Poet’s Showcase

EXTENDED LEARNING POET’S SHOWCASE

Hannah Davis, English Teacher

In the Year 9 Extended Learning in English ECA, we looked at reverse, palindrome and specular poetry – all forms of poetry in which the poets play with structure for effect by ‘mirroring’ lines. Writing this form of poetry is incredibly difficult and takes great time and skill, but the students were up for the challenge and produced some brilliant poems – as you can see in Krista and Shruti’s powerful poem.

Theme – The Girl in the Mirror

This reverse poem, when read top to bottom, is about girl who hates how she looks because of her weight. However, when read backwards, it is about a girl who doesn’t care about her weight and knows she is still beautiful.

I hate the girl staring back at me in the mirror I refuse to believe that, I have a right to live, and the world needs me. ‘Weight is just a number’ But I believe that My weight defines who I am. People say that ‘You’re fat’ And there is no hope. Nothing will make me happy. I will never believe that I should be happy.

[READ BACKWARDS]

By Krista Shim and Shruti Zariye, Year 9

We also explored different types of ‘found poetry’ – in the ECA – when a poet creates their poem from words or phrases they have found elsewhere. The students had real fun playing with this form and finding poems in different places, including: from words they found on school displays; from words ‘collected’ from English teachers; from Trump’s speeches; and even from the school dress code! In this poem, Advi took a book she loves and recrafted it into her own beautiful piece of literature. Enjoy!

“I really like Harry Potter and I think that the writing is really good so I took a page from the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling to turn into a poem.”

a cannon blast the golden flames erupting between them light hitting both of their faces in red-glow bursts and then the world resolved itself into pain and semidarkness

the high voice shrieked and like the monster it had once commanded a terrible cry that might have burst for centuries expressed agony of a kind neither flame nor curse could cause

the shock of the moment suspends his body feeble and shrunken hit the floor with a mundane finality the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face

By Advaita (Advi) Sinha, Year 9

Art

The art of realisation, in which Agonising guilt Brings forth a Relapse of horrid Memories we thought were Gone.

Though, do not forget The art of accepting. Accepting that we cannot Navigate through a maze In a single attempt.

Allowing ourselves to instead Explore Every crack in the walls. To uncontrollably adore Every step taken Regardless of the destinationI do believe that is the most precious of them all.

Chaos is Still Beautiful

Marvel at life; For life itself is where the Unfathomable unexpectedly Strikes you.

For life is such a cacophony of thoughts, So pitiful yet Refreshing. Interesting.

For it holds things one cannot Imagine existing. It transforms, metamorphoses Both Life and death Into a glorious array of shattered glass. Each shard tragically intricate in design, Never able to return to its old self. Yet, in some marvelous way, Able to transfigure into Some different form of Art.

By Kylie Kim, Year 11