The Uses of Straw
What do you think of when you hear the word straw?
Perhaps The 3 Little Pigs come to mind (and that very unwise little pig who, in the face of the big, bad wolves of the world, still decided to make his house of straw).
Oh, Little Pig. There were other uses for that straw! Uses that would have caused less trouble and resulted in more substance and art.
A quick tour of the Wikipedia straw page notes some of the following uses of straw:
• animal feed
• basketry
• bedding (really, straw-stuffed beds are still used around the world!)
• biofuels
• biogas
• biomass
• bioplastic
• composite lumber (still not bricks, Little Pig—but hey, better than straw)
• Corn dollies
• Himmeli (straw art)
• Straw marquetry
• Straw painting
• Straw plaiting
• Scarecrows (think Halloween!)
• Japanese Traditional Cat’s House
• Japanese wara art
• gardening
• hats
• horticulture
• packaging
• paper
• rope
• shoes
So many uses! We personally love the straw mobiles.
Poetry Prompt: Surprising Straw
After a grain is harvested, straw remains. Write a poem about what remains after some kind of main event or process. Alternately, write a poem that includes any of the uses of straw listed above. Or, if you really love that poor little unwise pig, write a poem about him and his house of straw. We can’t wait to read.
If you like, first read a sample poem about what remains (or, what survives).
Photo by Kelly Sikkema, Creative Commons, via Unsplash.
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