Author Archives:

16

Apr. ’10

If No One Were Watching

If no one were watching I would
say good-bye to the stars in
the night. I would stay in my room writing
about the world, telling myself
how I love my family. I would write
a song of love without anything
to get in my way. I would kiss the moon
because I love you so much. I would do
anything for you because I love you
so much. “You are the love in my
life,” I would tell you up close,
and you would tell me, “I do, too.”

By Laila, 3rd grade
[photo by Aggatho via flickr]

Originally published on December 8, 2009.

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, student, writers in the schools. 1 Comment

15

Apr. ’10

Space

I whisper to my mom.
I whisper to her about space.
I say that there are eight planets.
I tell her that there are stars.
I say there are galaxies.
I tell her that I like space.
My mom tells me
that she likes space too.

By Aneesh, 3rd grade
[photo by NASAJPL via flickr]

Originally published February 17, 2010.

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, student. Tags: , , , , , , . 6 Comments

13

Apr. ’10

Mi caja mágica (My Magic Box)

Would you like this bookmark? E-mail jwatson@witshouston.org for more information.

En mi caja mágica, yo quiero poner
la sonrisa de mi hermana chiquita,
el sabor de un chocolate o dulce rico,
y el recuerdo de la Navidad y el olor de las galletas dulces
que mi mamá hizo para mí.
En mi caja, quiero guardar el sonido
de los pajaritos que cantan.
Y quiero guardar el momento
cuando mi mamá ganó
un trofeo en su trabajo.

~
In my magic box, I put
my little sister’s smile,
the taste of chocolate,
the memory of Christmas
and the smell of the sweet cookies
that my mother made for me.
In my box, I put the sound
birds sing, and the time
when my mother won
a trophy at her job.

By Jessica, 3rd grade

apad2

This poem is featured as part of the 2010 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 above to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: mother, national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, Spanish. Tags: , , , . Leave a comment

12

Apr. ’10

Ode to Monday Morning

dough by ktragirlYou’re ready for
school but you still
have 30 more minutes
left so you lie down
on the couch or sit.
It is the longest
30 minutes of your life.

Monday morning
is like homemade
play dough – you don’t
really know what
to do with it and
it takes forever
to wash off.

By Philip, 4th grade
[photo by ktragirl via flickr]

Originally published on May 18, 2009

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: humor, ode, poetry, student, writers in the schools. Tags: , , , , . 1 Comment

09

Apr. ’10

On the Other Side of My Dream

Originally published on January 14, 2010.


On the other side of my dream
is a rain drop from the sky.
On the other side of my dream
is the smell of an apple I give to my dad.
On the other side of my dream
is a mirror, shiny as the sea.
On the other side of my dream
is a clam shell coming from the bottom
of the sea of my dream.

By Olivia, 1st grade
[photo by wild goose chase via flickr]

Click above to hear Olivia read her poem.

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, student. Tags: , , . 1 Comment

08

Apr. ’10

Webbed Jungle Gym

Originally published on July 2, 2009.

You’re busy making beads
and what not,
but check this jungle gym out
next time you need a breath of cool air.
Climb the checkered-rope wall,
crawl through the crazy webbed maze,
then slide down the super slippery seven foot single slide.
Oh, and you won’t believe the weather here.
It’s that cool-breezy but sunny sort of air.
Come by tomorrow, come by later, come by
whenever when you’re finished with your homework.
Only a couple of blocks from
this family-owned pizza place.
Don’t worry about getting lost,
bring a compass. Remember:
South of Germany, East of Switzerland.
Only a couple of thousand miles away from you.

jungle gym by a is for angie

By Joseph, 6th grade
[photo by A is for Angie via flickr]

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: imagination, national poetry month, place, poem a day, poetry, student, travel, writers in the schools. Tags: , , , , . 2 Comments

07

Apr. ’10

Dear Joseph

Originally published on August 14, 2009.

I’m sitting here, right now,
my belly full of cookies,
my raincoat hung on the hook.
The rain is pouring down outside,
but I still think wistfully of today.
Earlier, we ate our breakfast
and headed out into the village.
Children laughed, people ran,
and the storefronts seemed to shine.
Ice cream clutched in waffle cones,
our coats zipped up against the chill,
we navigated the busy village streets.
We took the cable car up the mountain
where the beauty makes
you want to sing.

table mountain cable car by geoftheref

By Amelia, 5th grade
[photo by geoftheref via flickr]

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: food, national poetry month, nature, place, poem a day, poetry, student, writers in the schools. Tags: , , . 1 Comment

06

Apr. ’10

The Listener

Speak to me for I am the listener.
I am here to lend an open ear and a closed mouth.
I do not judge I merely listen.
I do not interrupt your thoughts with my own.
I do not speak of myself.
I am here so that you can speak and unload
all the thoughts and emotions that plague you,
all the little achievements you feel too trivial
or too important for uncaring ears,
all the secrets you need to scream but can only whisper,
all the troubles that others overlook but that you can’t let go of,
anything and everything that you need to take off your back.

By Rose, 10th grade
[photo of The Listener by James Nelson; by spottiewattie via flickr]

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, poem a day, poetry. Tags: , . 2 Comments

05

Apr. ’10

Mom

Originally published on May 5, 2009.

butterfly-by-aimzyMy mom’s voice is like the
sound of rain pelting hard
on the ground. Her hair is
soft like a piece of cotton candy.
Her ears can hear from a
hundred miles. She sees
like a hawk and she looks
like pieces of sand moving
in the desert.
When she yells, it sounds like
a coyote howling in the night.
When she steps on the ground,
it sounds like a giant dog
running toward its owner
faster, faster. When she eats,
I can barely hear her
like a butterfly flying by.

By Lorenzo, 3rd grade
[photo by aimzy via flickr]

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: Houston, mother, national poetry month, poem a day, poetry, student, writers in the schools. Tags: , , , , . Leave a comment

02

Apr. ’10

My Life

Originally published on May 26, 2009.

sunflower by asim237My life
is the sunny park
smelling like golden sunflowers.
I feel like I’m swinging on the swing.
The air tastes like vanilla.
Touching the soft leaves
and flowers falling out of the sky.
And best of all I’m with my two families
and our dogs in the park with the wind.
And all of us love each other.
My life of my heart is crimson because it is brave
with a lovely house and a nice garden with red roses
and a fountain.

By Jason, 3rd grade
[photo by Asim237 via flickr]

apad2
This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, nature, poem a day, poetry, student, writers in the schools. Tags: , , . 1 Comment

01

Apr. ’10

Schoolyard in April

The birds chirping, the flowers blooming
Nothing like April to bring more joy
The ability to laugh hysterically as the popular
Girls whine about stolen lipstick
Picnicking in the park, playing at the
Playground remembering when I was
Younger, my teacher holding me
Up while I climbed the monkey bars
Watching the other teachers shooing
Away nosy children as they have their
Grown-up talk, whispers of a
Secret crush being unraveled.

By Rita, 7th grade
[photo by thelovecrazypianist via flickr]

apad2This poem is featured as part of the 2009 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 the left to learn more.

Posted by . Categories: national poetry month, place, poem a day, poetry, student. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

31

Mar. ’10

On Occasion (Antonym Version)

I never forget my buddy’s name.
I often remember the names of weeds in
My mom’s dirt. Her buddy reminds her,
“Zion, it’s them the weeds just sitting there
Watching the moon.”

A minute away her father said,
“Hey, there are also tame flowers
But look away here what you dug up.”

Your dirt bed is blue and brown
And black is their wilting, their wilting, they
Kill new plants every day making their
Skinny stems chubbier.

After warning after you sat and thought
You yelled out, “clover, clover, clover,” and
Away went a dull winter wind
that rocked harshly, and bent you said,
“Father, father.”

By Olivia, 3rd grade
[photo by Leonard John Matthews via flickr]

Posted by . Categories: writers in the schools. Leave a comment

25

Mar. ’10

Poza Rico

Poza Rica, my hometown,
Five generations of mariachi bands
Now sons, daughters, granddaughters, and grandsons playing
Remembering old good days
The days when the master
Picked great shows, hand-claps
And how today those songs are strummed
In the remembrance
Of the master guitarist
Hidden somewhere in this guitar
Is a song

By Adrian, 6th grade
[photo by SeraphimC via flickr]

Posted by . Categories: place, poetry, student. Leave a comment

22

Mar. ’10

Tracy Kidder to read tonight 3/22/10

Inprint‘s Margarett Root Brown Reading Series presents non-fiction writer Tracy Kidder, who will read tonight at 7:30 PM at the Hubbard Stage in the Alley Theatre. Tickets are $5. A National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize winner for his book, Soul of a New Machine, Tracy will be discussing his newest book, Strength in What Remains. The presentation will be followed by an on-stage interview. Click here to submit a question or purchase tickets online.

Who: Tracy Kidder
What: Presentation and Interview
Where: Hubbard Stage, Alley Theatre (615 Texas Avenue)
When: March 22 at 7:30 PM
Cost: $5

Posted by . Categories: books, event, Houston. Tags: , , . 1 Comment