A Brazen Approach

            I should first state that I am an avid supporter and reader of poetry. I also try my best to compose my own poetry. I have been working on a chapbook for the last six months, but I am definitely reserved about my talent. I believe my personal experience with poetry has helped me to better understand why it appears so difficult for most students. Poetry is not form. It is not vocabulary. Poetry is most definitely not something that can be explained entirely. It means different things to different people. I believe we must recognize how close poetry can be to someone. For this reason we should also figure out how to tie poetry in more closely with our students. One approach I have seen work is having them actually write their own poetry. Below is an example of a poem I have been working on titled “The Brazen Head.”

The Brazen Head

We don't fully comprehend the foundation,

the bricks, the mortar,

and the legends of the oldest pub in Dublin.

We drink fiercely.

Underneath stars and stone we are overtaken by the spirits of drink and dream.

Our heads full of grainy imagery from days past,

we waltz with the wonder of words once whispered within these walls.

Are we a part of history as well?

Will the Irishmen tell stories of the rowdy Americans:

the men with spotty mustaches,

the woman a bit plump?

There is no way of telling.

The dark black pints make us more honest.

We slide over to share our stories with the stone faced locals.

We clink our silver trimmed glasses

and we tend to the scroll written in the stone.

The scripture of stone rarely shows its face,

so let us have another pint.

A round for all my new friends.

If history be made let us not remember it.

            I’m not sure if this poem is effective in conveying the message I hope it will, but I do know that I’ve learned a lot from writing and reading poetry. I tend to imitate my poetic idols in one-way or another. This particular poem was inspired by the life of Dylan Thomas and the work of William Butler Yeats, who are two of my favorite poets. Thomas is an interesting character to me just because the way he lived his life. He had immense talent, but choose to throw it away at the bottle of a bottle. Yeats is probably my biggest inspiration. Something about his words just speaks to me in a way that few poets have. I study their poetry to unlock my own feelings on their subject matter, and I often style my work after theirs. This has helped me to become a better poet and to define my own style. I think activities like imitating or transcribing other poets’ work could be very valuable in the classroom. 

            Here are a few more poems I would like to use in my classroom:

W.B. Yeats “No Second Troy”

Dylan Thomas “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”

William Carlos Williams “A Celebration”

Walt Whitman “O Captain! My Captain!”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Carl Sandburg “Chicago”

Langston Hughes “The Weary Blues”

Joan Bauer “On a Flight to Cedar Rapids”