Bored = Boring: A Poetry Lesson for the Corona Doldrums

Lesson Introduction

From the slang dictionary:

I’m bored [ahym bohrd]

I’m bored is a common way for kids (and internet users) to complain about their lack of interest in what’s going on around them. It’s often seen in expressions such as: I’m bored by/to/of/with (something). You must be really bored if you’re looking up “I’m bored” in the slang dictionary.

What do interesting people do to combat boredom besides looking it up in the dictionary? Well, for starters, they do anything but say “I’m bored.” That’s because boring is a state of mind, and by all accounts, you have to be pretty boring yourself to actually be bored.

Seriously, life is full of places to put ones attention, so even under quarantine lockdown, there are lots of interesting places to find inspiration and discovery. This lesson is designed to get you thinking about the thoughtlessness of boredom and why it is fast becoming a major problem for many people without a CREATIVE OUTLET (yes, I just shouted that).

There is painting, gardening, cooking, mask making, woodworking, fixing things, dancing, singing, writing, rapping, sculpting, costuming, movie making and of course, poetry.

This lesson is full of examples and inspirations, and hopefully when it is all done, you will have permanently decided to remove “I’m bored” from your vocabulary!

Are you ready to be inspired? Stick with me and try this lesson!

SELF-QUIZ

Are you bored? (Yes, No, Sometimes)
What time of day are you usually bored (Morning, Afternoon, Evening, After Dinner)
What do you usually do when you are bored? (Complain at everyone around me, go back to sleep, go outside, walk the dog, turn on the TV or a movie, listen to music, do something creative)
Are even your video games becoming boring? (Yes, No)
What makes your life boring? (No sports, no friends to play with, can’t go to Santa Rosa, no school)
What are some creative things you are doing to combat boredom? (Drawing, writing, playing outside, gardening, dancing, making music, cooking, helping with house chores, building things, riding)

Directions for Writing Your Own Poem

Writing Prompts:

When are you most bored? (morning, afternoon, evening)
What do you do when you are bored? (lay down in bed, play a video game, eat oreos)
Why are you bored? Give a
detail (I’m bored because Covid-19 keeps me from going to the Arena Theater for a movie)
Name five things you can do to make boredom go away
(write a song about Covid-19, bake a batch of brownies for my family, dance in my room, plant lettuce seeds, make a movie online)
What color is boredom?
What does boredom sound like, smell like, taste like, look like and smell like?
Is it true that only boring people are boring?
How can you be less boring?

Instructions:

Write a poem using the prompts above (see example below and Blake’s poem in the other column)
Answer all the questions
Use detail and descriptive language (show don’t tell)
Write in poetic form (not paragraph form) with short lines
Title your poem at the end. Make it a unique title and NOT something lazy like “My Boredom Poem”.
And most of all, have fun!

Example Poem (written from the prompts above)

The State of Me

Boredom is with me all day long
and doesn’t go away till I finally fall asleep
which isn’t easy cause I’m so bored!
no friends to ride dirt bikes with
no trips to the mall
only boring dinners with my family

Maybe I could draw a picture
bake an apple cake, play guitar, catch a lizard
or thank my mom for keeping us safe
but I don’t feel like it

Boredom is the grey ceiling of my bedroom
It tastes like stale cereal and dried beans
It sounds like empty streets
Boredom smells like a N95 mask
It looks like worried eyes from 6 feet away
Boredom feels like life without friends

Does this make me boring?
maybe it does
because even playing videos all day isn’t helping
(and I never thought that could happen)

perhaps it is time to
get off the couch
pick up a pencil
maybe even write this poem

I can't wait to experience what you write!

Audio & Video Inspiration

Two poems on boredom:

Bored, Boring, Boredom, by Cheyenne, Grade 8

Plenty To Do, by Adi, Grade 6

Reaching Deep

I halfway remember the first time
my grandmother said to me
only boring people get bored
in my mind, I recall thinking
she was clueless, heartless—didn’t
she know I was an LA kid stuck
in the farmlands of Arkansas
for an entire summer
the mighty Pacific replaced by a garden hose
and row after row of corn
nobody interesting to play with
and the nearest mall
90 minutes by station wagon?

The days wore on,
tedious, disheartening, annoying
then sometime around month one
I got bored with myself
and rose from my sleeping, moping,
complaining couch
and went outside

To my surprise I saw bright green pods
dangling from a wire fence
small round berries redder
than any Macy’s sweater
the air smelled of fresh dirt
claps of thunder brought torrents of warm rain
that felt as good as the ocean

For the rest of the visit, I swam with the sky
danced to the sound of cicadas in the evening
I ate peaches right off the branch
and lettuce straight from the ground
I sat under the massive shade of a pecan tree
drew the creatures that appeared in my dreams
I wrote postcards to friends, letters to my parents
I went to bed tired and woke up excited
to go outside again

My grandparents noticed
my suppertime smiles
but didn’t say anything
they knew nature’s DNA
had rooted into the marrow of my skin
forever altering my adolescent demand
for perpetual entertainment
the immediate glitter and rush
of movies, sleep overs,
candy bars from the corner store
replaced by magical plant brews
and the simple,
slow
spread of time

Play Video

Dang Quarantine

I thought you were going to be a blessing.
Well, looking at it now
I was mistaken.

I thought it would be endless days
of bliss, holed up in my room
playing video games, watching Netflix
and eating grilled cheese sandwiches

As it turns out
it is more like endless days of nothing
nothing to do, no one to hang with,
no sports to play

I never thought I would say this,
but I’m tired of youtube

but that is not all, I’m stuck all alone
with nothing, nothing but family, family, family
stuck at home all day
with my aunt’s crazy Chihuahua

Quarantine, you and only you
can make even the most homebodiest of homebodies

want to go outside and socialize
two months ago I never thought
it would happen to me
but it did
and now I’m bored beyond any hope
I might as well have Covid

But there’s a bright side, right? school’s out right?
Wrong
We are zoom zoom zooming ourselves into oblivion
staring at the tiny square of our own face like newly discovered screen stars
watching our teachers struggle to make it work
sending emojis, sneaking in chats, hoping the teacher is too tech stressed to notice
(I even figured out how to mute the whole class!)

It is only a matter of time
before we all go feral
thanks to you
and your stupid life-saving quarantine