verb –take (a word, idea, or method) from another source and use it in one’s own language or work
“When you can’t do it on your own, borrow an idea from someone who could.” – A.C. Hall
Those words were given often during my teaching years, especially in the midst of lessons involving poetry. I can hear the groans now: “Ugh, poetry, like gag me with a spoon!” (That’s a reference for all of your who were high school students in the 80’s. I’m sure today’s complaint about poetry would be something much more civilized like “OMG, I h8 poetry!”)
Whether you are a lover or a hater of the poem world, you’ll find today’s word gift to be a helpful way to get creative. “Copy Change Poetry” is a method I’ve used often both in and out of the classroom. Before we dive into explanations let me show you an example:
Dreams
an Original Poem
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Now here’s a copy change poem written by a talented (and comedic) former student.
Snails
a Copy Change poem inspired by Langston Hughes
by Former Student
Hold fast to snails
For if snails die
They will be cooked
For a young French guy
Hold fast to snails
For when snails go
Life is a nasty place
Serving escargot
Pretty clever isn’t it? As far as I know this student did not go on to become a world famous poet, but he could write a pretty clever word gift if he needed too. So on with the directions.
- Find a poem that you enjoy and understand.
- Underline important words in the poem.
- Think of a poem topic (obviously, this would be your word gift receiver)
- Make a list of key words related to your topic
- Now, take out the underlined words from the original poem and replace them with your well-chosen words (some of them will come from your list)
- Give it a title and under it write: “Inspired by __________ (fill in the original poet’s name)
- Type up or write out and present to that special someone
The poem above (“Dreams”) might not work so well to copy change into a poem for a person. However, I have found three that might.
She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
How Do I love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A Time to Talk by Robert Frost
Here’s a quick Copy Change poem I wrote for a friend using Byron’s as a guide. (Note that I only used the first 6 lines of the poem. There’s no need to use every stanza. Notice that I underlined the words that I was hoping to change.
excerpt from She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
Unpacking Life 