A poem can be any length that you choose. The longest poem in memory is Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” with over 1400 lines. We’ll save that one for another column. Today, we’ll focus on short poems.
Logically, shorter poems might seem to be easier, but in fact they can be deep and dense. In just a few lines, the poet needs to condense (concentrate) a lifetime of wisdom and experience into a single, small observation. This is also true of the famous style of Japanese poetry called “Haiku” that is limited to exactly seventeen syllables in just three lines.
This column introduces the concept of “pocket poems.” Pocket poems can be written down on a small piece of paper and carried in your wallet or purse, just like an identity card. Indeed, the poem you carry in your pocket tells a lot about who you really are inside.
Here is a collection of “pocket poems” from a holiday in northern Thailand.
Temple of a Thousand Stars
Within the temple of a thousand stars
Beauty and peace share the light
Shining into the valleys where we reside
Wildflower
The Wildflower seeks most
To remain unnamed
The River’s Grace
Children are the river’s grace;
Feed them on the good earth’s soil
Not of her captive blood
Song
There are many truths that only a river could know
Sit, in silence, my friend, and listen to her sing
Colour
Colour Loves you more than you could ever dream
Listen to Colours with wild, floral passion
Silence
Mountain silence, my friend, is salvation
Wisdom needs not Thought, but silence
Silence, my friend.
Silence: My Friend.
Whisper
Whisper River to me now
Bathe me with your solemn vow
That you will never rise to destroy
All the cities founded on your shores
Bless me River, for I know you know
Listen
Did Listen want another dream
Or was that Chorus begging to be Loved?
Whistle
Butterfly, though she never whistles,
Paints a candid melody upon my soul
Age
Which ancient muddy stream
In all its wiggling, waggling charm
Drops a tear over the wrinkles on its face?
Dance
If I could dance like you
I’d be a solemn butterfly
Leaf
Which leaf has never fallen?
Which leaf will be next?
Can you love me?
Peace
Peace is that music where the farmer’s toil
And the songbird’s dream
Meet at the horizon at dusk
Feather
The chariots of the working class
Labour beneath the sweating sun,
Whose calloused hands
Contain the salvation of a feather
Snake
The water snake paints
A delicately squirming smile
On the ever flowing river
Of a mountain’s face
Charm
No star has ever tasted this river’s charm
Nor boy touched the inner galaxy of truth
The two shall meet, eternally
Saviour
A candle on a starless tropical night is a saviour
While oxygen on a tree-less planet
Will too soon know the value of war
Select your favourite poem from this column and carry it in your wallet or bag. It is also fun to collect pocket poems by gathering quotes from poetry books or the Internet.
For your own creativity, carry a few blank cards that fit easily into your purse or wallet. Use the cards for writing down “poetic moments” that happen to you. Challenge yourself to say something interesting in a very limited space.