A Poem A Day » Kristina McDonald

Zeus

Kristina McDonald — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:30:48 +0000

You are the leafless trees
That refuse to shade me
You are the dark, looming sky
That strikes fear into the hearts of many

However, you are not the snow-capped mountains
With immense beauty
The clouds that run over them
They are not you

You are a goddess
Serving Zeus
But I am Zeus
Ruling the world

I am the glaring eyes of the deer you made into a trophy
And, I am the tall, powerful mountain
That overlooks your tiny home

Don’t worry though
You can still be the insignificant trees
Of which I have thousands
The sky, which I pierce with my lightning
Whose heart this poem touches

by Julian, 10th grade
[photo by Jason Arends via flickr]

This poem (originally published 6/10/10) is featured as part of the 2011 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by WITS that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click on the logo to learn more.

Filed under: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, student, writers in the schools Tagged: greek mythology, zeus

Querida hermanita (Dear Little Sister)

Kristina McDonald — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:30:06 +0000

Querida hermanita,
tu cabello es tan brillante
como las estrellas.
Tus manos son tan suaves
como las plumas de los pájaros.
Tus ojos son tan claros
como el agua del mar,
y tus labios son tan rojos
como las rosas.
Tus orejas tienen aretes
que parecen como joyas amarillas,
muy brillantes.
Tu sonrisa es tan blanca
como una perla,
y tu ropa parece como un arcoíris.
Tú eres tan valiente
como el fuego,
y corres tan rápido
como el chita.
Tú eres tan buena
que yo te daría todo mi amor,
como tú me lo diste a mí,
y te daría todas las perlas
que encuentre en el fondo del mar.
~
Dear little sister,
Your hair is very shiny
like the stars.
Your hands are so soft
like the feathers of the birds.
Your eyes are so clear
like the water in the sea,
and your lips are so red
like the roses.
Your ears have earrings that look like
yellow jewels,
very shiny.
Your smile is so white
like a pearl,
and your clothes look like a rainbow.
You are so brave
like the fire,
and you run so fast
like the cheetah.
You are so nice that
I would give you all my love,
like the way you gave it to me,
and I would give you all the pearls
that I could find in the bottom of the sea.

by Camila, 2nd grade
[photo by Just Megan via flickr]

This poem (originally posted on 8/10/2010) is featured as part of the 2011 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by WITS that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click on the logo to learn more.

Filed under: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, Spanish, student, writers in the schools Tagged: little sister, little sister poem, sister poem, spanish poem

Get Your Poem a Day YOUR Way

Kristina McDonald — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:30:45 +0000

April is just around the corner and WITS is ready to celebrate National Poetry Month with our annual A Poem A Day campaign. Starting next Friday, WITS will offer one poem written by a WITS student each day. Here are some ways you can participate:

* Receive the WITS poem every morning in your email.
* Bookmark this page and return for daily inspiration.
* Request free bookmarks for your workplace.
* Tune in to Houston’s KPFT 90.1 FM in the afternoons to hear a WITS student poem.
* Add the WITS blog to your RSS feed reader.
* Leave comments on your favorite poems for the author to enjoy.
* Get the Poem a Day widget. Choose the look you like, and add it to your blog, website, or Facebook/MySpace page. It takes less than a minute to install.
* Write a poem a day.
* Find poetry events in your own neighborhood.

Filed under: event, Houston, national poetry month, poem a day Tagged: a poem a day, national poetry month

Where Are We Now: Kristina McDonald

Kristina McDonald — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:17:18 +0000

I have had nearly 9,000 lunches in my lifetime. Some have been out of a paper bag or a Star Wars lunch box. Some have been at fancy restaurants that serve food that I can’t pronounce. I’ve had a hamburger in a revolving restaurant, and I had a chicken basket once in an underground cavern. I’ve even had buffalo wings with one of the world’s most famous bowlers and a champagne lunch with Andrea Ferguson White.

But I can honestly say I’ve never had a more enjoyable (or adorable) lunch than this past Saturday, when two of my students and their mom took me out to a Japanese restaurant.

“You have to hear what you’ve done to them,” the mom told me.

For the next hour I listened as Helena, 7, and Gabriel, 6, took turns talking over each other and telling me all about the stories and plays that they had written since they started attending the Saturday morning Young Writers Workshop at Discovery Green last October. Their mom used to read to them every night. Now, story time has become them writing and acting out their own original works.

When the brother-sister duo first appeared in my class, I had the impression that they were rather shy. However, I quickly learned that the reason they were so quiet is because they were constantly thinking and coming up with new creative ideas to catch me off guard.

I still remember a lesson I led where the students stuck their hand in a mystery box and pulled out a word that they had to use as the next word in their story. Gabriel, who shared my love of dragons, pulled out the word, “history.” He asked me if I meant the subject in school, so I explained that history does mean things that have happened in the past, but also that we all have our own histories just like each country has its own history. I could see him thinking about it for a minute, and just when I thought he wasn’t getting it and we would need to talk it out some more, he plopped on the floor and wrote, “My dragon and I are a history of wonder.” (This line would later serve as the inspiration for a poem I read before an audience.)

Just this past week, Helena blew me away with the line, “Twisted is my homework in the sky.” I told her that was a great line, and she smiled her shy little smile and said, “I know.”

She explained to me over lunch that she and her brother have been co-writing a series of 12 novels about two different fantasy worlds that they created and how the worlds start to interact. She was still relaying the finer aspects of the plot to me by the time she finished her gyoza, and all I could feel was a sense of awe at her constant excitement. It occurred to me that I had no good excuse for not finishing my own novel when this creative little 7-year-old was just cranking them out. She wondered if I would remember her when I was famous, and I insisted instead that she remember me when they become famous and start their brother/sister book tour.

This past year was my first as a WITS writer, and sadly it also (at least temporarily) my last since I am leaving Houston to pursue an MFA degree in poetry. I have been teaching in various capacities for awhile though, and I know that it can be difficult to qualify how much impact you really have on your students, particularly when you only see them for an hour every week like I did. I have tried my best to memorize all the excitement and pride I felt at this lunch, and I plan on carrying it with me on my journey as a reminder of the power of creative writing.

by Kristina McDonald, Writers in the Schools (WITS)

Filed under: where are we now, writers in the schools Tagged: discovery green park, Houston, kristina mcdonald

Advice from a Nest

Kristina McDonald — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:20:26 +0000

Always stay strong for the younger ones
Don’t crack your twigs when everyone’s asleep
Don’t fall apart when no one is there
Don’t let someone fall through or you’ll get hurt too
Always pick a good spot to be made in
Always blend in so bigger birds won’t get the smaller ones
Always say good-bye when the younger ones get old

By Averie, 5th grade
[photo by mistybliss via flickr]

Filed under: nature, poetry, student Tagged: advicce poem, nest, nest poem, personification