Cant get any inspiration

[Jedimindtrixxx]

I have to write a poem (doesnt matter what kind, but im going for free verse for the liberty,) about anti-semitism in canada in the 20s and 30s for history, and im usually good with poems, and i can usually whip a good one in no time but for some reason my mind is drawing blanks and i cant think of how to write it or the rythme i wanna write it in (i know what to write, just dont know like, flow it. I just need some sort of, inspiration, cuz once i get that flow in i can just keep writing it till im done, but...yeah...

 

[Ninva]

As I was studying poetry, a poet once told me this bit of advice: "Never wait for inspiration. Write anyways."

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

Eh i tried to go for it, and i got it done. i dont think its too good but i think its the best i could do for the given situation
i ended up making a Kyrielle Sonnet, any feedback would be appreciated, although i dk if id be able to fix anything considering it was so hard to get rhymes that work with the situation

Spoiler

The Semites lived a really tough life,
A life of grief, a life of strife.
The acts they’d commit not even called crimes,
Those truly were the best of times.

Many places they weren’t wanted,
And by their peers they were taunted,
From B.C. to the Maritimes.
Those truly were the best of times.

Some occupations they couldn’t keep,
Discrimination made them weep.
Called a danger before wartime,
Those truly were the best of times.

Signs read: “No Jews or dogs allowed”.
Those truly were the best of times.

the term Semites isnt racist, is it?

 

[Ninva]

That poem was either nationalistic or racist. I'm not sure which, but I can imagine that not everyone would accept this poem.

Read "We Wear the Mask."

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

we were given a page on it from our history txtbook that we had to make the poem about, but i re-read the poem now after sleeping and it seems really bad and makes the message not clear, and like you said seems sorta.. racist/nationalistic so ima try it again from scratch

also, that mask poem is really awesome. love the flow on it

 

[Ninva]

Good luck!

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

I finally finished, and i feel its better written than before. i also moved away from the kyrielle sonnet and wrote it more freely. some points dont fit in TOO well but i had to get them in for the assignment.

Spoiler

We hide our nation’s gloomy past,
Into the abyss it do we cast.
But there’s no hiding what we’ve done,
There was no greatness; there was no fun.

The discrimination was truly vast,
The type we thought had already past.
The Jews faced hardships from here to there,
For many they could not even bare.
Those truly were the best of times.

In many places the felt unwanted,
In school the kids were often taunted.
Certain locales they couldn’t even enter,
Even in the urban center,
Of Toronto.

Encouraged to leave school even before they had come of age,
And before the holocaust had the center stage.
Forced to learn their rightful place,
An attitude you could retrace,
To thousands of years ago.
Those truly were the best of times.

Referenced in the morning paper,
They were called a danger to society,
And only after a long time did it taper,
It was the same old racism, with no variety.

With the anti-Semitism running rampant,
You would have thought the lack of real danger would have it dampened.
Many were not permitted to certain jobs,
They could not study medicine or teach,
To younger generations they could not reach.
Were those truly the best of times?