Write 88 Lines about 44 of whatever you select. Read and listen to the song and create your own ode to 44 people, places, or things in 88 lines
Please note: This song contains mature content: sex, drugs, profanity, and stereotypes. It addresses the complex (or not so complex) nature of relationships in these tiny snapshots. You can also listen to the song here:
88 Lines about 44 Women – The Nails – Lyrics (Links to an external site.)

Deborah was a Catholic girl,
she held out to the bitter end.
Carla was a different type,
she’s the one who put it in.
Mary was a black girl,
and I was afraid of a girl like that.
Susan painted pictures sitting down
like the Buddhists sat.

Reno was an aimless girl,
a geographic memory.
Cathy was a Jesus-freak,
she liked that kind of misery.
Vicky had this special way
of turning sex into a song.
Camella couldn’t sing,
kept the beat and kept it strong.

Xylla was an archetype,
the voodoo queen, the queen of rap.
Joan thought men were second best
to masturbating in the bath.
Sherri was a feminist,
she really had that gift of gab.
Kathleen’s point of view was this:
take whatever you can grab.

Seattle was another girl
who left her mark upon the map.
Karen liked to tie me up,
and left me hanging by a strap.
Jeannie had this nightclub walk
that made grown men feel underage.
Mary Ellen, who had a son and said
“I must go, but finally stayed.

Gloria, the last taboo
was shattered by her tongue one night.
Mimi brought the taboo back
and held it up before the light.
Marilyn, who knew no shame,
was never, ever satisfied.
Julie came and went so fast,
she didn’t even say good-bye.

Well, Rhonda had a house in Venice,
lived on brown rice and cocaine.
Patty had a house in Houston,
shot cough syrup in her veins.
Linda thought her life was empty,

filled it up with alcohol.
Katherine was much too pretty,
she didn’t do that shit at all.

Uh-uh.
Not Katherine.

Pauline thought that love was simple,
turn it on and turn it off.
Kit-Marie was complicated,
like some French film-maker’s plot.
Gina was the perfect lady,
always kept her stockings straight.
Jackie was a rich punk-rocker,
silver spoon and a paper plate.

Sarah was a modern dancer,
a lean pristine transparency.
Janet wrote bad poetry
in a crazy kind of urgency.
Tanya Turkish liked to fuck
while wearing leather biker boots.
Brenda’s strange obsession was
for certain vegetables and fruits.

Roeena was an artist’s daughter,
the deeper image shook her up.
Dee-dee’s mother left her father,
took his money and his truck.
Debbie-Rae had no such problems,
perfect Norman Rockwell home.
Nina, sixteen, had a baby,
left her parents, lived alone.
Bobbie joined a new-wave band,
and changed her name to Bobbie-sox.
Eloise, who played guitar,
sang songs about whales and cocks.
Terri didn’t give a shit,
just a nihilist.
Ronnie was much more my style,
she wrote songs just like this.
Jezebel went forty days
drinking nothing but Perrier.
Dinah drove her Chevrolet
into the San Francisco bay.
Judy came from O-hi-o,
she’s a Scientologist.
Pomerante, here’s a kiss,
I chose you to end this list.

SPECIFICS OF THE ASSIGNMENT
I really want you to write 88 lines.
Rubric
Poetry Rubric Revised (2)
Poetry Rubric Revised (2)
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Language Used 3.0 pts
Writing uses concrete language to render its subject. 2.0 pts
Although writing may demonstrate facility with language, it also contains clichés, vagaries, or abstractions that call for more revision. The writer has experimented with the elements of poetry. 1.0 pts
Writing demonstrates the writer’s attempt at facing the blank page. The writer has attempted the assignment.
3.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Human Connection 4.0 pts
Whatever the approach—realistic, expressionistic, surrealistic, etc.—the writing offers the reader a human connection through intelligible language. 3.0 pts
Writing rises to moments of poetic or dramatic interest but reveals that the writer needs to engage more frequently with his or her writing process and reconsider the work by cutting or transforming expository passages into poetry or narrative. 1.0 pts
The writer finished a rough draft, but clearly s/he has not taken the time to take the draft to the required level.
4.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Revision 3.0 pts
Writing reveals the strengths of a considered revision and the development of a voice relevant to the specific assignment. Author has a clear vision for the poem. 2.0 pts
Although poem demonstrates some understanding of the basic elements required of the assignment, the author needs to spend more time on showing the audience the subject and the deeper subject/the vision for the piece. 1.0 pts
Writing needs revision for clarity.
3.0 pts
Total Points: 10.0