by Janeen Brian
Over and over the bar she swung,
the wonderful whizzing in
her stomach
and her hair falling soft and slack
about her face.
Over and over she swung until
the material of her shorts
caught and the skin on her legs
squeaked hard and tight.
Over and over she swung because
upside-down was fun –
everything was a wonderland.
Blood in her head
belly in her mouth
people in the sky
and grass making straight green clouds.
Janeen says: The idea for this poem came from a strong memory of the joy I had playing on the playground equipment at primary school. We had monkeybars and a jungle gym with a ladder, swing circles, a long bar and a swing bar. I particularly remembered the fun of linking both ankles and twirling around the big bar. From one minute to the next, everything changed; the sky, the trees, children’s feet, clothing, faces! It was a delicious feeling, both the turning and the everyday sights that became extraordinary.
Janeen enjoys writing poetry; both rhyming poems and free-writing poems where there is more of a subtle rhythm. She enjoys the magic and the music of words and delights in the sharp, concise clarity of getting the exact right word. Also she loves that the idea that poetry can be a hotline to your feelings or emotions.
www.janeenbrian.com Apart from having 68 books published, Janeen has poems in 14 anthologies, two picture books in rhyming verse (The Super parp-buster! and Columbia Sneezes!) while By Jingo! and Silly Galah! also contain rhyming verses about birds and animals.
POETRY EXERCISE
What is something you like to do over and over? Read your favourite book? Hit the ball hard in cricket? Skip or skate or swim at the beach?
Write a poem that describes what you love to do - use one or two words several times to give the idea of doing it over and over. How do you feel? Try to put a sense of motion in the poem, and see if you can re-create the feeling for the reader.
No comments:
Post a Comment