Seasoned
hands pluck leaves from gardens of green, black, and Oolong somewhere in China.*
Dainty white gloves lift porcelain
from delicate saucers somewhere in the Northwest.*
Production
of baking in sunlight*
Consumption of drinking on a cold
night*
Withering
and wilting invigoration bursts free
Growing and developing the passage
of time and age rapidly accelerates ???
Bruised,
beaten and torn to pieces the leaves are left alone.
Shattered and scattered the ceramic
shards are adhered back together.
Revived by
the sunlight, melding into their final form
The
fragrance is pure; Fresh and Mellow.
Lost in imagination and
daydreaming, youth is left intact
The aroma is carefree; Comforting
and Zesty.
Grown in
lush green clusters at the height of a hillside
Born of imaginary friends and
dress-up clothes
Both are elapsed threads of time.
Both are reflections of the past
and appreciations for the future.
One from
5,000 years ago
Another only 27 years young
Regarded as
a necessity on a list of seven to begin the day
Considered as an indulgence to
sooth and energize the senses ???
Respect and
an apology steeped in water
Childhood and abandonment tasted in
liquid
An anchor to memory, tradition, and
belonging
Gathered
around a teapot family ties are reestablished somewhere in China.
Gathered around a teapot floppy
ears and button noses partake in make-believe somewhere in the Northwest.
Tea is
Geography
Tea is
Culture
Tea is
Remedy
By Blakelee Kelley
In the spirit of our Ancient China poetry unit that my 6th graders are working on I wrote a poem about tea, so that I can share some of my writing with them and provide an example of what a poem about Ancient China can look like.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to compare the process of tea making and the history of tea in China to my familiar experiences with tea in the form of tea parties and childhood. I think that I have a pretty good handle on the China side of things, but I could use some help painting a better picture with the childhood/tea party side of things (for the record the childhood part is in green italics). As always any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteBlakelee....HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THESE AWESOME IDEAS????? I want to use this idea in my class as well. What a creative way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of the history content. It took me a little while to figure out what you were writing about in your "tea" poem. I liked that you kept the reader guessing until the end. (At first I thought it was essential oils that you were writing about.) I also love the idea that you have the "ancient" connected to the "modern" and the way you formatted this. I am thinking that the line "Considered as an indulgence to sooth and energize the senses" might flow better if you used a word that started with an "s" for energize to add more alliteration. stimulate? stir-up? strengthen?
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your writing. As always...a delight to read!
Blakelee, this is so interesting and fun to read! I read it one night and had to let it sit in my brain for a while. Now I'm back. I love the juxtaposition of the east and west, young and old.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line is "respect and apology steeped in water".
I wondered about this line: Regarded as a necessity on a list of seven to begin the day. What does that mean? Is there a list of 7 necessities in China?
On the line after that, I was going to suggest mellow in place of soothe, but I think I like Angelene's idea better.
I'm not sure what to suggest about the other line with the ???s. I don't really get what you're trying to say there.
It's just beautiful! So delicate! Amazing :-)
Blakelee, this is so interesting and fun to read! I read it one night and had to let it sit in my brain for a while. Now I'm back. I love the juxtaposition of the east and west, young and old.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line is "respect and apology steeped in water".
I wondered about this line: Regarded as a necessity on a list of seven to begin the day. What does that mean? Is there a list of 7 necessities in China?
On the line after that, I was going to suggest mellow in place of soothe, but I think I like Angelene's idea better.
I'm not sure what to suggest about the other line with the ???s. I don't really get what you're trying to say there.
It's just beautiful! So delicate! Amazing :-)
Hey Blakelee!
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty unique read! I enjoyed the the mixture of childhood tea party with Chinese history. I think this would have been difficult for me to do, but you make it look pretty easy. I don't have any advice to make it better as it seems creative and informing all at once. And I never experienced a tea party when I was a kid. haha. Thanks for sharing!
Cody