Poems of Wit and Wisdom

Transcription

1 Poems of Wit and Wisdom Written by Students on the Sixth Grade BLUE TEAM Alfred G. Waters Middle School Instructors: Amy Brown and Mary Koster Artist in Residence: JoAnn Baligit Cover Design by Sarah Figgs and Kelly Wells Copyright, 2009 All rights reserved by the artists

2 Acknowledgements This program is made possible, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for Division of the Arts grants is supported by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly, along with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Funding for this project also provided in part by the Alfred G. Waters PTA. Without their matched funds, this project would not have been possible. 2

3 Introduction The lively poems in this booklet by sixth grade students at Alfred G. Waters Middle School reflect the curiosity, enthusiasm and creative energy of writers engaged with language. Each day, along with a prompt and suggestions on form, I gave these students permission to write whatever came into their heads. Soon the students found that words and ideas, once written down, can take on unexpected meanings, or allow us to discover meaning. We shared our work, often on the spot. Even those who were at first reticent or skeptical of writing poetry were won over by the joy of sharing a few simple truths about their lives. By week s end my requests to share brand new poems were met by a sea of hands. How often does the world listen intently to what each of us has to say, no matter who we are? The human need to share experience deeply and communally is one of the reasons poetry and all art has always been around. The observations in these poems are ordinary: a favorite season, a missed pet, April Fools Day, wishes or questions about identity. The observations are made extraordinary by the magic of poetic language, which conveys emotions we aren t able to express in everyday conversation. Poetry can teach us how we are different and how we are alike. Poetry in the classroom teaches students the power of words, and love for the written word. These students see themselves as authors now. Whenever and whatever they write, they will be aware they possess a great power. I hope they will exercise the power of words throughout their careers as students, and always. JoAnn Balingit Poet Laureate of Delaware April,

4 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction Chapters Fools Rush In I am Me Favorite Things It s Only Natural Random Thoughts

5 Fools Rush In 5

6 April Rules April fools is the best day Birds chirping in the morning Comets flying through the sky Dad is yelling breakfast is ready Enormous bees keep me inside Fruit flies all over the fruit Getting stung by bees Have to get an x-ray of my finger It s so much fun Joggers jogging Kittens being born Let me go to my friend s house Monkeys are hiding in trees Need more clothes Over-stuffed turkey Purring cats everywhere Quick on my feet Racing to the park Sweets I got a lot to eat Tulips blooming everywhere Unbar the windows for fresh air Venus fly traps eating flies Worn down wood from last year X-rays of your mouth hurts Yard is ready for me to play in Zebras waiting in the zoo Casey Alexander 6

7 April Fools Why would I do that? It s funny It s April Fools day I m not moving It s funny I had to do something I m not moving Gotcha I had to do something Moving sounded good Gotcha New Hampshire Moving sounded good I can t believe you fell for it New Hampshire Ha Ha Ha I can t believe you fell for it You believed me on April Fools Ha Ha Ha Why would I do that? Justin Hacker 7

8 April Fools Always be on guard Because today is for a fool Consider it brutal Don t turn your back Everyone everywhere For only a fool to dare Good for nothing Horrible and bad Ignorant fools Just all over Kind people Like me and you Mind our own business Never get involved Only if it s you Put your foot down Quiet about it now Respect yourself See yourself Take back what is yours Understand the meaning Vincent, Daniel, Joe all do too Watch your back, an Xacto knife is a bit too far, You need to catch some Z s because tomorrow is April Fools. Jonathan Scurato 8

9 April Fools April Fools a Brilliant holiday, letting you Carry out pranks which is the Door to having fun. Enormous pranks to do For April Fools. Good Thing you won t get in trouble or a Higher level then what it should. In April Fools, You can prank any way like putting Jam on somebody while they re sleeping. I m Kenyatta and I pranked my dad Lawrence. I basically poured hot water in his Mouth. If you really want fun do it to somebody that is Negative to you. Or one of your friends. Prepare yourself for somebody else s prank Quickly or else you ll Run right into one. Stay focus Till April Fools is Venture out but do not Under way Wonder. Be Xtremeley careful and You ll be okay. Get into your pranking Zone and have fun. Kenyatta Chandler 9

10 I m a Fool I m a Fool. I jumped off a house in a pool. My friends thought it was cool. We went to go play pool. Right in the school My dog tends to drool. We use a tool, To open cans. That is why I m a Fool. John Durante 10

11 I m a Fool When I m about to jump off of my house I think to myself I m a Fool When I m about to shoot a Robin out of a tree I think to myself I m a fool When I m about to hurt my sister I think to myself I m a fool And When I go to my bedroom I think to myself How big of a fool I was today I m a Fool - Isaac Wendt 11

12 Revenge of the April Fool April has come. I will try to Be very careful today. Can I make it through the day? I Doubt it. Eventually someone will Fool me. I try to Get back at them but I always fail. Hopefully I won t fail this year. I made a plan that Is full proof. The Joke s on everyone else now. They won t Know what hit them. This year, I ll Laugh and yell APRIL FOOLS, not them. My plan is so good that No one will be able to stop me. On the bus, I will Prepare. This plan is at the best Quality. This trick will make the kids Run. After this trick, the kids will Say sorry 100 Times for mean things they did. Unusual things will happen. Various events will make kids do What I want them to do. At the X-act time, 12:30, my friend will Yell, and while the students are distracted, I ll Zip to the back of the class and release the rats. Matthew Watts 12

13 Fool I am a fool Laughing more than I breathe Talking much too loud But I always have fun Laughing more than I breathe Freaking out all the time But I always have fun Breaking every thing I touch Freaking out all the time Nothing can stop me From always having fun I am I fool Devon Scolase 13

14 Stupid Four is the age when stupid things happen. She will never find me here! Sitting, I now regret watching the long locks fall to the floor. They are now uneven, wow oh wow. She will never find me here! Snip, snip. Regretting everything. They are now uneven, wow oh wow. Sitting, scissors in hand, regretting as short locks fall to the floor. Snip, snip. She will never find me here! Oh, no. She found me, under the table. I look in the mirror and smile. They are now uneven, wow oh wow. My hair looks different or horrible. Four is the age when stupid things happen. Ashleigh McClellan 14

15 I Am Me 15

16 True or False? I stare at a couch in front of me before me I see 2 things that express me and one thing that I don t wish to happen in my life time. I stare the first thing I that is true about me I love my cousins and my family dearly, I love them so much I don t know what I would do without them I stare The second thing that s true about me I love my life and my friends so much Sometimes when I wake up I call my friends sisters because I don t have any brothers or sisters the closest thing I have to sisters is my cousins or my friends I do have one very special sister who means so much to me the sister I would die for is my cousin Rachel!!!! I stare the third seat waiting for me to call its name The thing I don t wish to be true is that I will stop loving my cousins and my family I would die without my cousin Rachel she is everything to me!!!!!!!!! Shannon Thorpe 16

17 Who am I? Who am I? What do I see in me? As I look at myself... I question. How am I different? What do I see in me? Do I see guilt or satisfaction? How am I different? The question leaves me puzzled Do I see guilt or satisfaction? What do you see in me? The question leaves me puzzled I look at my reflection What did you see in me? I see the real me I look at my reflection I stare and realize I don t have to change I see the real me Not the person I thought I had to change into I stare and realize I don t have to change I only have to be myself Now I know who I am Allan Chandy 17

18 High in the Sky I am an eagle high in the sky As I jump off the branch And soar high. As I fly, I look down And I see the trees, the ground, And the humans below. But then I fall And flap my wings But they do not Work. Then I notice That I am not a bird. I am human. All I can do is Try, try, try. I am an eagle high in The sky. Austin Maxwell 18

19 MY LIFE Air that I breathe Birthdays are in everyone s life Cousins are in my family Dad - I love him Earth is where I live Family is my life Good is a word I use in life Happiness forever in life Ice cream is good Jordan is my name Kangaroos hoping Language, which is English, I speak Mom - I love her Nobody can stop me in life October is my birthday Pasta is tasty Questions I ask Red - I hate that color Shrimp is good Turtles are awesome Universe I live in Virginia is where I go for soccer Wacky people live on earth X-cithcen Yahoo Zipping up my hoody JORDAN ASHBY 19

20 Why am I here? Candles lit the black sky. I am confused, staring in a daze. Misguided and disliked, I write and write. I am confused, staring at a daze, Wondering how did I get here? I write and I write, In the only thing that is mine. How did I get here? I did nothing wrong. Nothing here is mine, I was forced to come here. I did nothing wrong, I wasn t meant to be here. I was forced to come here. Wishing I wasn t here. I wish I wasn t here. Misguided and disliked. David Ellis 20