Waiting for the Evening Bus

This poem is packed full of examples of personification, using the scenario of standing at the bus stop in an evening, under the lamplight, and picturing each lamp-post as a sentry, standing tall with a vacant, faceless stare.  It also includes lots of similes, metaphors, alliteration and a moment of word play to end the poem.

Standing by the sentry
In the gaze of the moonlight,
Surrendered to the company
Of shadows in the night,
I’m suddenly aware
Of his army all around;
Front-line soldiers lined up to
Defend their battle ground.

They tower up above me,
Looking down with intense glare,
Devoid of all emotion with
A vacant, face-less stare.
All patience now has left me
I find myself alone,
With just the wind for company
And its whispering moan.

The winter starts to bully
My fingers and my toes;
Indignity is running
Like water from my nose.
Impatiently, my watch
Emphasises my long wait,
Announcing with a cruel intent
“The bus is running late!”

I beckon to my date
As she arrives over the hill.
Her driver slows her to a halt
Where I am standing still.
Relief is overwhelming!
Briefly, I’m without a care
Until the driver stuns me
When he tells me the fare!

HOW CAN THAT BE FAIR?

This poem has a basic, dull setting; simply waiting for a bus at a bus stop in the cool night air.  However, as I stood at the bus stop under the lamp-post it reminded me of a sentry (guard) standing tall and without any emotion, just a blank stare.  It gave me that feeling of being small and ‘helpless to improve my own situation.  Then, as I looked down the road, the line of lamp-posts along the pavements looked like soldiers standing forward and edging their battle ground, and so on.  Hopefully the photograph will help your imaginations to picture the scene.  from that point onwards, I just enjoyed personifying the scene around me.

If you would like to know more about personification and find some ideas of how to make it fun, and how to have a go yourself, look at the TEACHERS’ PAGE, FIGURATIVE WRITING (INTRO), PERSONIFICATION.  If you are teaching personification would like to see this poem with all of the examples of personification highlighted, click here for WAITING FOR THE EVENING BUS, PERSONIFICATION EXAMPLES

Tagged as: alliteration, children's poem, children's poems, examples of personification, metaphor poetry, metaphors, personification, personification poem, simile, simile and metaphor poetry, simile poem, simile poetry, similes, similes and metaphors, teaching personification, word play