Friday, April 13, 2007

First Grade Poem

I write poetry because
I enjoy playing with words;
putting them together like
six year olds their first day at school.

They all have quirks
that define who they are:
ribbon and lace dainties, scrappers
with scratched knuckles and knees.

Some mingle well,
others cry to go back home.
It’s the ones with a far off gaze
that tell more than letters show.

24 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

You summed it up for all us writers of verse.

How I love to dabble with words. Like a child in a candy shop.

Janice Thomson said...

Love the truth to the last lines Pat...and the subtle feeling of awe it gives.

Carol said...

So good, Pat.

floots said...

teachers often said i "lacked focus"
now i know i just had a far-off gaze
thanks pat

polona said...

so well said!

steve said...

a lot packed into those last two lines...I was mostly just scared. This is a really nice one.

Masago said...

I don't think I was a mingler, nor a gazer, more like the kid hanging around on the monkey bars, alone.

sage said...

"more than letters show" how true, good one!

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I watch this every day by many kids --- well said :)

trinitystar said...

Dreamers
those that dream and have imagination.
love the poem Pat.

Kai said...

oh i like this very much!

nRT said...

this one hits home, my son is dyslexic, he hated to read, write etc. but we had family read time until he was in 8th grade! (plus other strategies). he wanted to read the Harry Potters' but the book was just to big and intimidating. Any way, my son soon grew to love books(because he really had no choice) through out HSchool and now a college freshman is into writing. He has dreams of being a writer, his words flow. He came home crying many a day but he got up the next and mastered the WORDS, that he now loves.

daisies said...

the last two lines reminded me of my own far-off gaze that still sits with me in boardroom's doodle ...

:) beautiful ...

Katie McKenna said...

I like this... putting them together like six years olds.. haha.. so true.. like those bold coloured wooden beads... and Lincoln logs... legos...

Smiling here.... wonderfully written, Pat!

Inconsequential said...

playing with words is fun.
and stops mind failure, though sometimes seems to induce the very same.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy dancing with your words.

Neoma said...

I have one of each......children that is. One who ran to school, loved it, one who cried everyday all of kindergarten, one who was scrappy, and one who looked out the window and ignored the teacher. Oh, are we speaking about words.......haha, well all in the poet's day....some of each.....

Bill said...

W. H. Auden said he tended to discourage would-be poets who talked about the ideas they wanted to express, and to encourage those who enjoyed playing with words. That's really the heart of it, isn't it?

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Pat...good one. This is so true for me:

"It’s the ones with a far off gaze
that tell more than letters show."

dsnake1 said...

grade "A" poem here. :)

Yes said...

I found myself thinking about this poem while writing last night--words DO remind me of kids in a kindergarten class--have to chase after them, like herding cats!
A deceptively simple poem that will stay with me for a long time!

Russell Ragsdale said...

This is just beautiful, Pat. This is really one of the most haunting things you have written.

Pat Paulk said...

Gautami, that's it exactly. sometimes, I just can't decide. Thank you!!

Thanks Janice Thomson!!

Thank you Carol!!

Floots, my gaze was pretty much on the girls. Thanks!!

Thank you Polona!!

Steve, I can't imagine. Thanks!!

Vaughn, I was some of all I guess.

Thanks Sage!!

Andrew, I reckon you do. Thanks!!

Thanks Trinitystar!! A little day dreaming goes a long way.

Thank you Kai!!

Nancy, that is great!! I wish him much success.

Daisies, even in the corporate world I, too, am somewhere else--most of the time. Thank you!!

Katie, sometimes they act like very unruly 6 year olds. Thanks!!

Inconsequential, you are right!!

Retrochyld, they enjoying dancing with you!! thank you!!

Nea, it's funny how out of the same gene pool they can be so different. Thanks!!

Bill, I never knew that, but, yes I think it is. Thanks!!

Thanks Don!!

Dsnake, that's the first "A" I ever got. Thanks!!

Firebird, herding cats...that's an interesting thought. I think it captures the essence of writing perfectly. Thank you!!

Ahhh, Russsell, you make me blush. Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Well put Pat!
I was the slow learner, the late bloomer, the creative child without a backup and too many stories to share...so invented history and the teachers use to ask....
Corey what page are you on? And without a blink of an eye I would make up a page and carry on.