A Practicing Poet At Age 10 Finds Beauty In Words

By Susan Coney

At first glance Karan Marwah appears to be just like every other 10-year-old boy. He enjoys playing video games, sledding, skiing, hiking, and tennis. Karan can often be seen chasing his 8-year-old brother Kunal around the backyard and generally being an ordinary rough and tumble boy. Unlike most other kids, however, Karan is a serious poet.

Karan, who will enter Reed Intermediate School in the fall as a fifth grader, is a voracious reader, a violinist, a student in the gifted program, and a young writer and poet. Karan’s parents, Nipun and Alpana, have always encouraged their son to pursue his talents and interests. His mother commented, “He writes so beautifully and he is so good at it that we want to encourage him to continue.” Mrs Marwah said that Karan first showed a love for writing poetry in the third grade when his teacher exposed the students to various types and styles of poetry. Apparently Karan took to writing poetry like a duck takes to water, and has been producing quality poetry ever since.

Karan said, “I pick random things to write about and each poem generally takes between five and eight minutes to write. I don’t go back over and rewrite them much. I also like to write adventure stories dealing with bugs. I am writing a chapter book.” Buzzy the Poisonous Beetle is his latest chapter book, which is still in the works. He also delights in sketching the creatures depicted in his writing and has a box filled with quirky drawings of dragons, bugs, aliens, and even evil hamburgers.

Karan is a self-proclaimed bookworm. He reads for fun and is such a nonstop reader that his mother sometimes has to force him to put the book down to take a break. He read the most recent Harry Potter book in just three days. Currently Karan is participating in the Accelerated Reader Program, which is a summer reading program offered at the Reed Intermediate Media Center.

Karan’s family moved to Newtown two years ago when his father was transferred here from Charleston, S.C. Both boys love the snow and are especially fond of winter sports, which they did not experience living in the south. Mrs Marwah said, “We really like Newtown. It has good schools and it is a beautiful town.” Karan is looking forward to transitioning to Reed, but, as other children his age, is a little apprehensive about the size of the school and all the little obstacles that come with attending a new school.

Karan selected the following poems to be submitted to The Bee which gives a sample of his interests and talents.

Gun

The gun is a tool of torture

Which makes its mark as a scorcher

Only used for cruelty

It shouldn’t be used by a majority

Air and Wind

It is a gust with a must

To blow and blow and blow

And to go and go and go

So every being will notice

When it passes by…

So silent like breeze or so loud like a twister

Lets us live without any fuss

Does all this just for us…

What do we do in return?

We contaminate air and wind

A factory works at making tin

While in reality it is committing sin

Smoke is bulging happily from pipes

While air and wind are the suffering types

So they say…stop poisoning now

Or then they will die out and

No one will know how to bring them back!

Star

People think that to be a star your fame must not die out

But as you know stars do die out

So if you are a star with twinkling gleam just remember now

Do not treat others like nothing

Because some day your fame will die out and you will be one of them

By Karan Marwah

Age 10