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-After the fatal accident January 11, 2021

Filed under: poem,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:13 pm
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There is your name

on the attendance list.

Absent: excused

Parents called in.

 

poem- begin again January 27, 2020

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:10 pm
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See the tense bodies, tentative smiles,

step through the door into new beginnings,

slip into a new desk, a new view,

ready?

Stretch understandings,

begin again!

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(ignore any ads put here by WordPress. I do not endorse them)

 

poem-time traveler November 1, 2019

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:10 am
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Boom box boy

bouncing to the smoke pit

announcing your existence-

loudly.

Stride on

Caught in a lost decade

I’m grateful as that music fades.

 

 

poem-interpretation February 6, 2018

The Lord of All Knowledge,

Gatekeeper of Truth,

says the poem means this.

Generations of readers bow

before this wisdom,

even though they don’t see it,

can’t believe it,

they just accept it.

When the poet reads

the critic’s piece,

she laughs and laughs

at the irony of such arrogant

assumptions!

Oh, student!

Good reader!

There are no errors

of interpretation in poetry!

Your experiences show you a meaning,

and if you can find lines to support,

your responses are just as valid as any critic’s.

(So the famous poet said to me,

and he should know).

 

poem- Muffin Pantoum December 10, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:25 am
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Here’s another pantoum poem, written as a demo with a class on Poetry Friday.  This was last block of the day, and one of the students wanted to go get a muffin…  Another laugh filled class as we created this poem together!

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Muffin Pantoum (C block)

Josie and Ally want a muffin;

They can’t work on empty stomachs.

Without food, they won’t do nothin’.

How about crackers and hummus?

 

They can’t work on empty stomachs

How can we ask them to?

How about crackers and hummus?

As we watched, their hunger grew.

 

How can we ask them to?

A muffin’s not too much to ask!

As we watched, their hunger grew.

They couldn’t do their tasks.

 

A muffin’s not too much to ask!

A morsel would be fine!

They couldn’t do their tasks

Oh, please! Please, let them dine!

 

A morsel would be fine!

They only need a bit of food;

Oh, please! Please, let them dine!

Josie gives us attitude.

 

They only need a bit of food

Without food, they won’t do nothing

Josie gives us attitude:

Josie and Ally want a muffin!

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(This is quite literal. When we were done, they went off and got ONE muffin that they shared).  🙂

 

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!

 

quote-attracting poets July 17, 2017

Filed under: Quotations — Shawn L. Bird @ 5:56 pm
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From The Colour Master by Aimee Bender:

…part of trying to attract those poet-men was to look a little like I had wandered onto campus by accident after having spent 10 years with the wolves behind some farm house, living off scraps and reveling in the pure air like a half-girl Mowgli, half-woman Thoreau.” p. 76

I found this quite amusing, as I had just come from the Honeymoon Bay Poetry Retreat and had spent some time with a few poet-men.

 

poem- I want to know June 6, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:22 pm
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What I want to know

is what the magical ingredient is.

What’s that essential something

that makes this kid go “WOW!”?

Not just this kid, but that kid, too.

You know how some will not be moved,

never seem to find their groove?

I want the magical ingredient for them all,

so when they’re pushed from their nests

they don’t fall, they aim for the skies with eyes

open to opportunity, head full of curiosity.

Every time I think I know the secret

I see another one sneaking by,

not willing to try or

afraid

to try?

What’s broken their curiosity?

Taught them to close out possibility?

It hurts me.

I want to know if that kid

is going to move to his groove later.

Will he save his curiosity to ride a wave

at twenty instead?

I want to see it now,

but late is better than never.

I hope when it happens,

I’ll know.

 

 

 

poem-surprises May 4, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 4:12 pm
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It still surprises me

To uncover these weaknesses

You try to so hard to cover

With bombast and bomb blasts.

Acting out to hide insecurity

Inability

And the itching awareness that

You don’t measure up.

Your brain doesn’t quite hold onto

the words

the meanings

The feelings fill you up

Fear

Frustration

Anger.

Why?

WHY!

Just because

is not enough answer.

Why?

Chemistry.

Biology.

Nature?  Nurture?

Better just say

“Because”

You didn’t win the lottery

And everything will be harder.

You’re pushing at the pull door.

But if you quit pushing against it

embrace your responsibility

For your own life,

Take it

I know it will go

Far more smoothly

For you.

You are so much stronger

than you believe

you are.

We just have to pull together.

 

 
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