As a part of my Poetry SLAM project, I had to compose six original poems that fit into certain outlines. I wrote a self-portrait poem, a sonnet, a haiku, sestina, a villanelle, and an “Inside this”. Throughout this project, I learned more about my personal writing and noticed some patterns in the themes and word choice I used. I think my favorite style of poem was the Haiku because it’s kind of mysterious and you can hide a deeper meaning even in just three simple sentences. The only thing I found challenging about some of these poems was coming up lines that fit the poem structure. Especially the Sonnet and Sestina, where you had to have a certain amount of rhyming lines and syllables. Listed below are the poems that I have written.
Self-Portrait: by June Patton
My brain is like a thunderstorm with thoughts striking every second.
My eyes are like lost travelers, their gaze always wandering.
My mouth is a leaky faucet with words spilling out.
My life is a staircase, each day is another step.
My heart holds passion as colorful as Christmas lights.
I live in a story
And eat up its words.
Haiku: by June Patton
You’re climbing the tree
Clinging to its sprawling limbs
You’re falling back down
Inside This: by June Patton
Inside This Box
Inside this box
there is something so precious
so delicate
that merely lifting its lid
would destroy it
Inside this box
something so fragile lies
that once you set it free,
it just as quickly dies
If I were to open it
to reveal the contents
Inside this box
the contents would slide out
quick as a fox
and something new would come rushing in
I’d never catch the contents again
Inside this box is something
never before contained
It’s presence baffling
Astounding
Magnificent
Inside this box
is simply nothing.
Villanelle: by June Patton
Winter Tale
My dear it’s starting to snow
The winter air is bitter and cold
Hold me close and don’t let go
Forgotten words start to flow
Listen to the story unfold
My dear it’s starting to snow
The moon rose high and the sun sat low
Through miles and miles of winter, we’d strolled
Hold me close and don’t go
The wind was harsh and hard and though
We walked together strong and bold
My dear it’s starting to snow
Safe at home where the wind can’t blow
The fire dances with flames of gold
Hold me close and don’t let go
And though this all was long ago
Still just as the story foretold
My dear it’s starting to snow
Hold me close and don’t let go
Sestina: by June Patton
Walking On
When we see the world we don’t see it
We only hear what we want to hear
We walk on past the troubles
Ignoring the tears
That others may shed, going on
As if we cannot see
We walk around blind even though we can see
Roaming the Earth without knowing it
With our hands over our eyes, stumbling on.
When somebody cries, it’s like we don’t hear
They just aren’t there, invisible tears
Nobody cares for other people’s troubles
We all have our own troubles
That no one else can see
We all cry secret tears
And are afraid, though we don’t admit it
We are all screaming, but the world can’t hear
They are too busy walking on
It’s a lonely road we walk on
Flooded with our own sorrow and troubles
Other people are walking too, but they cannot hear
Our silent screams, no, they cannot see
That the road may be lonely but we all travel it
We are all drowning in tears
But if others were to dry those tears
Become a shoulder to lean on
Someone would be there when you need it
We could recognize and solve the troubles
Which before we could not see
Calm the silent screams we couldn’t hear
We need to hear the silent screams, to stop just walking on.
To see the troubles and the secret tears.
If we open our eyes we can see rather than stumbling past it.
Sonnet: By June Patton
King of Cats
Effortless he lay above the alley
His plumed tail slowly batting side to side
As a king stands high atop his valley,
Watching over his subjects, satisfied
His silken soft head bore no golden crown
Yet other cats seemed to bow down to him
His fur coat an elegant velvet gown
With emerald eyes that never grew dim
His quiet mew a ferocious roar
Heard clear through his kingdom as it echoes
Such a feline has never been known before
After him, every cat, blindly follows
His mighty throne rises into the skies
Gently atop it, the King of Cats lies