Poem: A political ghost flew, ruining my view

Poetry & Writing

The wheat it rises fast by summer late

Honey yellow melting into rich gold

Yet now, streaking through the swaying barley

Comes ex-P.M. from Euro state of old

Fleeing worldly problems and past mistakes

With childish abandon and youth-lost glee

Surprised, then angry; next, aloud thinks I:

“Well, that’s stained this golden moment for me!”

Credit: news.ctgn.com

Somehow, this silly little poem (about former UK Prime Minister Theresa May running through one of the fields of wheat outside my home) felt best suited to the sonnet form (of somewhat loosely – see below).

For context, here is May’s past form, regarding running through fields of wheat.

Please don’t judge my efforts too harshly. It is my first attempt at writing in this form since secondary school (twenty years ago). I most definitely haven’t adhered to the ‘galloping’ rhythm of traditional Iambic Pentameter (5 pairs of syllables per lone, going weak-strong each time). This would have been a strict requirement for stage actors reciting these lines (usually as dialogue) in Elizabethan age plays, most famously those penned by William Shakespeare.

However, I’m not Shakespeare, Marlowe or any sonnet writer of any note, by any stretch – that much should be clear by now! I’m just a bored dad trying to get his youngest child (currently teething) to sleep by taking them out in the buggy for an evening walk…

A poor attempt at a Saturday morning Haiku

Poetry & Writing

I once took part in some writing seminars with a local author, who suggested writing a Haiku a day. In their opinion, the short form of this style of poetry (three lines of 5-7-5 syllables) was a great way to practice the distillation of a thought or mood into a very short set of phrases.

Here is one that developed in my mind as I finally roused in the shower:

I’m up for the day

Six A.M. on a weekend

Both children are up

But then I realised that there was no reference to nature, so this is not a Haiku in the classic sense.

The general ‘rules’ for a traditional Haiku are loosely as follows:

  • A focus on nature or the seasons
  • The juxtaposition of two subjects (something natural and something human-made, for example) a
  • A contemplative or wistful tone
  • Impressionistic brevity (no superfluous words)
  • Emphasis on imagery over exposition
  • Avoidance of metaphor and similes
  • Non-rhyming lines

I might attempt more Haiku poems in future. I remember finding the exercise useful, even if I am a little out of practice nowadays.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the Haiku form here