sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Poetry Friday: Poetry Poor No More

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Who would have thought that sharing one of my older poems would turn into a series of posts? Two weeks ago I shared The Newspaper, and talked a little about how older poems might still resonate even though aspects of them might age. The comments on this post, and a delightful poem about Poetry Hoarding became the subject of last week’s post. Again, lots of discussion ensued, and a comment by Linda Mitchell wouldn’t leave me alone. Linda said, in her comment, that she grew up ‘poetry poor’.

Ooooh. That phrase!  It would not leave me alone. Such a poetic turn of phrase to describe a sad lack of poetry experiences in her early years. Luckily, she is now surrounded by poetry. So, Linda, here’s a poem for you, inspired by that phrase.

 

For Linda

 

She was poetry poor   

No rhyme nor reason

Nor a single metaphor

 

Now she’s poetry rich

With pace and rhyme and rhythm

In perfect, harmonic pitch

 

Now she’s poetry wealthy

Her simile’s superb

Her cadence always healthy

 

Now she’s poetry wise

With onomatopoeia

And alliteration in her eyes.

 

(Poem copyright Sally Murphy, 2017)

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on poetry in general, and on what we can do as educators, poets, parents, to ensure children don’t grow up poetry poor.

This week’s Poetry Friday roundup is hosted by Carol at Carol’s Corner. Pop over there for a wealth of poetry links.

Comments

  6. Wonderful to see that Linda M.’s words sparked something important for us all to love: being ‘poetry rich’ is wealth we cherish. Thanks, Sally!

    • Thanks Michelle. I love it too – especially since my daughter helped me bring my vision to life.
      Glad you liked the poem, too.

  8. A lovely poem of growth into poetry wealth. I resonate with this poem, too. I didn’t even know a person could be a kids’ poet when I started my blog. I was kids poetry zero!

  9. I love it when Poetry Friday posts spark poems! And this one is quite the celebration. Thank you for writing it. Indeed, we are blessed by poetry. xo

  10. First of all — I love the new look of your website!!

    And WOW, what an amazing tribute to the power of poetry! A gift for Linda, but a truth for all of us to remember. Poetry truly enriches the lives of our students. We owe it to them to include poetry in our reading/writing workshops!

    • Thanks Mary. The new look came from a combination of a photo snapped by a friend at a book event, and the thought to get it layered (by my clever daughter) onto a starry background.
      And thanks re the poem. It was fun to write- that phrase just wouldn’t leave me alone until I’d turned it into a poem.

  11. Oh, my goodness! What a fun and utter surprise to wake up and find this poem this morning. I love it! I’d show you my smile….but I’m still in my bathrobe and unwashed, uncombed face.
    But, you are right….the difference between poetry poor and poetry wealthy is words, sounds, metaphor, rhythm. The best part is, poetry wealth costs so little and is so sumptuous an experience.

    Thanks for the great post!

    • So glad you liked it, Linda. And thanks for the prompt. That phrase will stay with me for a long time

  12. It’s sad to think that still so many kids are growing up poetry poor. But wow – what a success story Linda is! She is certainly making us all poetry rich with her investment in creativity! Great poem, Sally!

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