A poem about Skittles? It's a winner

Who would have thought a bag of Skittles could inspire a poem. That’s just what happened when professor Leslie Wasserman asked her education students to write haiku one day in class.

 

Unbeknownst to junior education and English major Aly Sullivan, her poem about the multi-colored crunchy candy was submitted to the Plain Dealer newspaper – and was published on Nov. 10. The newspaper had earlier asked readers to submit their versions of the treasured Japanese art form, and hundreds did.

 

Aly, who lives in Chagrin Falls, found out her poem was among those chosen to be published when her fellow musicians in band rehearsal congratulated her. She then called to share the news with her parents.

 

On the day that Dr. Wasserman asked her students to write haiku, Aly happened to be munching on a bag of Skittles, her favorite candy. “I think I wrote 12 haikus that day,” recalls the budding English teacher and theatre director who frequently writes poetry. “I had no idea what it was for.”

 

Now, she can say she’s a published author.

 

Here is Aly’s haiku, as it was submitted and published in the Plain Dealer:

 

Skittles have color

And sugar and fake flavors

Now taste the rainbow

 

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