Short Schoolyard Poems

schoolyard drama scene
unrequited love shamble 

one calico tear...

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Thank goodness I never had to stand in the schoolyard holding a sign that read:  "FRIEND ME"....

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america err-roars over
the play ground
again

to any...

willing psycho-path hic to
show their claws-tear-
bombs


stans sand...

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Spring is cricket on the green
Summer is picnics in the park
Autumn is conkers from  the crescent
And in Winter slides on ice
across the schoolyard

After Eihei Dogen (1200-1253)...

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Lined up like third-graders 
on the fence of a deserted ballfield
after a week of Indian summer – 
cast-off sweaters, mittens, coats.
From a treetop, birds recite
the morning lesson....

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HI-KU is any English language variation on the Japanese haiku


'neath the chestnut tree
conkers* abound,all around-
a none-er strikes me

*conkers=horse chestnut seeds-provide a schoolyard 
autumn pastime

a 2011 repost...

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.



               Brisk wind brushes over grass and
                          sets the playground swing into motion





...............................................................
for Brian's "A Couple of Lines" contest...

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'neath the chestnut tree
flakes of green,cover this scene-
autumn blankets me

'neath the chestnut tree
conkers* abound,all around-
a none-er strikes me

*conkers=horse chestnut seeds-provide a schoolyard 
autumn pastime-wiki or google for more info...

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Oh ya ,well my mom makes better apple pie
Really,well my mom makes brownies 
With peacans and chocolate icing
Thats nothing, my mom sewed me this new sweater from scratch
Well my Dad can fix my bike anytime it breaks,
My Dad sells bikes and got mine for free
A hush,
My Dad left when i was 3, no bike for me....

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As a baby I started off on my chin,   
my chin and the floor were great friends. 
The schoolyard was a fun place to play,    
except when my chin met the ground.   
Nasty words came as a teen,    
I always took it on my chin. 
Life can be bad,     
I need to keep my chin up.  




Date Written:10/7/2020...

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Children in the schoolyard pierce the sky with vital cheer.
Their joyful octave shouting wrecks the register.
Vernal offspring sounds wing and zoom like morning moths,
over Eiffel Tower challenges ahead.
Let us celebrate these golden moments short-lived though they are, as they cannot be recaptured once they're gone!...

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DEATH  OF  AN  ANGEL


My fragile child had made a snow angel
One morning in the schoolyard white;
Then, flying home after the school bell,
Her little life was dashed by a car, outright.

The snow angel melted that day,
Disappeared under the yard grass tall.
Now, a lifetime later, I’d say
You’d hardly know it existed at all....

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Get them in the schoolyard
kick'em in the pants
force them to listen to
your insufferable rants

Make them sit in silence
loudly make it clear
any one who TALKS to them
will soon be sittin' there.

Tell them they'll be punished
until THEY act as WE
constantly remind them
that KINDNESS IS THE KEY.

John G. Lawless
10/16/2020...

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I felt like a ghost just the other day.
Standing by the schoolyard where children play.
Before I died, she was my little girl. 
Always smiling when I gave her a twirl.

I felt so sad; I had left her so young,
I never should have bought that stupid gun.
I wish she could see me for just a while,
She’s looking right at me, oh what a smile.

...

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A spindly girl one far-off year
With both knees scabbed and flouncing skirt,
She kicked the ball and ran to first
And I felt glad to watch her sprint
Or catch her smile, just hear her laugh,
And when she neared, my heart, it raced,
My throat went tight and head grew light,
My first true clue that life’s pursuit
Is winning love and female grace....

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Spiky hair,
brittle waves,
porcupine,
hedgehog,
spiny Anteater,
echidna.

A kid
growing up
prickly.
The long tongues
of children
gibe him sharp.

Tumbleweed in the schoolyard.
Can’t tread him down.
Hurts are on the surface
like frozen
alphabet spaghetti.

Thorns and barbs,
jagged Jeers,
quills quietly quivering
the quarry -
face tucked
into his heart....

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I saw you walking by the old schoolyard,
you were catching snowflakes with your tongue.
When you saw me, you waved and called my name.
We walked toward each other, laughing with eyes bright.
Then hugged each other tightly, and you cried tears of joy.
Looking up you said, "seeing you today seems so very unreal."
You smiled and I held you, as the non existent snowflakes fell!


date:7/10/19
contest:Love Poems for Her
sponsor:Team Poetry Soup...

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Only sixteen years to my name
and I already have feelings of longing 
for the years that have passed by all too quickly.

It used to be a race to grow up.
I can still hear the schoolyard ringing 
with taunts of "I'm older than you are."

But now it's a struggle with the hands of the clock,
trying to freeze them in their relentless path.

Give me a rest.

The seconds tick by.

The years roll on.

Only yesterday I thought I'd never grow up....

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***After school twin sisters meet in the schoolyard waiting for friends, ahead of a spring break, girl-talk kicks up...


I have a secret as to you,
Do not, do too, do not, do too,
It's from the grades you got from school,
It's not, it's true, It's not, it's true,
This A and that A, it's all you,
Not true, it's true, not true, it's true,
(Hugs over there,) hey, there's the pair,
Watch hair, don't care, watch hair, don't care!


Date: 09/03/2019...

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In retrospect
I wish I’d smacked a few
smug faced
intellectual bullies
gloating
bathed in their self-centered
superiority.

The more physical
I was devious enough
to redress
given time and opportunity
and the limits
of schoolyard dictates

There is a satisfaction
in settling a score
even when the opponent
Isn’t aware that they’ve
just been bested.

Revenge may be best
served cold
yet justice should always
be warm and present.


John G. Lawless
3/16/2021...

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