Fancy yourself a Poet? Even if you don’t, now’s your time to shine!

You can win yourself a fancy eduFire t-shirt, as well as a custom profile badge just for you: “The Poet”

Poems will be judged by the eduFire Interns, and can be any type of poetry.

Need some inspiration / can’t remember what kinds of poems exist out there? Check out this website.

You can post as many poems as you want. I really look forward to reading your poems. Extra points for anyone who can get William Schatner to read your poetry.

Oh, and to submit your poem, just post it right here as a reply to this topic!

Summer Nights

I go with my friends to have a great time,
They’ll do some crazy things even for a dime,
I go in my pool with the love of my life,
She’s a great woman, Maria, my wife.

We play cornhole every night with friends,
I know I’ll be with them until the end.
I work and work all day everyday,
Until I get home and then get my say.

Having fun with my kids is what it’s all about,
It’s especially fun when they don’t go and pout.
We try and try with all of our might,
To have some extraordinary summer nights.

This is my first poem in quite a while. So, be gentle. :)

eduFire is great

eduFire is great all right:
the tutors teach both day and night,
for when one’s time to sleep has come,
well then another’s day’s begun,
and they can teach till darkness falls -
there just aren’t any gaps at all.
So if you have some time to spare -
it really doesn’t matter where
or when – you’ll find a tutor who
will help you learn online to do
whatever might appeal to you,
and they’ll be kind as kind can be,
and you’ll enjoy it – come and see!

I really do want that T-shirt! :-)))

Anybody up to make a breakbeat for these?

Neato! I’d be happy to post some poems I’ve made in order to win another lovely shirt (and maybe use it to demonstrate my cutting skills in a class ::wink::).

[[removed so as not to be stolen]]

Awesome eduFire poem, Mair, bet they’ll love that! ;)

Thanks very much Laura, but I have nothing to offer which compares with your T-shirt cutting skills :)

I like your ‘Peel back the layers’ poem too, especially the ’I’ve not the voice ….’ verse.

I like this thread! :-)

Here are a pair of mine:

Dresden

I dreamt last night of rain and grass,
Here surrounded by roses at the crumbling house on the other side of the Elbe-
Up the hill, the greenery and ruins behind the rain-soaked shops.
Now the air is tranquil, cool, and moist,
the sky mild and dull,
Black, grey, and green.
Here, Dresden is not a city of cranes
About which professors can spin
Sickeningly erroneous tales on the Meaning of Authenticity,
Here, people do not crowd to gawk,
Men do not stand gravely on the walk
With Hammers and Sickles on their flags,
Tourists do not watch them while devouring expensive steaks
soaking in dark over-cooked pineapple sauces
And here I dream of Dresden
Rising up in towers and cathedrals,
Gold, soft grey, and verdigris,
Endless statues of Saints under the rain,
Before it was a rain of fire.

Ex Nihil

All Poets sing the same things: Past, Present, and/or Future–
All Poets know themselves to be currently working at becoming
Curious Relics of the Past to future generations. . .
The Beauty-hungry Romantic, the World War I soldier, the cynical modernist liking life fast and hard. . .
The Pious Saint, the Saintly Lover, the Repentant/Unrepentant Sinner,
We have known them all.
All Readers have an understanding:
Poets must either write originally on the Unoriginal,
Or unoriginally on the Original.
Subconsciously, they know that
Originality on the Original is practically nonexistent
And Unoriginality on the Unoriginal is wide-spread.
So we Poets, we repeat ourselves, we must–
We are almost making spiritual shopping lists–
And if more than bread alone is needed, it shall go on the list yet again, yet again,
And the old list is needed for careful consideration;
Our business is the memory of that which must not be forgotten.

It just now occurs to me that both of those poems mention saints (not exactly a common theme for me). . . I must have saints on the mind this evening?

Saints? I think they meant “tutors”. A natural mistake.

Well, a bit of symbolism and metaphor do go a long way * winks *

Wow Christina, I am really impressed, especially with Dresden – the ending is very moving.

I think the standard here is going to be extremely high…..

I wonder if you have heard of a poem called ‘Dresden’ by an Irish poet called Ciaran Carson. It is one of my favourite poems at the moment – I think you would appreciate it too, but unfortunately I can’t find a copy online.

Why thank you! I haven’t heard of it until now, but I certainly would like to read it!

@Christina ~ Carson is a modern poet – he teaches in Queens University, Belfast. He is not yet as famous internationally as he will be. I will keep looking and message you if I get anywhere. Meanwhile, this is one of his most famous poems, Belfast Confetti

Hmm….What ever happened to that poem I submitted on the eduFire ambassador form…? I don’t think I saved it but I wish I did! Any chance you guys still have it? Am I even allowed to submit that one?

@Joe – I have it tucked away in a safe place :) I loved that poem.

@Everyone else – extra points for making eduFire references (subtle or blatant!).

@Koichi Awesome! Glad you liked it. I don’t even remember what it said, haha. I’m pretty sure I spent a long time trying to get it ‘just right’ though, and I think I liked it when I submitted it. Glad you saved it, can it be entered into this contest?

Sure, I’ll send it to you

Thanks Koichi!

Here it is (a haiku!):

Flame of knowledge grow
Assisted by the humble
Endowed by the wind

OK. This was meant to be some kind of eulogy to Tyler, our fellow now-gone eduFirer (and as a gamer, I assume he fired a lot). I started writ…. aehm, modifying it, then inspiration quickly faded and left me stuck with an incomplete verse. I had forgotten everything about it, but when I saw this thread, my never-ending hunger for eduFire t-shirts pushed me into finishing it. Please bear in mind that, my English being self-taught, I blame all the books I’ve read for my many mistakes.

Tyler, Tyler, burning bright,
In the meanders of a site,
What immortal troll or sprite
Could frame thy fearful avatar?

In what distant tweets or skypes
Lie the rest of thy disguise?
What drawn thee into the mire?
Why’re you leaving eduFire?

And what teacher, and what class?
Would give thee info you’d amass?
And when thy game you’d surely beat,
What big boss shall thou next meet?

What the dragon, what the dungeon?
Where’d you get that plumpy pigeon?
What d’you reckon, what dread grasp,
Could its deadly talons clasp?

When the ships threw down their spores,
You hit earth with thy high scores,
Did thou smile thy mess to see?
What’re you doing up that tree?

Tyler, Tyler, burning bright,
In the meanders of a site,
What immortal troll or sprite
Dare frame thy fearful avatar?

@Giulio, That was amazing! I love it! It probably helps that I’m a gamer myself. I’m impressed that you’re self-taught in English as well, if you didn’t mention it I wouldn’t have found out, your writing is excellent.

@Mair- Thanks for the link to the poem! Carson does seem an interesting poet with a vibrant style. . . I would certainly hope that he will become better known internationally.

@Giulio- What an Edufire-appropriate take on William Blake!

@Guilio your poem is indeed extraordinary – I do hope Tyler gets to read it…..

Hmm, are there no more entries? Is there a deadline for this contest? :-)