It starts in infant school.
You get everyone in the class to say a word - it will usually be an
adjective - that could be used to describe a cloud. Joe says "soft";
Brandon says "fluffy"; Adam says "up in the sky"; Kieran says
"thunderstorms!", and so on. You write the words on the whiteboard,
then you make a poem called "Clouds":
Clouds are soft.
Clouds are fluffy.
Clouds float up in the sky.
Clouds make thunderstorms!
That is what making poems is: the search for adjectives and attributes
to associate with some object. Everyone's contribution is included.
The resulting confection is lispily enunciated by the tallest girl in
the class at one of those school assemblies to which parents are
invited. Everyone claps appreciatively.
Dominic
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