I enjoy reading light verse for children that is clever and full of wordplay. Two of my favorite children’s poets who excel at the genre are J. Patrick Lewis and Douglas Florian. I used to share their humorous poems with my elementary students who so enjoyed them that they would often memorize them—and sometimes even attempt modeling their own poems after classroom favorites written by these two poets.
While children’s books of light verse are popular with youngsters and many are being published today—it’s sad to say the same is not so true for light verse for adults. Such books are hard to come by. I am happy to say that there is a book of light verse by Richard Wilbur, a former US Poet Laureate, that is still in print: Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Differences. It’s an enjoyable book to read. It provides good examples of how a poet can have fun with language by looking at words in new and unexpected ways.
Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Differences
Poems & drawings by Richard Wilbur
Harcourt, 2000
A little history of the book: Poems in this book first appeared in Opposites (1973), More Opposites (1991), Cricket Magazine (1990), and The Formalist (1990).
I think this poetry book could be used as a springboard for a language arts/writing exercise that would challenge students in a middle grade/middle school classroom to look at words—antonyms in particular—inventively. After a review lesson on antonyms with students, a teacher could work with them on compiling a list of pairs of word opposites. Then the teacher could share some of the “opposite” poems from Wilbur’s book. Next, she/he could then discuss with students the “not so typical” opposites written about in Wilbur’s humorous verses, for example:
- riot/lots of people keeping quiet
- doughnut/a cookie with a hole around it
- fast/loose
- frog/prince
- ball/meteor
- mirror/anything which, on inspection is not full of your reflection
- pillow/armadillo
- road/abode
The teacher could then lead the class in writing one or two "opposite" poems to model the process before sending students off to write their own poems.
From Opposites (#32)
What is the opposite of prince?
A frog must be the answer, since,
As all good fairy stories tell,
When some witch says a magic spell,
Causing the prince to be disguised
So that he won’t be recognized,
He always ends up green and sad
And sitting on a lily pad.
From More Opposites (#1)
The opposite of duck is drake.
Remember that, for heaven’s sake!
One’s female, and the other’s male.
In writing to a drake, don’t fail
To start your letter off, “Dear Sir.”
“Dear Madam” is what ducks prefer.
In snowball fights, the opposite
Of duck, of course, is getting hit.
From A Few Differences (#1)
Dawn is a thing that poets write
Verses about till late at night.
At daybreak, when the poets’ eyes
Are closed in sleep, their neighbors rise
And put the coffee on to perk
And drink it, and go off to work.
You can read Some Opposites at the Poetry Foundation.
You may also enjoy Some Words Inside of Words by Wilbur. Click here to hear a podcast of Some Words Inside of Words.
Here’s a YouTube video of Some Words Inside of Words:
The Richard Wilbur page at poets.org
The Richard Wilbur page at poetryfoundation.org
My Opposite Poems
I decided to try my hand at writing some “opposite” poems. It was fun!
The opposite of itch is scratch—
What canines do to an itchy patch
When fleas in flocks attack and bite ‘em.
That’s how doggies try to smite ‘em.
The opposite of king is queen,
His consort on the royal scene—
Or else it’s some poor serf or peasant
Whose endless workday seems incessant.
The opposite of engine? Trunk.
It has no parts that clank or clunk.
It’s a resting place for spare tires
And a body when your spouse expires.
The opposite of ladies? Witches—
Ugly hags with nostril twitches,
Cackling laughs, and warty faces...
Who are lacking in the social graces.
Write Your Own Opposite Poem
Maybe some of you would like to try writing some “opposite” poems of your own. If so, leave them in the comments or email them to me and I’ll post them some time during National Poetry Month.
P. S. Here's what I have over at Political Verses today: Bill O.: A Rhyming Rant about Bill O'Reilly
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