Looking for Ibn Zaydun

Does anyone know what this poem is?

Here is a partial quotation from a Jordanian named Zaydoun. His namesake was the poet Ibn Zaydun from Spain who was famous for loving a princess. The Ibn Zaydun poem fragment is something like “We used to meet…our meeting” the last word being the Arabic word “deena” (?) (meeting).  Apparently the first two lines of the poem are somewhat famous in Arabic and are studied extensively in Syria.

A cursory review 9f a few google books shows Ibn Zaydun was the great poet that set the standard for judging later poets.  So far I have tracked down the quite short Wikipedia article about Ibn Zaydun, a tantalizing tourism biography, and a few lines of a poem from Syrian (?) blogger MoCo:

God has sent showers upon the abandoned dwelling places of those we loved. He has woven upon them a striped, many colored garment of flowers, and raised among them a flower like a star. How many girls like images trailed their garments among such flowers, when life was fresh and time was at our service… How happy they were, those days that have passed, days of pleasure, when we lived with those who had black, flowing hair and white shoulders… Now say to Destiny whose favors have vanished – favors i have lamented as the nights have passed – how faintly its breeze has touched me in my evening. but for him who walks in the night the stars still shine: greetings to you, Cordoba, with love and longing.

Rage

Go not gently into the night

Rail, rail, against the dimming of the light.

Dylan Thomas:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Three Poetry Exercises

If you want to exercise your creative muscles more in the new year, here are some poetry exercises:

Cinquain

This French poetry form can be used with any cultural group or skill level of English.  My beginning ESL students love it.  The format is:

Line 1: States a subject in one word (usually a noun)
Line 2: Describes the subject in two words (often a noun and an adjective or two adjectives)
Line 3: Describes an action about the subject in three words (often three infinitives, or a three word sentence)
Line 4: Expresses an emotion about the subject in four words.
Line 5: Restates the subject in another single word that reflects what has already been said (usually a noun)

Example (in French and English):

Chien
Optimiste perpetual
Attend son maitre
Il entend des pas…
Joie!

Dog
Perpetual optimist
Waiting for his master
He hears steps
Joy

Form Poems

(from Zee)

Compression channels one’s creativity.  It’s a syllabic poem, 2-4-6-8-2 syllables per line.

Example:

The Courtship of Medusa

He came
up behind her
and braided her wild locks.
“Who are you?” She turned to see him
harden.

Poetry slams

Zee:

Nijma, I’m not a typical slammer…I’ve slammed sonnets…yes, trust is key. We found starting with one’s name helps. Also, a fellow poet friend of mine has an awesome “breathing” exercise.

Inhale nose, exhale nose = air

inhale mouth, exhale nose = fire

inhale nose, exhale mouth = water

inhale mouth, exhale mouth = earth

Each energy has its benefits

Each in turn is a good warm up.

More from Zee about Poetry and Slams:

• The reason poetry works better for me is that I polish as I go. I painstakingly read each page of my novels aloud several times and spit-polish. That “get the rough draft out” doesn’t work for me. I wish it did.
• As far as the exercises, the ones in our workshop were all centered on Emily Dickinson’s work, so that might not work for you or your students? The next workshop will be centered on song-writers.
• If you go to open mics (Slam Poetry started in Chicago, after all!) you will hear a LOT of “identity poems” (I am black, I am gay, I am a woman, I am an incest survivor, I am, I am, ad nauseam) and also a lot of poems about songs and famous musicians. Both of these work well for kids, if you need exercises for students.
• Besides exercises in form and meter, you might try either imitating a style of a poet, or trying to cast it in an “opposite” light (different setting, different tone, etc.) For an “identity” poem, try asking the students to write an introduction to themselves. (When working with really young kids and performance we had them simply stand up and shout their name in an introductory call and response, they love it!)
• For students with language barriers (English as a second language) we had them read their short poems in both English and their native language, and they felt very empowered.
• For a language-based exercise you might try working with cliches and common sayings, either as inspiration, or to twist them around.
• For an experience-based exercise, try writing about a “transition” one faced.

Thanks Zee, via pumapac.org

Maya Angelou: a birthday party upstaged by Jeremiah Wright–and a new poem for Hillary

I hadn’t thought about Maya Angelou for years.

This week she made the news, not for being her own intriguing self, but because Senator Obama’s controversial pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was given a standing ovation when he turned up as a surprise guest at her birthday party at Chicago’s Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church. |video|

The first time I ever heard of Maya Angelou was in a philosophy class some fifteen years ago. The instructor asked the class what they were reading and who inspired them. Several of the black women said Maya Angelou, and recommended I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Then, Angelou attracted national attention on January 20, 1993 when she read her poem On the Pulse of Morning |video| |text| for the Clinton inauguration. It contains some now familiar themes: hope , change and yes, courage:

Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.

Give birth again
To the dream.

Although the Rev. Wright is said to be a personal friend, Angelou is known to be a Hillary Clinton supporter. The new poem for Hillary:

State Package for Hillary Clinton

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

This is not the first time you have seen Hillary Clinton seemingly at her wits’ end, but she has always risen, always risen, don’t forget she has always risen, much to the dismay of her adversaries and the delight of her friends.

Hillary Clinton will not give up on you and all she asks of you is that you do not give up on her.

There is a world of difference between being a woman and being an old female. If you’re born a girl, grow up, and live long enough, you can become an old female. But to become a woman is a serious matter. A woman takes responsibility for the time she takes up and the space she occupies. Hillary Clinton is a woman. She has been there and done that and has still risen. She is in this race for the long haul. She intends to make a difference in our country. Hillary Clinton intends to help our country to be what it can become.

She declares she wants to see more smiles in the family, more courtesies between men and women, more honesty in the marketplace. She is the prayer of every woman and man who longs for fair play, healthy families, good schools, and a balanced economy.

She means to rise.

Don’t give up on Hillary. In fact, if you help her to rise, you will rise with her and help her make this country the wonderful, wonderful place where every man and every woman can live freely without sanctimonious piety and without crippling fear.

Rise, Hillary.

Rise.

According to Maya Angelou’s official website, she was born April 4 , 1928, which makes this her 80th birthday. May the years be gentle with her.