Writing Poetry the quick and fun way:
The Ten Minute Poetry Challenge!
I stumbled upon a poem called ‘Good Books’ by Edgar Guest while sitting in my dentist’s waiting room this morning and it made me realise something: I haven’t written - or even read - a single poem in ages!
So, while I was
sitting there I decided to try a ‘Ten Minute Poetry Challenge’ (I’m sure I’m not the first person to have such an idea ;-).
It involves having 30
seconds to quickly think of a topic and decide on which type of poem you’re
going to write, and then use the rest of the ten minutes to actually write the
poem. Try to give yourself at least a full minute before the end to read
through and check for any basic errors. Then think of a title and hey
presto, your poem is born!
And remember, while you are writing poetry, you are
a poet. Maybe not a professional one, but at that moment you’re a poet
nonetheless!
Here is my effort
from the waiting room earlier today, called ‘Remember Your Shadow’:
Shadows
are scary when you don’t know
What
they belong to or where they’ll go
They
change shape throughout the day
They
have no name but they never stray
Yet
they disappear in the dark
And
it’s difficult to see one from a shark
Shadows
follow you around the park
But they
never ever leave a mark
You’re
never alone when you’re with your shadow
But
people forget, or just don’t know
Sometimes
they walk right over it
Even
if they didn’t mean to do it
You
can make your shadow climb the wall
Or use
it to make your hands into a ball
Watch
it grow across the hall
Rise
up to the ceiling, then quickly fall
Shadows
can change
You
can watch them rearrange
They
can warn you
They
can cover you
They
can shelter you
They
can scare you
Some
have two heads
They
can even have three legs
Others
look like giant birds
Or
like buffalo travelling in herds
Well,
my ten minutes have now passed
No
more shadow poetry will I cast
After
reading this, please remember your shadow
It’s
the one thing that sticks with you, wherever you go...
If you think this one isn't so bad, there a couple of 'bonus poems' I spent more than ten minutes on in my 'Smell of Poo' Children's Story Book Collection, here:
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| 'The Smell of Poo' poems: 'Your Poo & You' + 'Who Dunnit?' |
Coming from Liverpool,
I’ve always been aware of poetry and a ‘poetry scene'. I think it takes
courage to recite your own work in public.
Here’s what happened when writer Marcel Theroux – son of acclaimed travel author PaulTheroux and brother of brilliant TV journalist Louis Theroux – came to
Liverpool to write and perform some poetry:
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| Marcel Theroux tries live Poetry in Liverpool |
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| Liverpool Poets |
Here are some other
links that might help inspire you:
"Top 100 famous and best poems of all time about life, love and friendship. Read the 100 most popular and greatest poems and limericks ever written in English poetry by famous poets all over the world"
Why not have a go at
the ‘Ten Minute Poetry Challenge’ and share your work here? You can do it anywhere,
whether in your break at work or school, while sitting on the sofa at home, or
even when you stop along the way outside wherever you are, be it a park, cafe, waterfront, you name it..
Let your surroundings
inspire you. You don’t even have to read it to anyone, just have fun with it,
it’s a great creative outlet – though the trickiest thing can be rhyming, in
which case you can cheat a little by visiting here:
 |
| Find a rhyme at the Rhyme Zone |
If you want a few
hints and tips, go to the ‘For Poets’ page to help start you off...
 |
| The writer's guide to Poetry |
Take care, enjoy, and happy writing!!!
