Shawn L. Bird

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

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!

 

poem- not May 11, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:05 am
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I am not enough

to fill the void.

A yawning maw,

a gaping hole,

inadequacy piled upon inadequacy

overwhelms

and I

do not have the mass

to shore up against this tide

of weakness compounded

year after year until they got here.

I am battered.

I am broken.

I am not enough.

 

poem-choose honey, hon March 9, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:23 pm
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You think

if you swell your chest

and shout with a voice that covers others’

if you argue

every word from the teacher’s mouth

that somehow you can win.

Oh, but hon,

who really has the power?

Consequences grow with your defiance

and you’re the one who loses.

The class laughs,

but it’s at you, not with you.

Biliousness and lies do not lead to success.

Trust me,

honey catches the flies

of achievement and respect.

 

 

poem- noise November 29, 2016

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:12 am
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Wherever I put you

you erupt in explosions of sound

You are a Tower of Babel

oblivious (or indifferent) to the distraction you are.

The constant cries sound like

See me! me! me!

It’d be nice if you looked at others for a while,

perhaps they need to be seen, too.

 

 

poem- pressure November 10, 2016

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:23 pm
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Deadlines

Frantic writers

Paper piles

Late work

Term tests

Blurry eyes

Tabulating

Check marks

Sore butt

Report card time.

 

poem-perverse September 23, 2016

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:39 pm
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Apparently

if you write in verse

on the provincial exam personal composition

you receive a zero,

no matter how cogent your argument

or relevant your allegory.

It’s worse that writing drivel, that doesn’t address the question!

How incredibly

perverse.

 

poem-impact July 28, 2016

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:01 pm
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We never know

what words will wrap around someone’s heart

and make a day bearable.

We never know

what actions will give strength to someone’s resolve

and encourage tomorrow.

.

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What a gift it is when someone from long ago calls to say that you made a profound difference in their life.  How humbling it is to know that we touch so many people, and to be reminded how important it is to appreciate those we meet from day to day.

 

 

quote-teach April 25, 2016

Filed under: Poetry,Quotations,Teaching — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:19 pm
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“You can’t be an art teacher until you’re an artist.  Duh.”

~Annie Liebovitz