Inspired by Nature is a new themed Croak to entertain you with some of my own and my favourite famous poems written about nature and the outdoors. I hope it will stimulate you to get creative with words and write something yourself. If you do and would like to share them with us, please post them on our Facebook page.
Becca (Conservation Youth Worker: Green Pathways Project).
Skeltonic verse, also known as tumbling verse, is a fun form for a poem named after the poet John Skelton (1460-1529).
Here are the rules:
• Each line should be 3 -6 words long
• The last word of the line should rhyme
• Continue with the same rhyme until it runs out of impact
• Make the poem fun and energetic
Here is one I wrote about my job using the word “green”. I have italicised where the emphasis goes to help me read it aloud. I deliberately chose to not rhyme the last line in order to emphasis its importance; after all, rules are made to be broken!
My project is called Green Pathways and it works with vulnerable and disadvantaged teenagers. I take them outdoors and do projects and activities linked to wildlife and conservation. You could call it outdoor therapy. I wrote the poem to highlight that we create our young people and we all are responsible for how they turn out.
Why not write your own skeltonic poem about the outdoors and share it on our Facebook page.
TIP: You can choose a word and then use a rhyming dictionary to help find its friends.
My Job; in Green Skeltonic Verse
Outside in the green
With the alien teens
Who sometimes are obscene
Or just high on caffeine
Worked like a machine
Made to use a latrine
They love to make scenes
Could teach drama to queens
Cook them outdoor cuisine
Bonfired ‘tatoes and beans
So I can intervene
To keep their noses clean
Of their lives I can glean
That their family’s not keen,
Slaves to the drinks machine
Or their budget is mean
Give them trust, space, routine
Make them slap on sunscreen
P’haps off drugs they’ll wean
Stop acting Wolverine
These victims are between
The sky and sub-marine
Often they are unseen
In amongst what’s been created.