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Sally Murphy, Australian author

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Poetry Friday: From the Ball of Fluff Under Your Bed

October 27, 2017 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday and I am so glad to be posting for the second Friday in a row, following a big break. This week I was lucky enough to travel to Sydney, and to visit a wonderful school called St John Vianney’s  in the suburb of Doonside.

I was there to work with two wonderful year 5 classes, and we spent much of the day reading, writing and talking about poetry. The aim was to get them to have at least one poem drafted by the end of the day. But – amazingly – nearly every child had three poems drafted or started, and every child had two whole poems drafted. That is amazing work and left me filled with joy.

So today I thought I’d share one of my poems which I shared with the children in Doonside. I wanted to model how a free verse poem can be used to explore all kinds of topics, and to see how voice can dictate what we ‘see’ in a poem, but also how it is up to the reader to interact, and it is the reader’s experience of the poem whcih ultimately determines the poem’s reception.

I chose this poem  to use, with others, because when I wrote it I thought it was a bit-of-fun poem, but one of my university colleagues, when she read it, saw it as sad because of what it says about a child fearing their parent. She wasn’t wrong, and neither was I: every reader should be allowed to have their own response to what they read. This is an important lesson for poets to learn, whether they be in year 5 or hold a doctorate in poetry.

Amway, here’s the poem. I’d love to hear your response.

From the ball of fluff under your bed

I mean you no harm.

Honestly.

I did not even mean to be here,

brought into simple existence

by your refusal to keep

this part of your bedroom tidy.

Yet here I am,

lurking behind five odd socks

last week’s homework

and a mouldy apple core

(which I wish you’d remove).

Come midnight

I will not transform into a monster

and scare you witless

or drink your blood

or mutter and moan .

No, at midnight –

and at every other hour,

come to think of it –

I will continue to be

just a ball of fluff.

But heed this warning:

even a humble ball of fluff

knows that the time is coming

when you will shake with fear.

Yes – one day,

one day soon

your mother

(perhaps lured by the smell of that apple core)

will lift the edge of your bedspread

and see

the socks

the homework

the apple core

and me.

And then there will be trouble.

(Poem Copyright Sally Murphy)

Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales. Brenda’s contribution is absolutely wonderful – and you might see, as you read it, that I was amazed we had both chosen unusual voices or narrators for our poems. Head over there to see what other poetry goodness is being shared in the blogosphere. Have a great Friday and a great week to come.

Poetry Friday: Spring Is Here

September 4, 2015 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday and, here in Australia at least, it is Spring! Not being a winter person, I have been looking forward to Spring for weeks – months even.

So, of course, today I want to share a poem about Spring. A few weeks back Heidi from My Juicy Little Universe hosted Poetry Friday, and shared a poem mourning the ending of summer. You can read her poem here.  I loved the form of her poem so much that I wanted to experiment with it for myself. I  set myself an extra challenge of using one rhyme sound for each stanza, just to see if I could. Here is my effort:

Spring is Here!

Birds are tweeting. Spring is here

Lambs are bleating. Spring is here

Cold is fleeting. Spring is here.

Sun is greeting. Spring is here.

Willie wagtail

No more shivering

No more dithering

No more quivering

Spring is here!

 

Leaves are greening. Spring is here.

Birds are preening. Spring is here.

Folks are cleaning. Spring is here.

Garden tools leaning. Spring is here

 

No more complaining

No cold raining

Or chill blaining

Spring is here!

 

Magpies singing. Spring is here.

Kids are swinging. Spring is here

Spring is springing! Spring is here.

Yes spring

spring

spring

is finally here!

(Copyright Sally Murphy 2015)

Thanks so much to Heidi for the inspiration.

Poetry Friday today is hosted by Teacher Dance. Head over there for a round up of all the Poetry Friday goodness.

Poetry Friday: Singapore, Salad, and Sally’s Stance on Poetry

June 12, 2015 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday and I’m glad to be back. Last week I missed posting on Friday – but I had a really good excuse. I was in Singapore, attending the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), as well as checking out this amazing city, which I had not visited before.

At the AFCC I participated in two panel sessions, ran an eight hour masterclass (on the subject of book reviewing) and also presented a one hour session on the value of poetry and verse novels. So, because it’s Poetry Friday, I thought I would share a poem which I shared in that session, and talk a little bit about why I shared it.

This is my first published poem for children which appeared in the School Magazine in 2002:

Summer Salad

Cool

Crisp

Crunchy

Carrot

 

Luscious

Leafy

Lacy

Lettuce

 

Delicious

Delectable

Delightful

Dressing

 

Summer Salad

     (Copyright Sally Murphy)

I shared this poem in my session for two reasons: firstly, because it is special to me as my first published children’s poem, and secondly, because I was talking about why we share poems with children.

My feeling is that, even in the educational setting, poetry should be fun. Summer Salad could be used for lessons on healthy eating, or alliteration, or even to begin a writing exercise (crafting a list poem).

But, when children read it, what I hope is that first and foremost they will enjoy the way it plays with words, using vocabulary which is interesting and, perhaps, unfamiliar. Words like ‘luscious’, and ‘delectable’ might be new to child readers, and so the poem invites them to find out what they are, to enjoy playing with these words.

If all we want to do is use poetry to teach stuff, then I may as well have written:

Eating healthy salad

Is very good for you

You should go and find

A lettuce leaf to chew!

(copyright Sally Murphy)

Bleh. Writing poetry (and sharing it with children in or out of the classroom) should not be a cynical exercise in force feeding them poetry OR salad.

If we write poetry that invites readers to connect with the topic, with the language, with the emotions expressed, educational benefits are likely to follow. But the pleasure should be foremost!

Have a great Friday. You can see more poetry posts at the roundup, which this week is hosted at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.

Copyright Sally Murphy © 2022