Sunday, April 28, 2024

PAD Day 28: Kindergarten Karma

 Today's prompts:
WBP: Write a "dead" poem.
NPWM: "...try your hand at writing a sijo. This is a traditional Korean verse form. A sijo has three lines of 14-16 syllables. The first line introduces the poem’s theme, the second discusses it, and the third line, which is divided into two sentences or clauses, ends the poem – usually with some kind of twist or surprise."
PSH: "Think back to your first day of school. Remember the place, the building, the classrooms, the teacher, the other kids. Then try to get in touch with your apprehensions, fears, excitement, the feeling of becoming an adult. Examine how you felt when you let go of your mom’s or dad’s symbolic hand and walked in there alone. Was there a special person you became friends with? A teacher who loved or abused, a yard where you played, made friends or got bullied…" (Rose Mary Boehm)

I'm not sure if I have completely followed the second and third prompts, but here is my sijo. I followed the NPWM examples of translations that break the three lines up into six.

Four-Eyes

First day of kindergarten,
I was already reading,
and the only one with glasses.
Some mean kids called me "Four-eyes."
Now I need cataract surgery
and some of them are dead.


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