【正文】 m sel ves. In thi s text, however, we wi l l ook at a few of the sim pl er form s. Som e of the first poetry a young chi l d l earns i n Engl i sh i s nursery rhym es. These rhym es li ke the one on the ri ght (A) are sti l a mon type of chi l dren’s poetry. The l anguage i s concrete but im agi native, and they deli ght smal chi l dren because they rhym e, have strong rhythm and a l ot of repeti ti on. The poem s m ay not m ake sense and even seem contradi ctory, but they are easy to l earn and reci te. By pl ayi ng wi th the words i n nursery rhymes, chil dren l earn about l anguage. H ush, l ittle baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a m ocki ngbi rd. If that m ocki ngbi rd won’t si ng, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a di am ond ring. If that di am ond ri ng turns to brass, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a l ookinggl ass. If that l ooki nggl ass gets broke, Papa’s goi ng to buy you a bi l ygoat. If that bil lygoat runs away, Papa’s goi ng to buy you another today. One of the sim pl est kinds of poem s are those li ke B and C that li st things. Li st poems have a fl exi bl e l i ne l ength and repeated phrases which gi ve both a pattern and a rhythm to the poem . Som e rhym e (l i ke B) whil e others do not (li ke C). I saw a fi shpond al on fi re I saw a fi shpond al on fi re, I saw a house bow to a squire, I saw a person twel vefeet hi gh, I saw a cottage i n the sky, I saw a bal oon made of l ead, I saw a coffi n drop down dead, I saw two sparrows run a race, I saw two horses m aki ng l ace, I saw a gi rl just li ke a cat, I saw a ki tten wear a hat, I saw a m an who saw these too, And sai d though strange they al were true. Our fi rst footbal m atch We woul d have won… i f Jack had scored that goal, i f we’d had just a few m ore mi nutes, i f we had trai ned harder, i f Ben had passed the bal to Joe, i f we’d had thousands of fans screami ng, i f I hadn’t taken m y eye of the bal l, i f we hadn’t stayed up so l ate the ni ght before, i f we hadn’t taken it easy, i f we hadn’t run out of energy. We woul d have won… i f we’d been better! Another si m pl e form of poem that students can easil y wri te is the ci nquai n, a poem m ade up of fi ve li nes. Wi th these, students can convey a strong pi cture i n just a few words. Look at the exampl es (D and E) on the top of the next page. (D) Brother (E) Summ er Beauti ful , athl eti c Sl eepy, sal ty Teasi ng, shouti ng, l aughi ng Dryi ng, droopi ng, dreadi ng Fri end and enem y too Week i n, week out Mi ne Endl ess (F) A fal l en bl ossom (G) Snow having m el ted Is i ng back to the branch. The whol e vi l age is brim ful Look, a butterfly! O f happy chil dren. (by Mori take) (by Issa) H ai ku i s a Japanese form of poetry that i s m ade up of 17 syl abl es. It i s not a tradi ti onal form of Engli sh poetry, but i s very popul ar wi th Engl i sh writers. It is easy to wri te and, li ke the ci nquai n, can gi ve a cl ear pi cture and create a speci al feel ing usi ng the mi nim um of words. The two hai ku poems (F and G ) above are transl ations from the Japanese. Di d you know that Engli sh speakers al so enjoy other form s of Asi an poetry – Tang poem s from Chi na i n parti cul ar? A l ot of Tang poetry has been translated i nto Engl i sh. Thi s Tang poem(H ) i s a transl ati on from the Chinese. Wi th so m any di fferent form s of poetry to choose from, students m ay eventual y want to wri te poems of thei r own. It i s easi er than you mi ght thi nk and certai nl y worth a try. Where she awaits her husband O n and on the ri ver fl ows. N ever l ooki ng back, Transform ed i nto stone. Day by day upon the m ountain top, wi nd and rai n revol ve. Shoul d the travel er return, this Stone woul d utter speech. (by Wang Ji an) I’VE SAVED TH E SUMMER I’ve saved the summ er And I gi ve i t al l to you To hol d on wi nter m orni ngs When the snow i s new. I’ve saved som e sunli ght If you shoul d ever need A pl ace away from darkness Where your m i nd can feed. And for myself I’ve kept your sm il e When you were but ni een, Til l you’re ol der you’l l not know What brave young smi l es can m ean. I know no answers To hel p you on your way The answers l i e som ewhere At the bottom of the day. But i f you’ve a need for l ove I’l l gi ve you al l I own It mi ght hel p you down the road Til l you’ve found your own. (by Rod McKuen) Uni t 3 ADVICE FROM GRANDAD Dear Jam es, It i s a beautiful day here and I am si ti ng under the bi g tre at the end of the garden. I have just returned from a long bi ke ri de to an ol d castl e. It seem s am azing that at m y age I am stil l fi t enough to cycl e 20 kil om etres i n an afternoon. It’s my bi rthday in two weeks tim e and I’l l be 82 years ol d! I thi nk m y l ong and acti ve li fe m ust be due to the heal thy l i fe I li ve. This bri ngs m e to the real reason for my l etter, m y dear grandson. Your m other tel l s m e that you started sm oking som e ti m e ago and now you are fi nding i t di ffi cul t to gi ve i t up. Bel ieve m e, I know how easy i t i s to begi n sm oki ng and how tough it i s to stop. You see, duri ng adolescence I al so sm oked and becam e addi cted to cigarettes. By the way, di d you know that thi s is because you be e addi cted i n three di fferent ways? Fi rst, you can be e physi cal l y addi cted to ni coti ne, whi ch i s one of the hundreds of chemi cal s i n ci garettes. Thi s m eans that after a