings he has about himself.
Write a poem in which you follow the stanzas and patterns of Stafford’s verse. One student wrote “What’s in My Harddrive”; another wrote “What’s in my Closet.” But, you can also explore what is in your own journal.
