Angry men are glass
When they shatter
Their shards slice:
they destroy what matters.
They cut up lives,
lose the love they amassed.
poem- I saw a shooting star August 29, 2022
I saw a shooting star
.
Last night
while letting out the dog:
a streak across the sky.
The dog squatted in the grass while
A weary traveler burned through our
atmosphere.
My upward glance made me a witness
and I must say, that meteor’s end
made midnight
magic.
poem- change in the wind August 28, 2022
Perhaps, this may be
the last back to school autumn
With next year’s falling leaves,
will I too be leaving
on the breeze ?
Black out poem 3 August 27, 2022
Black out poem 3 reads as follows:
I pass
on
melodrama.
My show.
I wave time.
I bind a problem.
I lock my smile
I burn this sign.
.
.
(Note the use of the poetic device anaphora in the last 4 lines (i.e. beginning the lines with the same word)
Black out poem 2 August 26, 2022
Black out poem 2 reads as follows:
I see you.
You look to her.
(There were good books).
You take my hand.
We reach a tie, sure
in this glance.
.
Commentary:
So, the line “There were good books” is really a contextual juxtaposition. What’s going on? Is the speaker separating her real life with books and imagining a different ending? Is it all happening in books? Do the books somehow alter behaviour of the speaker and her love interest? What do you think?
Black out poem 1 August 25, 2022
“Black out poem 1” reads as follows:
if I faint
Let me go.
stop me
carry me
smile
Poetry resource for BC high school teachers
Three years of proven poetry units for grade 10 to 12 students, polished over twenty years. Three week units split into weekly lessons through the semester. Transform your students’ poetry experience. See the difference Poetry Friday makes!
Beta testers needed for the semester. Write if you’re interested.
Poem- Cold Comfort pantoum August 24, 2022
COLD COMFORT
(by Shawn Bird and the 2021 En 11-A class)
.
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
.
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
.
What hopes linger in the dark
Cradling cocoa in my hands
Rise to the sky in flickering sparks
My heart longs to dance
.
Cradling cocoa in my hands
Warm steam tickling my nose
My heart longs to dance
And waken my frost-bitten toes
.
Warm steam tickling my nose
The family encircles the flames
And waken my frost-bitten toes
Relaxing after winter games
.
The family encircles the flames
Reflections on the snow are bright
Relaxing after winter games
Something burns on a winter night
.
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- A potato fork poem August 23, 2022
A POTATO FORK POEM
(for Brenda)
.
Fellow forks, beware!
Do stay away from here!
Brenda takes us
then she breaks us.
Oh tremble! Feel fear!
Come only if you dare!
.
Digging rocks and boulders
(Putting bodies in the ground?)
Brenda will abuse you
Aggressively use you
Your handle’s snapping sound
Means you won’t get older.
.
Forks, do NOT come near!
Get the fork out of here!
Shawn L. Bird 