And what an amazing path you are forging!

Below are the ways that students in the very first AlphaRoute Online Poetry course eat poems.

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I eat a poem with a spoon. My poem is like soup. My soup is hot and tasty.

I would eat a poem with my mind by reading and taking all I've read in. I would look at how it is written, read how it sounds, ask myself "Is it good?" “Do I like it?" and if not "How could I make it a better poem?"

You can’t eat a poems. You have to read the poem or write one and say it out loud and read it to other people and also some people use them when they do projects.

I love poems because they say so much without giving you so much to read. I am a person who talks a lot, maybe too much so poems make me slow down and listen and think about every word. I would say that poems are more filling than reading a long story and more satisfying I hope to get to read lots of poems in this course and learn how to do a course on line.

I eat poems like I eat popsicles. They have no stem or core or rind or pit or seeds or skin to throw away.

I would prefer to smell a poem - like a forest or a flower or a swamp nature.

I read "How to Eat a Poem" with just the same enjoyment I would feel if I were eating a favourite food.

When I eat poems I think of juice. You don't need a fork, napkin or tablecloth.

I eat a poem like I eat a mango. I like it to be ripe and juicy because it's a nice tropical fruit. You don't need nice table manners to eat a mango.

I eat a poem like I eat salad. I like salad because it is fresh and enjoyable to eat. I like a poem that is as fresh as a mango.

I eat a poem by reading it out loud to someone. I get help to understand the poem. My favorite part of "How to Eat a Poem" is, "You do not need a knife or fork or spoon or plate or napkin or tablecloth." because you can be a slob. I like the words, "For there is no core or stem or rind or pit or seed or skin to throw away" because they are funny.

My name is Agnes. I live in Toronto. I eat a poem the way I eat an ice-cream. I like to feel the coolness on my tongue and the way it slides down my stomach. I don't need a tissue to wipe it when it dribbles over my skin. I lick it the way I lick a candy cane. The taste is like saying good night to your lover.

I am still trying to understand it. I am starting to get interested. I was surprised about the part in the poem about not being polite. I did not how to react to it. After reading it out load and hearing it, I am starting to understand it better. The part about not using a knife, or a spoon, and no fingers means it could be a pie-eating contest. That’s the only thing that I can think of that does not have a stem or rind, or pit or seed or skin to throw away. The next time I read it I might think about it in a whole new way.

If I had to eat a poem. It would have to be sweet like strawberry and soft like warm melted chocolate, and it would have the sweetest tasted. In would melt in your mouth. I would not be able to eat it every day. The taste would be so rich you would only be able to eat a little a day.