During my poetry class, we were given an assignment to write two contrasting poems about the same substance.

One of the poems was to be completely literal. No figurative language was allowed in that poem.

For that assignment, I penned a poem called, “Rootbeer Barrels.”

The second part of that assignment was a bit more difficult. We were to compose a poem that could describe us, as well as the substance.

For the second part of the assignment, we were allowed to use as much figurative language as we liked, but we could not be literal.

The exercise was a fun one as a poet.

I invite you to watch the video below and enjoy the contrasting poems about a candy that I was addicted to for several years.

I recently discovered I have a corn allergy, so I have not enjoyed a rootbeer barrel for almost two years. It will be a challenge to come up with a recipe for a hard candy that tastes like rootbeer without any artificial flavorings, but I may try to at some point. I miss my rootbeer barrels.

Enjoy these poems.