Elizabeth Bishop

I was cajoled into attending the latest Cameron Diaz vehicle, "In Her Shoes," and was pleasantly surprised when the plot arc veered into poetry. So, an oldie but goodie, featured in the film:

One Art~Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

...this poem is a joy to read aloud. Read it, and read it again. The repeated sounds and words aid this. It's probably a villanelle; here's a link to clarify: (http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/CraftOfPoetry/villanelle.html). Your assignment: Play with repetition. Make it bold, make it clear, make it obvious. Shake from your brain the essay-based "never use the same word twice" lecture that leads us to abuse thesauri. (Though I do adore thesaurus.com--I'm guilty as the next.)