A few weeks ago Jone asked the Poetry Friday gang to post poems using mathematical structures. She listed the Arun form. I was curious about this form, but a Google search of forms continually came up with nothing. I finally went back to Jone’s post and followed the link to a blog by Girlgriot. On this site, Girlgriot writes about the form and its rules.
An Arun: a fifteen-line poem in three sets of five lines. Each set of five lines follows the same syllable structure: starting with one syllable and increasing by one (1/2/3/4/5 — 3x).
Girlgriot, March 21, 2017
More digging led me to this post in which Girlgriot reveals that she invented the form. And why not?
It still doesn’t seem possible that I created a form. That really should be, must be, someone else’s domain. But here we are, with the arun. “Arun” means “five” in Yoruba (according to The Google), and the name was chosen by popular vote in a little blog poll I put up. It’s not super sophisticated, but I like it.
GirlGriot, March 22, 2017
When I talked to my student Chloe about the form, she suggested that we write one together about “Back to School.” This is our collaborative poem:
Back to School
Masks
line the
hallways to
class, but it’s not
Halloween Day yet.
My
teacher
switching in
style with a cart
but we stay in place.
One
by one
take it slow
better be safe
and not stuck at home.
To help you understand the stylish carts, I took a picture of my across-the-hall colleague and her cart. As you can see, it’s like the teacher carrying her whole desk from room to room.
Reflections on the Teche 
Oh, that IS a stylish cart. I’ve taught from AV carts and book carts…but never a cart with shelves and drawers! I’m so glad the kids are kept safe…but that poor teacher is being exposed to lots of students. I digress.
How neat this form is. Literally, it’s neat in appearance and instruction. I want to give it a whirl. Kudos to Chloe for the collaboration! Never ever could I have imagined a masked world before now.
Love your combined poem Margaret! Thanks for sharing the arun poem form.What a good idea and clever to carry your carts. I didn’t know you where in the classroom with students— be safe!
Love your interpretation of the Arun poetry style, Margaret. It is so interesting to see the many ways teachers are adapting to their new reality. I love the stylish cart! 🙂
Thanks for choosing to write an arun, Margaret! I love knowing that this little form is out there, getting some love now and then!
I’m no longer a classroom teacher, and can’t imagine how you and your colleagues across the country are managing. The education programs I run now are fully remote for the semester and probably for the full school year. And I can’t imagine that, either, but there we are. Wishing us all well. ❤
I know we are learning something valuable, but I’m just not sure what that is yet. Thanks for stopping by. Love the form. I will use it again!
It’s interesting to hear all the different ways that schools are trying to ensure the safest possible return to school. Hope all is going well for you as far as that goes, Margaret. I’m glad to see your poetry with students is not suffering from all of these changes. 🙂
What fun again to write to this new form with your students, Margaret, capturing our times right now, “masks but not Halloween” says it well. What a marvelous cart, too! I hope it’s helping you all & you’re staying safe!
I love the Back to School poem and learning about the Arun form. I never thought of myself as mathematical in school, then upon becoming a literacy educator, was stunned by the amount of math involved with data – poetry is like that, kind of sneaking math in by the back door but making all the difference. Mathematicians say the universe is made of numbers and poets say it’s made of poetry; perhaps both are right. Love the masks linked with “but it’s not Halloween Day yet.”
I love the poem form and will have to try it! When my youngest was in 4th grade (he’s now 19) he said, “Mom, math is everywhere!” And, so it is. I’m working on publishing my math enrichment questions from the garden club I had from 2004-2017. Writing, while incorporating math, reminds me of my son’s exclamation!
I love your cart. Being an informal educator, I am used to taking all I need with me. It makes you realize what you absolutely need and what you don’t. I like that you have paper towels! An essential, probably more now than ever before.
I sorry I missed the call for poems with mathematical structures. The arun sounds like a fun form to play with, and I love the poem that you Chloe crafted! “Not/Halloween Day yet” made me sigh because we banned Halloween masks years ago. Now we’re reminding certain students all day long to keep their masks on! That is quite a cart your colleague has! I know some teachers who would have serious cart-envy if they saw that photo!
I love these. Every once in a while I am overwhelmed by a sense of how deeply weird everything is, with the masks and the huge spaces between desks. It’s good to write about how strange it is. Most of the time it feels just normal to me now, after four weeks of school.
Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
I love the simple predictability of this arun form and I thank you also for introducing me to GirlGriot! The collaborative Back to School is poignant.
My Remote Learning Academy students pine to be back in school, no matter how weird. I try to help them (and me) focus on the positives of remote, but I do worry about social damage. I guess we won’t know all of the ramifications of distancing and masks until way into the future. Best to make the very best now we can.
But I digress. I love your and Chloe’s Arun, and I love that you are back to writing poetry with your students! This is a form I’ll definitely give a try!
Mary Lee, I am teaching part time virtual and have only two students in person, which can change at any moment because our district is opening the doors once again for students to come back in person. More are choosing to. I guess the risk is worth it.
Margaret, it’s great you are writing poetry with your students again! That must bring some normalcy and happiness to your school day even though some are virtual. I love how your collaborative Arun poem shows the changes of the school day, especially that first stanza, which grabs the reader! It’s good therapy for all of you to talk and write about the changes. Wow, your carts are amazing! Hopefully, the students are able to get up and stretch while teachers travel.
What a great collaboration. Thank Chloe for it as well. Your cart is stylish for sure. I can’t imagine in person teaching right now but I miss the kids and subbng.
Sorry I missed Jones invitation to write in a mathematical structure. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. But I’d never heard of the Arun. The inventor should add it to the list where I’ve found a number of other interesting mathematical forms:
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html
Your arun collaboration paints a vivid picture. Thanks for sharing!
Margaret, Sorry I am so late to respond to your shared Arun. How wonderful that your student Chloe suggested a collaborative poem to write. I also agree with Linda B that this poem is indicative of our strange times-masks…but it’s not Halloween yet. Your cart reminds me of my makeshift desk cart that I used for a couple of years when we did not have enough room for all teachers. While it is not ideal, it is a suitable alternative. Thanks for sharing the photo and poem.