Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

Poem- Cold Comfort pantoum August 24, 2022

COLD COMFORT

(by Shawn Bird and the 2021 En 11-A class)

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Something burns on a winter night

I smell the smoke and see the fire

Reflections on the snow are bright

The dreams to which I aspire

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I smell the smoke and see the fire

What hopes linger in the dark

The dreams to which I aspire

Rise to the sky in flickering sparks

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What hopes linger in the dark

Cradling cocoa in my hands

Rise to the sky in flickering sparks

My heart longs to dance

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Cradling cocoa in my hands

Warm steam tickling my nose

My heart longs to dance

And waken my frost-bitten toes

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Warm steam tickling my nose

The family encircles the flames

And waken my frost-bitten toes

Relaxing after winter games

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The family encircles the flames

Reflections on the snow are bright

Relaxing after winter games

Something burns on a winter night

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A pantoum is written in quatrain stanzas with lines 2 and 4 of each stanza repeating as lines 1 and 3 of the subsequent stanza until the last stanza, which circles back to the beginning, with line 2 being line 3 of the first stanza and line 4 being the first line of the poem. There are no rhythm rules so line lengths can vary. It is amazing how impactful this repetition proves to be.

If you try it, do post a link to your pantoum in the comment section!

 

poem-i don’t want to write a poem January 13, 2021

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:52 pm
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Another demo pantoum poem written with my Creative Writing students today. This one demonstrates the power of this form, as small shifts can alter or intensify meaning. The kids weren’t in the mood to write at the beginning, but by the second stanza they were laughing and engaged as we looked for rhymes that worked.

I don’t want to write a poem today
I’m too tired to use my brain
The thought fills me with dismay
Poems make me insane

I’m too tired to use my brain
My mind is feeling foggy
Poems make me insane
My eyes are getting soggy

My mind is feeling foggy
Can I just return to bed?
My eyes are getting soggy
My heart is filled with dread

I’ll just return to bed
I’m much too tired to think
My heart is filled with dread
My life is on the brink

I’m much too tired to think
If my feelings are uncaged
My life is on the brink
The words won’t fill the page

When my feelings are uncaged
all the thoughts bring me dismay
Words will over-fill the page
I can’t write a poem today

 

poem- insurrection day January 6, 2021

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:53 pm
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Today my class is learning about the PANTOUM poetry form, while in the US, protesters have broken into congress amid riots, so here’s our demo pantoum.

Throw me a line
What’s going on?
I need a sign
Sanity’s gone

What’s going on?
There’s all this shouting
Sanity’s gone
The laws they’re flouting

There’s all this shouting
Is there any hope?
The laws they’re flouting
This filth needs some soap

Is there any hope?
My heart is afraid
This filth needs some soap
A nation’s betrayed

My heart is afraid.
Will the people declare
Their nation’s betrayed?
Does anyone care?

Will the people declare
this is the sign?
Will anyone care
to throw us a line?

 

poem-be happy pantoum November 7, 2020

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:02 pm
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Another demo pantoum written with an English class. 🙂

I wish we were happy

I wish we were glad

This poem will be quite sappy

But it will not be sad

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I wish we were glad

I wish we were silly

But it will not be sad

Though the weather is chilly

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I wish we were silly

That election is scary

Though the weather is chilly

The situation is hairy!

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That election is scary

But koalas are cute

The situation is hairy!

But I bought new boots!

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Koalas are cute

Mac and cheese comfort food

I bought new boots!

Folks, don’t be so rude!

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Mac and cheese comfort food

Make this poem quite sappy

Folks, don’t be so rude!

I wish we were happy

 

poem- Sibling Rivalry October 29, 2020

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:14 am
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The air was crisp
The sky was damp
My brother hissed
Under the lamp
 
The sky was damp
My sister screamed
Under the lamp
Its powerful beams
 
My sister screamed
The monster’s eyes
Its powerful beams
Her soul it fries
 
The monster’s eyes
The horror grows
Her soul it fries
Its hot breath blows
 
The horror grows
More monsters lurk
Its hot breath blows
My brother smirks
 
More monsters lurk
My brother hissed
My brother smirks
The air was crisp

This was a demo pantoum written with my class today when they were introduced to the form. It took an unexpected turn! 🙂

If you scroll to the bottom, WordPress will probably link to a couple of other pantoums written with my classes in previous years. They are entertaining.

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(ignore any WordPress ads here)

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poem- winter evening October 26, 2020

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:47 pm
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A pantoum for a winter evening

Soft snow falling
Mysteries in hidden faces
Lost memories calling
Eyes whisper with brief gazes

Mysteries, hidden faces
Warm glances, tender touches
Eyes whisper with brief gazes
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes

Warm glances, tender touches
Fire crackles, hearth heat
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes
In the silence, our hearts beat

Fire crackles, hearth heat
Lost memories calling
In the silence, our hearts beat
Soft snow falling.

 

Poem-Egger Pantoum December 9, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:10 pm
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In our school, the chef’s training kids make ‘eggers’ in the morning.  These are buns with fried egg, cheese, and a sausage patty.  They are a popular fast-food breakfast fare, but I hate them.  Fried eggs are nauseating to me, runny yolks make me want to vomit, the smell makes me nauseous.  So, to avoid calamity, I do not allow them in my class room. Kids have to eat them outside the room. There are huge windows between room and hall, so the class can watch the egger eater outside, like a sad puppy at the glass, waiting to come in.  

Today we learned about pantoum poems, and before they wrote their own, I guided a class written one.  This was what A block English 11 came up with, as one student was barred and then didn’t realise the door was unlocked, so he could just walk back in when he was done eating his egger.  There was lots of laughter, as we wrote it!  🙂  I love Poetry Fridays!

Egger Pantoum (A block’s)

I wanted into English class.

I wasn’t allowed in.

They laughed at me, en masse.

Eating eggers is a sin

 

I wasn’t allowed in;

I walked away.

Eating eggers is a sin.

What a great start to the day.

 

I walked away.

I wandered through the halls.

What a great start to the day,

Trapped within these walls.

 

I wandered through the halls.

I’m chewing very slowly

Trapped within these walls

Eating eggers, I’m unholy

 

I’m chewing very slowly;

Tears are streaming down my cheeks.

Eating eggers, I’m unholy,

The door won’t open for a week.

 

Tears are streaming down my cheeks.

They laughed at me, en masse!

The door won’t open for a week.

I wanted into English class!

 

 
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