Primal Naked Forms of Flowers

Wordsworth once said that poetry is the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling," which should not adversely affect anyone approached with poetry. Because we all have strong feelings about life and powerful feelings about everything, the thought that I get from my students that poetry is "annoying" and "stupid" is telling me as a teacher that most people don't understand poetry and so they are dismissive.

When I share oustanding poems like "Two in the Campagna" by Robert Browning and "Song" by W.H. Auden - my students engage in the discussion about melancholy and the finite nature of humans - even if love is characterized as infinite. They giggle when I emphasize such bodice-ripping lines as "such primal naked forms of flowers, /such letting nature have it's way, /while heaven looks from it's towers!" But it's not the passion, it is the realization that their teacher just said "naked."

Billy Collins has been my main inspiration for poetry in the classroom through his Poetry 180 project through the Library of Congress and Collins' work as the former Poet Laureate of the United States. He understands that there is poetry out there that will inspire teenagers - with language that is theirs.

I am drained, being late May, having worked very hard to teach the beauty of poetry...I am certainly not feeling poetic as you read this blog...my joy in the play of language has chilled today but will be refreshed - someday.

There will be more in the future...please help me out by sending links to poems you enjoy that aren't the "dead white guys in tights" and will speak to the high school student in doubt....

Thanks and onward.