As one of the culminations of our poetry work, one of our tests was us actually having to create a poem. Using a very strict poetic structure, called a sestina. In a sestina, each stanza is 6 lines, except for one being only 3 lines. Also the last words of each stanza is repeated in s specific order.

Below is my stanza. Although I feel like I really liked what I did with it. After seeing it graded, I realised I focused on constructing a narrative much more than thinking how to creatively use poetic techniques. The narrative was supposed to be that of an estranged father, who lost his son. This causes him great guilt, so he starts manifesting his child in his dreams, yet signs of his failure as a father keep peeping through. Such as his fixation on his sparse knowledge of his son, seen through the tuna, and him forgetting the form of his favorite chair. I felt really proud of this narrative, yet I feel like I didn’t adhere to the rubric as much, which asked for more of an advanced approach through technique.