I don’t know which one of the sisters first introduced the others to the poem game… but it was a keeper.
It’s one of those real old school writing games and seriously so much fun. The hilarity and giggles that ensue are of the snort causing variety. In honour of National Poetry day I’d love to share our ‘poem game’ with you guys and you should totally play.
Number of players: Three or more,
What you need: a piece of paper and something to write with for each player.
Rules: Each person writes a word, (any random word) on the top of the paper, folds it, so the word can not be seen, and passes it to the person on the left.
Next each person writes a question, (any random question on the next line) on the paper they were handed, folds it and again and passes it again to the person on their left.
Now each person can unfold the paper and read the word and question (both of which will have been written by someone other than themselves)
Each person has FIVE minutes to come up with a POEM (eek!) that has the word AND answers the question.
GO!
It’s simples and don’t worry if you are not a ‘writing’ person, trust me it’s even better if you are not!
We haven’t played this together for years now but recently I came across one of the poems I had scribbled down and then found some photos my sister had sent us of poem game papers she had squirreled away … Poem Game memories are obviously treasured around here!
WORD – embroidery,
QUESTION – how can a person be always happy?
People are unhappy creatures
With many faces, many features
Always wanting more and more
Closing all their open doors
The reason people are so sad
(the answer’s simple you’ll be glad )
Is that they do nothing all day
They’re lazy beings that I’ll say
To cure this illness you must do
Something useful, something too
That is productive -reading, say
Or sewing, cooking or embroidery
So to heal your horrid days
You must change your lazy ways
Quite Roald Dhal– esqe wouldn’t you say? Channelling the Umpa Loompa’s poem game here.
Here’s another one :
WORD – joy,
QUESTION – how does the world go round?
Another one by our youngest sister – her poems were always so earnest!
The world is like a spinning top
Round and round it does not stop
By Allahs grace the earth spins spins round
How? The answer can’t be found
It glows in space just like a jewel
Like thread that is turning from a spool
We on earth should be so glad
And feel grateful never sad
Live in joy as we’ve been graced
With such a perfect perfect place
Awww! Im reading these again after all these years as I type them out and this one is actually so sweet! I think she was only fourteen at the time!
Here’s one I remember writing –
WORD: porridge,
QUESTION: what is your star ‘signature’? (instead of ‘sign’! Sooo cute!)
Goldilocks wanted Porridge
Snow White’s fate was in an apple
Cinderella picked her pumpkin
Rapunzel let down her hair
The stars in the skies wrote their stories
And the moon signed their fairy tales
My star signature is no story
For I am the Beauty who has the Beast
and my star signature is a nightmare.
OOOH those dark twisted fairy tales. Hahaha.
And here is one I kept all these years from when I played the poem game with my best friend … she is still just s soppy as ever!
WORD – Beautiful
QUESTION – Why are you crying?
My beautiful friend
came to visit me for a day
We laughed, we cried,
We joked,we reminisce
And then she returned home
Taking my heart with her
Oh how i love her
She is like a rose , sweet, divine and perfect
Return soon
My beautiful friend
Do you have Poem GAME? (See what I did there?) Even if you’re not a poetry geek in fact especially if you are not – you must try this little game, you might surprise yourself! I’m definitely going to make my girlfriends do this next time we get together, and can you imagine doing this with your kids? It would be too cute!
Top Image and Poem by me, channelling my inner Willam Carlos Williams !
1 Comment
Poem games were awesome! Impressed by her sisterhoodness