The Writer’s Lament

Chris Scheving
I had a thought the other day. Write it down so I might

A wonderful thought the other day Remember what I thought, I thought

And I thought, “I should write this Remember what I thought.

down this down.”

I thought, “I should write this down.”

But now as I sit thinking here,

The thought I had is not so clear.

I had a thought the other day
And now I think my thought, I fear,
A thought I thought wouldn’t go away.
Is no longer in my head, my head.
And still I just had to say,
It’s no longer in my head.
“I’ve got to write this down, this down.

I’ve got to write this down.”

I had a thought the other day.

But now that thought has gone away.

Today I thought that I would write
If only I’d written it down, it down,
The thought I had the other night.
If only I’d written it down.
________________________

Examine the poem for: How does each of these affect the flow and/or meaning of
the poem?

Rhyming pattern

Lines per stanza

Repetition

Punctuation

Enjambment

Your job is to write a Lament modeling the above

poem.

1. What do you think about when you write?

 The Writer’s Lament

Chris Scheving
2. Where do your ideas for writing come from?

3. What do you do when you get stuck with what you are writing?

4. What are the things you struggle with as a writer?

5. Brainstorm a list of things that you have “lamented”

6. Develop one or two of the topics by jotting down ideas for each of the 5 stanzas

7. Use the answers to the above questions to begin drafting your Lament. Notice that
the first and last stanzas are connected in structure, form, and focus

a. Your poem should be 5 stanzas long, include internal dialogue and repetition,
use enjambment, and mimic the rhyming pattern. Pay particular attention to
how you punctuate your poem.

SCORING SHEET

Yes (2) Part (1) No (0)

____ ____ ____ piece is titled

____ ____ ____ paper is MLA formatted

____ ____ ____ poem is 5 stanzas long

____ ____ ____ stanzas 1 & 5 are the same length

____ ____ ____ stanzas 2, 3, & 4 are one line longer than stanzas 1 & 5

____ ____ ____ internal dialogue is included and properly formatted (“ “ or

italics)

____ ____ ____ repetition is evident in every stanza

____ ____ ____ repetition is identified (highlighted or underlined)

____ ____ ____ enjambment is used at least twice and is identified

____ ____ ____ rhyming pattern mimics the model (quatrain may be abab, abba,
aabb)

____ ____ ____ poem is punctuated appropriately

____ ____ ____ “lament” is easily identified

____ ____ ____ TOTAL (x/12)

 The Writer’s Lament

Chris Scheving
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