Both Boys.
One White.
One Black.
The difference, however, is not colour.
Here stands a boy;
A brother just like every other.
TV is but who he is a follower.
A big phat sweatshirt whose name is Echo.
Then jeans that are much too big for this fellow.
His shoes are new with no dirt in view.
His baseball cap sideways,
With a tag from his crew.
All of his attire is what he desires.
But only he, and the people on TV,
Care that his socks are Nike.
Standing there beside him is his friend.
This boy in a very different trend.
This, also, seen on TV.
But different from his buddy, homey G.
A boy who thinks he is like no other,
Rebellion is what he has discovered.
However, his ripped t-shirt,
From the time of Siskel and Ebert,
Is also a fancy of many.
On his feet are high tops and no socks.
The difference these mates create,
Is nothing but different family traits.
Why is style so important?
For boys to express their emotion?
When who you are is what you say.
What you wear is simply
Foreplay for the eye of a potential soul mate.
-Catherine Eagles
This poem I wrote, oh geeze, probably almost 10 years ago now! Whoa I'm old! Anyways, I was working at a hot dog stand at the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, I was bored and noticed these two boys and a poem sprang out of nowhere. I had never written any poetry, but this came to me as I was observing these gentlemen. I wrote another poem that day, but I can't find it. That was the extent of my poetry writing to this day!
I think this tells me that anyone can be a poet! This poem I'm sure does not follow any kind of poetry rules but to me it is poetry. I think to engage ALL students in poetry, there must be some freedom. I don't believe there are borders to what poetry can be. Release poetry from its cage! haha.
Thanks for sharing this. I often see poetic moments in life but lack the confidence to write them down. When I start to write I think it sounds dumb and I stop, and I think many students don't feel comfortable writing poetry for similar reasons. I agree that student need to be free in some of their writing, but for some students I'm just not sure how to teach them to be free. (If that makes sense...)
ReplyDeleteThat was really good Cat. I have no knowledge of poetry whatsoever (poetry generally doesn't do anything for me, with a select few exceptions), but I find myself able to picture this scene in my head as I read it.
ReplyDeleteHow to teach students to be or think free totally makes sense to me and I think it is something that can sometimes be easier said than done. While I haven't taught poetry before, I did teach several writing lessons last semester and one thing I always tried to do was let students choose their own topic. For many of the students, this strategy worked well. However, there were a few students in the class that really struggled with the freedom. They were bright students but they just weren't able to succeed without the structure of being told exactly what to do. I find I also fit into that category, even at the university level. I think that poetry may be a great tool to teach students who struggle with freedom and choice to just let go and write how they feel or think.
I also like you username. Cat-train!!!!
How can welearn to see ourselves as creative people who have the right/duty to express ourselves in poetry, song, art, dance whenever inspiration strikes? (i.e. to live fully with access to all modes of human expression). First, we need to do more of it in our formative years! And then continue as we get older and busier! And yes, our teachers and parents can help by 1) inviting us to make choices - even choosing is a skill that needs practice, 2) inviting us to try lots of new things, 3) not telling us that any of it is "wrong" or a waste of time!!!! Just a few thoughts on cultivating creativity in ourselves and others!
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