Echoic Poems

What are Echoic Poems?

Echoic means to imitate natural sounds, like an echo. An echoic poem includes words that SOUND like the sounds we hear: swish, buzz, hiss, plop. In poetry, we call these words *onomatopoeia*.

Draft 1

The wasp buzzed through the wild wind;

Mountain ash leaves swished in the dusty air;

Thunder crashed and rain spatted

Waking the calico cat from her nineteenth nap.

Draft 2

The tarantula hawk wasp crawled

Slowly on the damp blades of grass

As the kids poked marshmellows

Into the hissing, flickering campfire;

Munching on her thirteenth s'more,

Miranda flopped back on the soft grass;

Owwwwwww! she screeched

and jumped up with flowing, salty tears.

We swished the wasp off her back

Guiding her into the house

Her feet scraping along the sidewalk

Losing her energy in gasping, husky sobs.

Mom plopped anesthetic cream

Quickly on the reddened bite

Soon, Miranda sighed a quiet

Hum as pain slowly, slowly subsided.