A Conversation Poem
A Conversation Poem
You and another, but also you.
Students will work in pairs (or one group of three, if needed) to create a paired poem that explores both similarities and differences between them.
Each student will write their own poem, but the poems are designed to be read together, aloud, as a performance.
Certain lines—representing shared experiences or traits—will be spoken at the same time.
The goal is to show how two people can be different on the surface but connected underneath.
Before writing anything, students should talk and create two lists:
Similarities (experiences, feelings, habits, fears, values)
Differences (background, language, personality, expression, routines)
Encourage honesty, but not oversharing.
From the similarities list, choose 2–4 ideas that both writers will turn into shared lines.
These lines should:
Be emotionally true
Be broad enough to apply to both people
Sound natural when spoken at the same time
Each student writes a short poem (free verse encouraged) that includes:
Personal details
Their differences
Their own voice and rhythm
The shared lines, placed intentionally
The poems should make sense alone, but work better together.
Students practice:
Reading their own lines individually
Speaking shared lines in unison
Pausing, pacing, and listening
The poems are read aloud as a conversation.
The audience should be able to hear:
Difference
Connection
Overlap
I speak like a valley girl,
every sentence rising at the end
like I’m asking permission.
People tell me they can’t understand me,
even when I’m being careful.
My words stay folded
until I know it’s safe.
I talk too much.
I fill silence before it fills me.
Teachers tell me to slow down,
to think before I speak.
I keep everything inside,
where it doesn’t cause trouble.
Together (spoken at the same time)
People don’t really know the real me.
Groups of three can use chorus lines spoken by all three
Poems can be serious, funny, or reflective
Students may choose to perform seated, standing, or side-by-side
Listening as a writing skill
Identity through voice
Poetry as performance
Empathy and shared humanity
Crafting meaning through structure, not rhyme