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Poem on Exam Paper Stuns Poet Mother
9 Jun
Summary
- A mother's poem, written seven years prior, appeared on her son's exam.
- The son was inspired by his mother's poem for his Junior Cycle English paper.
- The poem was inspired by a child's chalk message stating 'The world is great'.
Galway poet Emily Cullen was astonished to discover that a poem she had written seven years earlier was included in her son Lee's Junior Cycle English exam. The poem, titled "Envoi in Chalk," was inspired by an eight-year-old Lee's message written in chalk on a pavement that read, "The world is great."
Cullen described the moment she learned the news from her son as flabbergasting, a "once-in-a-lifetime synchronicity." She and her son shared an emotional embrace, and she later contacted relatives to share the surprising news. The selection of poems for state exams is kept confidential until the examination period.
Lee initially contemplated answering the exam question in the first person, given his role as the poem's inspiration, but ultimately chose the third person. The poem was first published as an Irish Times Poem of the Week and later included in Cullen's third collection, "Conditional Perfect."
Written during a difficult time when her mother was hospitalized, the poem "The world is great" served as a poignant reminder of life's beauty. Seven years later, with her mother having passed away and her father recently discharged from the hospital, Cullen finds renewed meaning in the poem's message of finding wonder amid darkness.
