Honey Pumpkin Thief
by Felicity Hack, Harkaway Hills College
Years 7 – 8 Ekphrastic Poetry Finalist
‘Crow Eating a Persimmon’ by Ohara Koson (c.1910)
Dark feathered thief,
Why do you steal from me?
You’re like a crow from some old haiku
That has come to trouble me.
From September to November,
My branches stretch to hide,
The Autumns Honey Pumpkins,
Growing among my leaves.
Nature has cursed me.
Rooted and slow.
I’m unable to shield,
The gold that I grow.
You peck away at my treasure,
The work of many seasons.
Each bite leaves its mark.
It wounds my tired limbs.
The persimmons are gone,
Taken by feathers without teeth.
And with them goes my pride,
Stolen by the Honey Pumpkin Thief.
How did writing this poem make you feel?
I really enjoyed inventing a story around the artwork. As I wrote, I felt like the crow’s victim myself. I tried putting myself in the ‘branches of the tree’. I also felt curious about Japanese fruit trees because I noticed the artwork had Japanese characters. I did some research and talked about their Autumn season instead of ours.
Which single line in your poem are you the absolute proudest of?
I’m proudest of the lines ‘Nature has cursed me. Rooted and slow’ because it captures the trees helplessness when its most prized possession is taken from it. It’s funny how the roots that keep it alive also stop it from escaping or protecting the fruit it has worked hard to grow.
Describe your poem in three words
Short, slow, rooted.
Where is your absolute favourite place to sit when you are brainstorming ideas?
I don’t have one particular place but I love sitting somewhere quiet outdoors. Sometimes a bit of natural noise helps me think. It helps me feel connected to the world and gives my imagination more to work with.
What skills do you think you strengthened through writing this poem?
We have learnt a lot this term about literary devices authors use to make the reader feel or think a certain way. I wanted to experiment with some of these in my own writing, especially personification. I thought it would be interesting to write my poem from the perspective of the tree because no-one ever thinks of the tree’s feelings.
Why do you think people write poetry?
I think people write poetry in general to have fun and play around with words. I think people write ekphrastic poetry to dig deeper into artworks.