'If called by a panther, don't anther'

The just concluded month of November is routinely suffused with emotions for children, considering we celebrate Children’s Day both nationally (November 14) and internationally (November 20) during the month. Never mind that the rest of the year, so many of us keep at them for better grades, achievements, behaviour...

This year, the jollification seemed especially obscene. Celebrating the cause while multitudes of children will not have the chance to celebrate their birthdays is saddening to so many of us. I was struck by the sheer force of Mariana Llanos’s ‘The Line of Fire’. The poet says, “our children in the line of fire/scrambling for their lives/while we dreamily polish our guns...”

While it often feels hopeless and bleak, it is always a good idea to focus on the children and keep their interests and well-being front and centre; not just on the day dedicated to them, but all the time, and every time.

In times of despair, I find poetry about children and for children charming and consoling. I think one of the first poems I read was this limerick by Edward Lear, “There was an Old Man with a beard,/ Who said, “It is just as I feared!—/ Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,/Have all built their nests in my beard.” The limerick was accompanied by an illustration of an old man, his beard home to these adorable creatures. I was fascinated.

As writing for children often does, poetry, too, carries the truth of the world. I smiled when I read ‘Poetry is My Underwear’ by April Halprin Wayland because it echoed many students’ feelings. From requests to read their work only when I get home and not in class to polite warnings about their work not being good enough, children often feel extremely embarrassed to share their work. “My sister found them./Read them out loud./She’s so proud,/she’s running to our parents/ waving my poems in the air./Doesn’t she know/she’s waving my underwear?”

There’s something almost magical about introducing poetry to young minds. I am enthralled by their filter-free, imagination-soaring-high interpretations of the work I share with them. As a big believer in the power of poetry, I can think of many benefits of introducing poetry to children. For starters, there’s all the vocabulary they can learn from the poems. It’s one of the reasons I began writing — as a way to capture the words in the poetry I was enjoying.

Then there’s the question of ‘mouth-feel,’ that lovely sensation that fills our voices and throats as we recite poems we love. I admit, I am partial to rhyme in this regard — there is something to be said about the lilt and line of rhythmic poetry, but any poem will do, as long as the child enjoys reading it aloud. I recall my friends and I swapping limericks with much glee and delight. (Here is a new one I wish I could share with them: “I know a young fellow named Vin, / Who is really remarkably thin. / When he carries a pole, / People say, “Bless my soul! / What a shock to find out you’ve a twin.”)

Poetry also has the remarkable ability to bring forth serious themes without browbeating the reader. This is especially useful with children. Poems for kids talk about themes such as racism, bullying, depression, and self-image. Frequently, these poems are written by children, making for an instant connection.

Note: The headline is a quote from an Ogden Nash poem ‘The Panther’. 

World in Verse is a monthly column on the best of new (and old) poetry. The writer is a poet, teacher, voice actor and speaker. She has published two collections of poetry. Send your thoughts to her at [e-mail]