poetry

Pandemic Poetry–2021 Edition, #9

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment

Today’s poem is a bop. The rules for a bop are intriguing:

Stanza 1: 6 lines long, introduces a problem.
Stanza 2: 8 lines long, elaborates on the problem.
Stanza 3: 6 lines long, solves (or describes a failed solution to) the problem.
After each stanza is a 1-line refrain.
There are no requirements of line length, rhyme or rhythm. Just enough structure to inspire.

I zone out as
the meeting drags on.
Someone’s turned their
video off, someone’s left
their audio on.
The awkward online dance.

The sun shines brighter outside.

Would anyone notice
if I stepped out
to water the plants,
feed the cat
weed the garden?
Would anyone care?
Would they envy
my boldness?

The sun shines brighter outside.

Video off, audio on mute
I tiptoe out,
giggling as I go.
The air is warm.
Flowers nod their greeting
as I reach for the garden gloves.

The sun shines brighter outside.

Pandemic Poetry–2021 Edition, #8

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
pansies in a pot

Another glorious spring-like day today. I suspect it will require me to spend the afternoon in the garden again. If I’m not careful I’ll get ahead of schedule for my springtime prep. Or maybe I just won’t end up behind schedule like usual. 

The garden is weeded and clean.
We’ve read all the books we can borrow.
We’ve polished the floors to a sheen.
Now what will we do tomorrow?

Pandemic Poetry–2021 edition, #7

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
garden
Yesterday’s accomplishment–a relatively weed-free winter garden.

This poem was inspired by how little writing I got done yesterday. The weather was so beautiful, the day required three walks and four hours working in the garden. The garden’s looking great, but I do need to try to focus more today.

Hot Desking at Home

Who gets the desk?
The dining room table?
I’ll take a window whenever I’m able.

Who’s got a meeting
And needs a closed door?
Maybe I can work here on the floor.

Who’s making coffee
At quarter to nine?
I’d like milk and sugar in mine.

Who’s going out
For a short walk?
I’ll come along, we’ll have a nice talk.

Who’s having lunch
Just before noon?
I’ll finish this meeting and be there soon.

Who took their laptop
Out in the sun?
A few more pages and then I’ll be done.

Who’s gotten nothing
Accomplished all day?
I thought we’d do better working this way.

Pandemic Poetry–2021 edition, #6

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment

It’s a gorgeous day here. I intend to take full advantage of lockdown and spend my afternoon in the garden. 

I thought I’d play around with different poetry styles this week, since Friday is National Poetry Day. Today’s is a Dansa. The Dansa structure: the first stanza is 5 lines, with the last line a repeat of line 1, and the rhyme pattern AbbaA; subsequent stanzas are 4-lines long, with the first line repeated as the last line of each stanza, with the rhyme sequence bbaA. 

Work together by staying apart.
Free from our bubbles for nearly a year
Spared the worry, sickness and fear
That gripped the world right from the start
Work together by staying apart.

Vaccinate is what we must do
Because this thing is more than the flu.
Protect the ones dear to your heart.
Work together by staying apart.

Wear a mask whenever you’re out.
Stay home if you can, and please don’t flout
The rules, ‘cause they’ll work if we all do our part.
Work together by staying apart.

Have fun with your bubble
Though the kids give you trouble.
Bake a cake, some bread, or a tart.
Work together by staying apart.

Walk the dog, play a game
Read a book, try to tame

A pet dragon, throw a ball or some darts.
Work together by staying apart.

Pandemic Poetry–2021 Edition, #5

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
daffodils in bud
Spring blooms are on their way!

In spite of lockdown, spring continues to show itself. Daffodils are blooming, and tree buds are swelling. I spent yesterday morning planting vegetable seeds, kicking off my gardening season for the year. So life is not all bad, stuck here at home with plants to tend.

The northwest wind cries Spring!
And the magpies, they all start to sing.
It’s hard to be sad
And think everything’s bad,
When nature is having a fling.

Pandemic Poetry–Part 2, #4

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
Baking time!

With 11 new cases in one day, and the virus spreading outside of Auckland, we knew what yesterday’s announcement from the prime minister would be. My only surprise was how short the initial extension was. I don’t think any of us really expects to be out of lockdown in less than a week.

Stay safe everyone. Wear your mask and wash your hands!

Three days locked down aren’t enough.
to crush that new virus is tough.
Spend a few days more
Behind your closed door
’Til the virus runs off in a huff.

Pandemic Poetry–2021 edition, #3

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
cat with ball on its head
We are not amused.

It’s only day 3 of lockdown and the cat is already over it. He’s annoyed that my daughter is sleeping in his bed, and I’m sitting in his chair. We’re disturbing his routine.

The cat wonders
why we are here
in his space.

Don’t you have
somewhere to go?

Go out! Go out!
 the dog barks.
Go out for a walk!

The cat flicks his tail
and shows us the door.

Pandemic Poetry–2021 edition, day 2

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
unicorn pool toy
Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

Yesterday’s writing went poorly, as I might have expected. But the weather was crisp, and our lockdown walk was a highlight of the day. 

Kia kaha New Zealand. Our bodies may be stuck at home, but our imagination doesn’t need to be.

A lockdown walk
Is a great time to talk
Of fantasy, fiction and fun.

If you had useless powers
What would they be?
Where would you go
If travel were free?

If the cat could speak
What would he say?
What would you do as
PM for a day?

If the sky were pink
And unicorns flew
Over lollipop meadows
Could you ride on them too?

If your body was stuck,
As surely it is,
In a physical rut
With your mind in a fizz,

Could you picture a world
Full of magic and light
Where your spirit could soar
On the wings of a kite?

Pandemic Poetry–2021 Edition

/ Robinne Weiss / Leave a comment
cat lying on a book
The cat illustrating proper lockdown behaviour.

I had a different blog post planned for today, but at 6:20 pm yesterday, the prime minister announced we were entering lockdown today. A case of Covid was detected in the community and, as it is suspected to be the Delta variant, the entire country is locked down.

So here we are again. I am thankfully no longer living in a shed, and there’s no longer a builder’s fence along our front boundary, but this morning I made sure there was a poem posted out front. 

Kia kaha everyone. Stay safe, wear a mask, and wash your hands!

We knew it might happen,
this déjà vu.
With Delta running rampant
our options were few.

We sigh, we might grumble.
It’s surely a pain
To be stuck here in lockdown,
in bubbles again.

But the reasons are sound and
the goal is quite clear.
We’ve enjoyed some rare freedom
for over a year.

If we can hold back the virus
a little while longer,
Roll out those vaccines
so the whole nation’s stronger,

We might just escape
the tragic events—
The overworked nurses
and hospital tents—

That much of the world
has suffered this year
As Delta’s roamed widely,
spreading sickness and fear.

So take a long walk,
join that meeting online,
Just hang with your bubble.
It’ll all turn out fine.

Reap What You Sow

/ Robinne Weiss / 1 Comment

I started my pandemic poems—written with a Sharpie on scraps of building wrap and posted on the fence out front—to keep myself sane and connect with the new neighbours I’ve never met while we were in lockdown. Forty-nine days, forty-nine poems.

I wanted all the poems to be positive—a more difficult challenge than I’d hoped. Some days I wrote half a dozen poems, only to reject every one because they were grim and dark reflections of my mood. I would write until I found the light of good thoughts … sometimes I thought the positive poems would never come.

But they did. And by forcing myself to focus on the positive, I began to feel it.

And the neighbours must have felt it too. They stopped and read them silently to themselves. They read them aloud to their children. They laughed. They came by every day specifically to read the next instalment.

And I listened to them from the shed and smiled.

On Saturday I took them all down—symbolically freeing us from lockdown.

On Sunday I found this lovely note pinned to the gate. I’m still smiling.

They say you reap what you sow. Well, I’ve harvested two months of smiles from those silly poems. Almost makes me want to go back into lockdown and do it all again …

Or maybe not …