Collection of Sijo Poetry
Sijo is a Korean traditional form of poetry written in three lines, each with four groups of 1-5 syllables with a total of 14-16 syllables per line. To be considered a Sijo poem, there must be 44-46 syllables total in the poem. The last line must also include an unexpected twist.
We’ve assembled a collection of Sijo poems from a variety of young poets below.
Ancient Pictographs
By Alaina Raddatz, 18, Wisconsin
Imprints of lighters scar the stalls in the ladies’ bathroom.
Secrets carved into those tired walls like drawings in a cave.
I hear the sweet gossip as I wrap my next meal in crystal silk.
The other day when I was in the restroom, I saw these melted marks on the plastic stalls made from hot lighters, and I began thinking about how long they’ve been there and what the girls must have been going through when they made those marks. This small moment inspired my poem “Ancient Pictographs.” Writing in the form of Sijo was a challenging but also rewarding experience, and I hope to help this traditional poetry form become more well-known around the world.
The first two lines of the poem set up a bathroom scene where, in my head, I imagine several girls in the large handicap stall skipping class and gossiping amongst each other. The last line of the poem reveals that the listener of the girls in the bathroom stall is not another person in another stall, but a spider that’s hidden away, out of sight from the girls, eavesdropping on their conversation as it wraps its meal in silk.
I chose for the listener to be a spider that is out of sight because I am often someone out of the know, someone who hears gossip through eavesdropping in places like bathroom stalls or from brief hallway conversations.
Cocoon
By Katie Weitner, 16, Wisconsin
Curled up and cold, I face my knees, I close my eyes, bones frigid, fragile.
The night laughs. At me, I assume. Moonlight scolds him. I try to sleep.
Daylight knocks warmly on my door. I let her in, and we chat.
We were learning about a form of Korean poetry called Sijo in my Creative Writing class. I really enjoyed it, so I decided to write more. This poem is loosely about insomnia.
Instagram: @katie.weitner
Facade
By Marina Evans, 17, Wisconsin
“Are you okay?” she repeats, looking at my sorrowful face.
I look away, in a cloudy trance of embarrassment and shame.
I look up, with inevitable tears, and say, “I’m fine.”
The inspiration for this Sijo poem came from looking back at low moments of my life. As it’s often hard for me to express my feelings, I find an easier route is just to pretend like everything’s okay. I am sure many people can relate to this.
Elimination
By Rachel Druckery, 17, Wisconsin
COVID eliminated memories during my freshman year;
missing football games, homecoming, and many days of school.
You were taken away too soon, I will remember you Bill.
What inspired my work was my uncle who died a couple of years ago from COVID-19. He was diabetic and found he had COVID and wasn’t doing well in the hospital. The day before he died, he was sitting up eating a Culver’s burger. I also realized that during the past couple of years, I not only lost family members due to this awful virus, I also missed out on a lot of amazing first opportunities. Therefore, I made this poem about missing all of these opportunities and losing my uncle in the process.
Instagram: @racheldruckrey
It Will. It Will. It Will.
By Ciarah Allen, 18, Wisconsin
Blue drops of water fall uncontrollably. When will they stop?
Thoughts circle, sway, and crash over my head. This always happens.
Confusion of how my smile went away. It will come back, right?
The thing that inspired my work was the struggles I had in my childhood and how they are affecting me now emotionally. I struggled writing this a little bit because of the syllable count and because I wanted the poem and the word choice to be meaningful to the reader.
Theatre
By Zach Bruhn, 18, Wisconsin
Theatre, a way of life,
its vastness for all; though good and bad.
Hours of tech, rehearsing for days,
all for our joy and for yours.
Burning down, malfunction on stage;
theater lost, but that’s show business.
This Sijo poem is about my passion for theater and how when things go wrong, I take it semi-personally.
Alone
By Annie, 17, Wisconsin
I sit alone in my room and my brain fills with my thoughts,
I sit alone on the couch, but I like the extra space,
I sit alone at school, but it gets really lonely.
I was inspired by my feelings and tried to connect how I feel to my writing.
Hallelujah
By Marina Evans, 17, Wisconsin
As we sing, the harmonies are filling the hospital room.
I hold her hand, trying to hide my sadness and tear-filled eyes.
She is smiling, enjoying the last song she’ll ever hear.
This piece of writing is a Sijo poem. At first, it was hard for me to write everything I wanted to say with a certain amount of words, but once I got the hang of it with the help of my teacher, Elizabeth Jorgensen, I got to the final draft I pictured. I wrote this about my Nana, who struggled with Alzheimer’s for years. On her final day living, my sisters and I sang her a song called Hallelujah. We sang it for a second time at her funeral. This was her favorite song, and now it holds a special place in my heart.
