LITR 3731: Creative Writing
Student Poetry Submission

Robin Stone

The Little Traveler

What a weary little traveler
you turned out to be,
You played so hard and went to school
and did your best for me.  

And now it's time to go to bed
upon a fluffy cloud,
and sail upon the blue, blue sky
while mommy sings so proud . . .  

I'm singing you a sweet, sweet song
so you'll drift off to sleep,
and in your dreams, those shadowy things
will not dare to creep.

You'll wake up in the morning and
rub your sleepy, sleepy eyes,
And you'll get up and work to make
each day a new surprise.  

We'll play some games and sing some songs,
and you'll learn something new,
and as the sun starts going down
I will sing to you . . .

What a weary little traveler
you turned out to be,
You played so hard and went to school
and did your best for me.

         Seasons

(Original)

Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall,
Seasons changing call to all. 

Burn of sun, sting of cold,
Budding leaves grow to old. 

Flight and fancy, peace and quiet,
Indian summers, hurricane’s riot.

Warm soft showers drying in sun
Through dew-damped grasses toes do run. 

Spring fever, summer haze,
Winter storms, autumn’s haze 

Golden sky, heady earth,
To all season, God gives birth.

For the revisions of this poem, I first rearranged the stanzas so the seasons went in order from Spring through Winter as they do in the calendar year. This gave the poem some flow, but I noticed I did not have a stanza in there for winter so I added the 6^th stanza below. Then I changed the first haze in the second to last stanza to blaze. I added another stanza (the second one below) but it originally had haze twice in it as well. Then I changed the second haze in it to drays (squirrels’ nests). Last, I added “s” to season in the last line.

Seasons
(Revised)  

Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall,
Seasons changing call to all 

Spring breeze, summer haze,
Winter freezes, autumn drays 

Warm soft showers drying in sun,
Through dew-damped grasses toes do run 

Flight and fancy, peace and quiet,
Indian summers, hurricane’s riot 

Burn of sun, sting of cold,
Budding leaves grow to old 

Crackling leaves, fall of snow,
Ice on trees, limbs hung low

Spring fever, summer’s blaze,
Winter storms, autumn’s haze 

Golden sky, heady earth,
To all seasons, God gives birth.

Sadness

Cold rain, hard wind
Chilled to soul.
Tapping of drops
Down windows roll,
Puddle up,
Draining off,
Reforming,
Never gone,
Just recycling.
Wind whips,
Cuts through--
Knife--
Shivering, stinging,
Aching down deep.
Will it ever end?

Surviving

In a corner,
afraid, alone.
Then they come,
silently, looming.  

That awful look,
you know,
they know you know.
They win again,  

Tears, fear . . .
They get angry,
they speak, they hurt.
They go away,  

Relax, you're safe,
right? Wrong,
they never leave—
always there.  

In the mind,
waiting, watching . . .
Then they come back,
silently, looming.  

That awful look,
you know,
they know you know.
They win again  

tears, fear—
They get angry,
they speak,
they hurt.  

Wait!
They're not here!
They're dead!
Right?  

They go away,
relax,
you're safe . . .
right?

Life

Merry meet,
Merry part,
Merry meet again.  

Blessed be,
Creation art,
Sacred we begin.  

Cherished soul,
Humble heart,
Honored life we live.  

Growing spirit,
Life departs,
Until we meet again.  

Merry meet,
Merry part,
Merry meet again.

  by Robin Stone