Pyjamas and Poetry

What are some of your favourite things to do while wearing your comfiest pair of Dandelion pyjamas? We asked a few of our friends this question and they responded with so many things, many of which we ourselves hadn’t done in our pyjamas! Answers included things like stretch, write, daydream, meditate, Netflix, laze, eat and read. When it comes to reading, we’ve often spoken about our favourite books but what about poetry? Sweet, simple, beautiful poetry? For those of you who love to read in bed, here are our favourite poets to go with your cotton pyjamas.

Rupi Kaur

Hate them or love them, Instagram poets are a real thing. There are millions of people who have found their voice thanks to this social media platform though none have been quite as successful as Miss Kaur. A soft spoken creative mind, Kaur is a writer and illustrator who has now released two books of poetry. We love her for the way her words flow like lyrics and the themes that she touches upon which range from love and heart break to feminism and immigration.

“i want to apologize to all the women i have called beautiful
before i’ve called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of
when you have broken mountains with your wit 
from now on i will say things like
you are resilient, or you are extraordinary
not because i don’t think you’re beautiful
but because i need you to know
you are more than that”

 

Robert Frost

The name itself makes us feel like bundling up in bed. Robert Frost is one poet you must remember from school, with famous poems like The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice and Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening, this Pulitzer Prize winner has written so many incredible pieces. His writing often question things like existence and loneliness, in rural settings that almost bring a real chill to our bones. He looks at human reactions to nature and always has as sort of sad, sympathetic humour present in his poems.

The Road Not Taken

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

Shell Silverstein

Shell Silverstein has to be one of the most fun and likeable poets in the world. He started off as an artist, drawing as a teen and even becoming a cartoonist for Playboy magazine. He had a real way with words and ended up becoming one of the world’s most successful children’s poets. If you’re unfamiliar with Silverstein, pick up a copy of Where The Sidewalk Ends to understand his style and his work.

“If you are a dreamer come in
If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar
A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer
If youre a pretender com sit by my fire
For we have some flax golden tales to spin
Come in! 
Come in!” 

 

Kabir

A little closer to home, though going back a few centuries, we happen upon Kabir. A 15th century mystic, Kabir wrote in Hindi and offered commentary of religion, faith and life. His work stands as a foundation for many writers and thinkers today. He was condemned for his criticism of both Hinduism and Islam and believed that god was with that person who was on the path of righteousness. Though he used simple words in the vernacular, the topics he discussed were deep and very ahead of his time.

“Where do you search me? 
I am with you 
Not in pilgrimage, nor in icons 
Neither in solitudes 
Not in temples, nor in mosques 
Neither in Kaba nor in Kailash 
I am with you O man 
I am with you”