Deep in the expanse of the hot African desert,

The sun beats down on the cracked ground.

And the fur on the back of the fierce lion

Sweats with the midday sun.

He has taken a firm stance before me

To show his dominance.

I take a step forward into his territory

Challenging his gaze with my own deep stare.

He questions my motive with a slight tilt of his head

And I react.

I raise my knife and trace his head from where I am.

There is no fear like my own.

I know the risk,

I have lived in this desert long enough to know the danger.

But I have no choice, this lion killed the one I love.

And has sparked a fire in me

That will not be put out.

I need to make my move,

For he is approaching me now,

And the look in his eyes warns me that he won't stop

Until he gets his fill of human flesh from my bones.

Purposefully I drive

The sharp edge of my knife into the heart of the lion 

And it is even. 

I agree with Dana Gioia, poetry is losing its significance in everyday life. In my own life, I have observed that poetry is similar to reading books in that only people that enjoy reading them will do it. Many people cannot get into reading or poetry, and will not go out of their way to read it. I enjoy reading, but only if it something that truly grabs my attention. It is the same with poetry. I often can’t follow through with reading something unless it is interesting to me. So, I think the best way to get people to read poetry is to make it appealing to them. This is the hard part because everyone has such different taste. However, that is also the beauty of poetry. It differs so greatly from poet to poet so it is able to capture a wide variety of audiences. Dana Gioia explains some ways to make poetry a part of American public culture. First she says that when poets give public readings they should spend time reciting other people’s work. She claims this will bring admiration to poetry in general and not just the specific poet. I also believe this may help to bring more attention to poetry as a whole. Gioia also says that public readings of poetry should include forms of art beyond poetry such as music. This will get people with interest in other forms of art to come to the reading and they may become interested in poetry through the event. Overall, I believe poetry is a dying art, but if poets can find a way to bring more public awareness to poetry then they may be able to bring poetry back into the American public.  

Me: Hi mom sorry I missed your call. (iambic tetrameter)
Mom: Sure you are (sarcasm). I bet you were busy with Jack. (iambic tetrameter)
Me: No, I was actually getting ready for work. (iambic pentameter)
Mom: Ok. Well I was wondering if you were coming up this weekend. (iambic heptameter)
Me: I'm not sure yet. I need to find out my work schedule. (iambic tetrameter)
Mom: Ok. How is school going by the way? (iambic tetrameter)
Me: It's going good. I got an A on my patho exam Thursday. (hexameter)
Mom: Sweet. Only an A huh? (iambic dimeter)
Me: Ha ha, sorry to disappoint you. (iambic trimeter)
Mom: I am kidding, that is awesome. (iambic tetrameter)
Me: Thanks. Well, I gotta go or I'll be late for work. (iambic pentameter)
Mom: Ok, call me when you get home. (iambic trimeter)
Me: I will, I love you mom. (iambic trimeter)
Mom: Love you too. I will talk to you later. (iambic trimeter)

Most of the conversation was iambic, but the type of meter varied greatly.