Fun with Poetry
Why not have a go at writing some fun badgery poems? Follow the hints and tips below
and see what you can do. (We‟d be really thrilled if you sent some of your poems to
us.)
Narrative poem: a narrative poem tells a story.
Example: The badger stops and tests the air
Head held high to catch a sound
A deer barks across the wood
And the badger snorts and goes to ground.
G. Temby
Deep in the sett, the air is warm
Cubs squirm and open eyes
Mother rolls and lets them feed
Alert to shrill and hungry cries
The February air is cold
A frost on woodland floor still lies
But in the sett the badgers doze
Their floor of bracken soft and dry
G. Temby
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Haiku: Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. The poem has three lines and 17 syllables in total in
the pattern of 5,7,5.
Read this haiku.
Strong wind blows the scent
Two men slip into the wood
As darkness creeps in
sets the scene
what happens
when
G. Temby
Count the syllables.
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Total
A haiku is usually about nature. Why not try your hand at Haiku?
Syllables
Kennings:
‘Kenning’ is an Old Norse word. It is a phrase in
a poem that is used instead of the proper name
for something.
Here are a few examples:
fish-road = river
earth-home = badger sett
worm-digger = badger
night-hooter = owl
Why not try to make up four other kennings to do with badgers and nature? Show them
to your family or a friend and see if they can work out their meanings.
Can you put your new kennings into a poem?
Metaphors: a metaphor is when a writer describes something as if it were really something
else.
The Moon rose, a silvery coin in the darkening sky,
As the Sun dripped its molten gold into the far horizon.
G. Temby
A similie is similar (pun, pun!) to a metaphor. It says that
something is „like‟ something.
The Moon was LIKE a silvery coin,
As it rose into the darkened sky.
The Sun dripped LIKE molten gold,
Into the far horizon. Get it? Now try some wildlife metaphors and similes of your own.
(Figurative language: Figurative language is when you use a metaphor or simile to create a particular
impression or mood.)
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Personification: Personification is a form of metaphor in which we relate human action,
motivation and emotion to non-human things.
The wind sang mournfully through the
dancing trees
Darkness wrapped its blanket
around me
A gentle rain stroked my glowing
cheek
As I sat patiently till badgers stirred.
G. Temby
Could you write some personification like this? Why
not have a go with something natural. (The weather is
always a good idea!)
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Alliteration: Alliteration is when we use one letter to give us the same sound in lines of
poetry.
Brock the badger bowled across the busy by-pass.
Worms wiggled and waved in the wood.
G. Temby
You can often use numbers in alliteration.
„Two terrible toads‟
„Five fighting foxes‟
„Six slithery snakes‟
Why don‟t you try to write an alliterative poem?
Tall trees tower in the twilight
Brock Badger bustles through bluebells
His snout snuffles
His eyes and ears erect
He forages on the forest floor
G. Temby
Limericks: A limerick is a silly poem with five lines. They are often funny or nonsensical.
How to write a limerick:
The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables
(around 8 or 9). The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number
of syllables (around 5 or 6).
Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."
There once was a badger called Brock,
Who woke up and looked at the clock.
He was too late
To meet for a date
So he cooked up some worms in a wok
G. Temby
Why don‟t you try to write some funny limericks?
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Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is when the sound of a word is similar to the sound of the thing
it describes.
These words are onomatopoeias: bang, plop, smash, growl, pop, scream, splash,
scrape, clang, slap, splash, crunch, click, whoosh, trickle, and smack
Badgers make lots of different noises. They: churr, purr, wail, chitter, kecker, growl,
snarl, yelp, grunt, squeak, snort, bark, cluck, hiss, coo and chirp.
Could you write an onomatopoeia poem like this:
The badgers emerged.
They churred and purred contentedly.
The cubs chirped at the old sow,
“We want to play!”
She growled and barked.
“Yes, ……… but not today!”
G. Temby
Go on! Have a go with some of the words above,
and as many of your own as you can.
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Calligrams:
In 1918, a French poet, Guillaume Apollinaire wrote a series of poems that did not look
like „ordinary‟ poems.
He called his poems the „Calligrams‟ which means „beautiful writing‟.
Sometimes the shape of the poem related to the subject of the poem. It is often called
„shape poetry‟.
Acrostic Poems: Acrostic poems use the letters of a word to begin each new line.
B y night he roams the fields
Always his head to the ground
Digging in the pasture for juicy worms
Guided by that amazing nose
Early morning dawns
Returns to his cosy sett
G. Temby
Why not try some of your own?
© Durham County Badger Group 2009
Some photos courtesy of Durham Wildlife Trust