Poems and Origami
Home History Uses Terms
Peace Poems Activities Resources

Poems and Origami

by Ashley and Callie

Shape on shape and fold on fold
Creates a world from simple mould.
In what emerges my eye can see
Bird or Beast or Geometry.
...John Smith



Poets have written poems about origami and artists have folded origami models to illustrate poems. It just seems that origami and poetry go together. Japanese people love poetry and have handed down poems as well as origami models. On this page you will find poems that we wrote ourselves as well as those written by other origamists. We hope that these poems will inspire you to not only fold origami models, but also to write your own poems.



We would like for you to Submit us your poems so that we can display them on this page with your name, age, and school.



Change by Callie

When you see a beautiful butterfly,
Fluttering in the air so high,
You don't remember its history.
Its caterpillar days to you are a mystery.
It once crawled on the ground,
Not knowing where it was bound.
When it made its cocoon,
It knew not it would be flying soon.
It slowly emerged with gorgeous wings,
Very much glory did this cocoon bring.


You transform the paper you fold,
From a flat sheet to glory untold.
You can create a butterfly,
A teddy bear, or a big bowtie.
All of this from a simple page,
Most designs have changed with age.
You see paper as one little sheet,
And in a heartbeat,
You've refined this technique
To create a design so unique.


A poem by Ashley



Ashley's Diamonte

Paper
Squares, Rectangles
Folding, Bending, Creasing
Scraps, Sheets, Cranes, Butterflies
Intriguing, Challenging, Fascinating
Japanese, Ancient
Origami


Diamonte Guideline



Leaping Frog
(Haiku)

A paper frog jumps
Trying to win the contest
Leaping high and far.

by Jonathan




A cinquain by Andy

Crane
intricate, unique
fold, crease, create
Sending message of hope.
Peace




Origami
fun, interesting
fold, form, crease
Symbolizes the Japanese custom.
Art

by Jessica




Origami
creative, fun
creasing, folding, bending
I love folding paper.
Crane

by Kimberly




Origami
frustrating, tricky
fold, bend, overlap
Origami is very fun.
Creases

by Kelsey




Crane
fun, difficult
hope, soars, flies
They look real cool.
Origami

by Cody




Hope
faith, promise
trust, wish, desire
Trust the wish made.
Loyalty

by Randi




Paper by Tanner

There was this square piece of paper.
I was just folding and doing other stuff
And this paper was really kinda rough.
I folded it forward.
I folded it back.
My teacher said, "put it on the stack!"
I folded lots more
And it looked really poor.
But it finally turned into a crane
Although it kinda looked like an airplane
That flapped and flapped.
It was fun folding on my lap!

Honorable Mention in Writer's Fair, VMS 1999

The following poems were written by John Smith,
a modern origamist and poet


Fujimoto's Cube

I sit and look at you my friend,
   and marvel at your being.
From one perfection to another.
From the anonymity and illusion of the plane,
   to the reality of the cube.
Yet the two are one;
   it is time and space that have changed.
I sit and look at you, my friend,
   and wonder at your perfection
All is needed, nothing is wasted.
And what a journey from one perfection to another!
An instant of magic when anonymity changes to reality.
When the plane becomes a cube,
When nothingness becomes reality,
   with shape and space and meaning
Here is the mystery of our art.

To David Brill's Horse


But this is a horse,
This thing of paper plain.
For these folds form
The sinews of a stallion,
A wild free living beast.
Thus can life shine through
The constraints of our art.

 

Akira's Children

His hands reach out in greeting as they come
Love seeks each one.
One hand claps in soundless silence
Two hands clap, a world awakens
Heartbeats as one.
Hands dance with paper and the life begins to stir
A butterfly appears,
then a host fluttering to the sun
And all is one.
Akira's Children.


    To Origami

What gentle art to confine
By plane of paper - folded line.
What magic here to capture me,
In infinite variety.

Shape on shape and fold on fold
Creates a world from simple mould.
In what emerges my eye can see
Bird or Beast or Geometry.

The art's not in the form thats won
alone, but also in the journey done.
Through plane of paper and folded line
A glimpse of eternity is mine.

What gentle art to confine
By plane of paper - folded line.
What magic here to capture me,
In infinite variety.






The Heart As Origami
by Jane Hirschfield 

Each one has its shape.
For love, two sleeping ducks.
For selfless courage, the war horse.
For fear of death, the daylily's one-day flower.
More and more creased each year, worn paper thin,
   and still it longs for them all.
Not one of the lives of this world the heart does not choose.



To the Activities




For More Information, Try These:





To the Top

Home || History || Uses || Terms
Peace || Poems || Activities || Resources



This website was created for ThinkQuest Junior
Copyright March, 1999