Week 3 Response: The World Around Me
This was my first attempt at writing poem, knowing that others will see it and give critical feedback from. I say that because, at school, we all had to attempt at writing poems without having to show our peers. So, because this was my first attempt, I was pretty nervous. I read Banjo Patterson’s ‘The Man From Snowy River’ (Jose) over and over again until, finally, a poem had been created inside my head. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was typing until I had finished and I liked it. It felt like I was reading a poem that was written from someone else. We were told to create a poem, using a line from one of Patterson’s poems and base it on our own experience. This poem came to be because, even though we are surrounded by so much beauty both man-made and natural, the world IS dangerous and feared. The beauty is almost an illusion that covers up the dangers that surround us. So, next time you smell a rose, keep a look out for it’s thorns.
The World Around Me
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
I can see the world around me,
It’s beauty, all a lie.
I wonder how such beautiful flowers prepare to sleep at night,
When all that surrounds them
Is danger—a fright.
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
I can hear the world around me,
Its lullaby is a lie.
I wonder how the birds can sing such peace at night,
When all that surrounds them
Is danger—a fright.
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
I can taste the world around me,
The sweet air is all a lie.
I wonder how the breeze could move with such life,
When all that surrounds it
Is danger—a fright.
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
I can feel the world around me,
Its cold hands are not a lie.
I wonder how it has become so cold.
But I remember what surrounds it
Is danger—it’s taken hold.
Silvano Pagano 