I watch a line of pelicans slip sleekly through the sky.
They always look so elegant when flying way up high.
But when they land, their elegance gets lost without a trace;
it seems a pack of bumbling clowns is waddling in their place.
© Kristin Martin 2018
This poem was first published in Blast Off, Issue No. 2, The School Magazine, March 2018, and then was published again in my poetry book, To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme? (Glimmer Press, 2019).
Hi Kristin
This is such a lovely short and sharp poem. I feel like this is the shortest poem that I have ever read.
Hi Nuwin,
It is a short poem, but I have some that are just as short, or shorter. This one took a long time to write- it was actually a year from when I started it to when I finished it! I didn’t give up until I had it perfect.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
I love pelicans! When we went out for my little brother’s birthday, we saw a few pelicans! Thank you for writing poems so we can read them!
You’re welcome, Caleb!
I love pelicans too!
Hi Kristin,
I love how this poem has facts but written with fun words! I love pelicans they always seem so elegant in the sky but when they land they make me laugh! What made you write this poem? It was no mistake!
Love Clara
Hi Clara,
Pelicans make me laugh too! They look so graceful when they fly, but so silly when they walk. That’s why I wrote the poem.
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I like the this poem about pelicans and pelicans are big and nice birds
with their big beaks. I really loved the poem very much.
Hi Omesh,
I’m glad you like my poem. Would you believe me if I told you it took me a year to write it? I didn’t spend a year working on it, but from the day I started to the day I finished, it was a year!
Kristin
Wow that is amazing!
Thanks Omesh!
To Kristen, i liked your poem because it was nice. Pelicans are nice birds and because they seem very graceful
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks! I love seeing pelicans. Do you agree that they look like clowns when they walk?
Kristin
yes for sure. they walk with a waddle to.
🙂
Hi Kristin
Your poem was amazing, except i think it would be better to do it a bit longer next time. Then you can explain more about it. i am sure you must have written it in two minutes
I liked when u wrote bumbling clown. It sounds so funny. Have u seen pelicans before.
If u put the last words in the two lines in para 1 together u get ‘sky high’.
best regards
senehas
Hi Senehas,
Did you know that sometimes short poems are harder to write than longer ones, because every word has to be perfect! You are not right about this taking me 2 minutes to write, it actually took me one year!!! I did not spend that whole year writing it, of course, and I wrote lots of other poems in that year, but it was a year from when I started it until when I finished it.
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I am truely scared of pelicans are you?
Also I think this poem was hilarious but really true and I liked how you described them as bumbling clowns!
Lithumi
Hi Lithumi,
Thank you. I like pelicans, but I can understand why you think they are scary. I wouldn’t want to get too close to one.
Kristin
Dear Kristin,
this poem was really descriptive️♀️️♀️️♀️. I went on a house boat trip, and we saw lot and lots of pelicans eating fish they were dipping their beaks in the water so fast ⏩
regards Tirath.
That sounds like a lovely holiday!
Hi Kristin
I found it really funny at the end when you said “it seems a pack of bumbling clowns is waddling in their place.” This reminded me of the saying cats land on their feet. What inspired you to write this poem? I don’t like any sort of birds because they creep me out the way they turn their heads!!!!!!!!
Yenuli
Hi Yenuli,
I wrote this poem because I love watching pelicans.
Kristin
hi kristin
i loved that poem and it was true but halarias.
Thanks, Tharuja.
Hi Kristin
I think this poem was hilarious but really true. I loved your description and I liked how you described them as bumbling clowns! Do you like pelicans? I personally don’t, as they are kind of scary!
Tharusha
Hi Tharusha,
Thanks for another lovely comment. I do like pelicans, but I won’t get toto close to them because their bills are scary!
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I liked that you said pelicans looked so fancy or perfect. But when they get in water the really look like complete weirdos when they land in the water. All this is completely true and really funny when someone explains it in every single detail. Thanks for the great poem.
Hi Dinith,
I really like how you put the ideas from my poem into your own words. Did you know that this little poem took me a year to finish? I had trouble finding the right rhythm for a long time.
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I like this poem because it is true, when pelicans fly they look elegant and when they are on land they look like there clowns because they are very very clumsy
Hi Caleb,
I’m glad you agree with my observation. It took me a very long time to get this poem just right. I knew what I wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t co-operate!
Kristin
Hi Kristen
I really enjoyed that poem because it had really good words that
describe the way the pelican moves.
Thanks Thinara!
Hi Kristin,
I do like pelicans but I don’t like the fact that they eat fish. Is that one of your pet animals?Do you like pelicans?
I do they are cute.
Thanks
Hi Methuli,
I like pelicans, but I don’t have one as a pet. I see them flying near the beach near my house.
Kristin
Pelicans are so cute and funny
I agree!
I like those types of birds
So do I!
I think pelicans are weird but that is just mainly my problem. Pelicans do look elegant when they fly in fact any bird looks elegant when they fly in the blue sky, don’t you think? What made you write this? I am guessing that you were at the beach and you saw some pelicans flying about in the Sky so you thought “Why don’t I write a poem about them?”.
Thisali
Hi Thisali,
You are right, that’s why I wrote the poem.
Kristin
hello Kristin
I really like this poem
I love where u said they were like a pack of bumbling clown
I enjoy looking for pelicans on family trips
from Kiara
Hi Kiara,
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you like my poem. I took a long time to write it, even thought it is so short.
Kristin
You have teach bad sides of any good thing or wise versa. Lovely poem and sounds it is really true which we never realize.
Thanks Dinethri
Pelicans sounds very funny. I love the description.
-Thisama
Thanks Thisama!
Hi Kristin
cool poem. I think it sounds nice how you describe the pelicans.
From Lysha
Thanks Lysha!
Hi Kristin
This poem is so very true! How did you come up with the idea?
Tharusha
Hi Kristin
I really love this poem and totally agree with you! They look so elegant when flying, then bumbling clowns come in their place! I really love the description. Do you have any tips for when I am writing a poem? I’m not very good!
Tharusha
Hi Tharusha,
My tip for writing poems is to write! You will get better with practise. So don’t be afraid to have a try!
Kristin
I loved it
pelicans are cool
Thanks!
Very funny! Pelicans are some interesting creatures.
Hi Thenumi,
I agree!
Kristin
Hi !
Do you like pelicans?
I don’t like them because they eat fish and I love fish.
Hi Tiaana,
I love pelicans. I think they are beautiful but also comical.
Kristin
I like pelicans when they skim their wings across the water great poem.
Hi Nae,
I agree, it is lovely to see pelican skim across the water.
Kristin
hI Kristin,
A pelican pooped on my dads car once it was huge.
Cadence K
Oh dear!
Hi,
Where does Pelicans live?
Hi Methuli,
Have you seen pelicans at the beach or in a river? Pelicans like water.
Kristin
Do you like Pelicans?
I don’t.
I do like pelicans. I think they are beautiful, though sometimes they look a bit comical.
Kristin
Hi Kristin
I really like this poem
I like how u said it seems a pack of bumbling clowns to describe them
Hi Kiara,
I like that line too. It took me a long time to think of it (this poem took me almost a year to write. Of course, I wasn’t working on it for that long, it was a year between when I started it and when I finished it.).
Kristin