This was a job done by the youngest of the Victorian poor children. Victorian children in Britain could expect to work 12, or even 18 hours a day down the mines. This page includes haikus and a shape poem about life for the trapper boys in Victorian Britain.
These first two poems are both haikus, which consist of 3 lines with a specific number of syllables on each ie, 5,7,5.
A Trapper Boy’s Day
Cold, dark and lonely
If only….If only what?
I know nothing else.
A Trapper Boy’s Day Off
Sunday : Sunlight day
Back down the mine tomorrow
Monday’s here so soon.
The next poem is a very basic shape poem.
A Trapper Boy’s View
Nothing.
Nothing to do.
Nothing to see.
No – where to go.
No – one to talk to.
No – one but the rats,
the passing ponies and
a cold, dark and damp
tunnel for company. I’m
glad I’m not a trapper boy.
These poor Victorian children had to sit in the dark tunnels waiting to open the door to let the coal carts through (pulled by ‘hurriers’ and pushed by ‘thrusters’), and to keep the air circulating around the tunnels to avoid any build up of dangerous gases. Working every day except Sunday, from morning until night a child knew nothing but work and sleep. He or she would only ever see daylight on their day off, which would be over so quickly. This is why I have used the haiku form for these trapper boy poems as it is short and has very little to say!
The shape poem, of the tunnel, is very simple to achieve as the shape is very basic and can be as large or wide as you like, which makes it much easier to achieve.
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