Poetry

by Eleanor Farjeon

What is Poetry? Who Knows?

Not a rose, but the scent of the rose;

Not the sky, but the light in the sky;

Not the fly, but the gleam of the fly;

Not the sea, but the sound of the sea;

Not myself, but what makes me

See, hear, and feel something that prose

Cannot: and what it is who knows?1

(from Eleanor Farjeon’s Poems for Children, 1938)

 

WHAT IS A POEM?

As you read through this booklet, you may ask yourself, “What is poetry?” Ms. Farjeon helps us get started on an understanding in Poetry. Let’s take a closer look.

Poetry is a special kind of writing. It uses patterns of sound and rhythm of words to tell a story that makes the reader feel a certain way. Poems can be happy, sad, funny, or dreamy.

Sometimes poems rhyme and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes poems have rules like the haiku. A haiku has rules about how many syllables can be in each line. Some poems have sections (stanzas) and some do not. Some poems have no rules at all.

But most important, poetry is the language of imagination and feelings. It is a magical way of sharing thoughts with those who read the poems.

Get ready to engage in a magical world of poetry as you read this year’s PoPP poems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah Brownd      Grade 5

Lake Street Elementary School

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT IS A POEM?

 

As you read through this booklet, you may ask yourself, “What is poetry?” Ms. Farjeon helps us get started on an understanding in Poetry. Let’s take a closer look.

 

 

Poetry is a special kind of writing. It uses patterns of sound and rhythm of words to tell a story that makes the reader feel a certain way. Poems can be happy, sad, funny, or dreamy.

 

 

Sometimes poems rhyme and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes poems have rules like the haiku. A haiku has rules about how many syllables can be in each line. Some poems have sections (stanzas) and some do not. Some poems have no rules at all.

 

 

But most important, poetry is the language of imagination and feelings. It is a magical way of sharing thoughts with those who read the poems.

 

 

Get ready to engage in a magical world of poetry as you read this year’s PoPP poems.

 

 

 

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