Roar! Roar! I hear the sound nearby. I see 10,000 black stripes. I am scared. “I am in India. I must watch out,” I say to myself. There is the sound again. Roar! Roar! Roar! I look back, then yell like crazy. There is an entire herd of tigers. They charge at me and are close on me. “Help! Help!” I yell. I run to a tree and scamper up it. Caw! Caw! I hear a crow who warns me of the tigers. I jump out of bed and look around. Phew!
By Sahana, 2nd grade
When we get there
the horses in their stalls
paw the dirt.
I cough in the dust.
We grab the feed,
and they whinny at me
when I pass by.
I get a brush; very tenderly
I scrape off the dirt.
They are as dusty and steamy
as a train when it chugs
down the track.
When we feed the mares,
their babies skip after us.
They run so fast
they fall.
by Isabella, 3rd grade
Click the link (above) to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Gabriel Arnold, a 4th grade student at Parker Elementary in Houston.
This poem is featured as part of the 2012 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by Writers in the Schools (WITS) that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click here to learn more.
The cage was covered in an
elegant cloth,
with a practical bird
inside.
The sign was actually a
picture,
with a person fleeing
in the forest.
To the villagers this was
common, as ordinary
as can be.
A miracle was
necessary, to have
a success.
A sound reflected
in the silence
from the shallow
water,
a ripple
made a gentle
sound,
an equal to the world’s
finest picture,
the freshness of justice
and the evergreen
scent of nature.
Fire never wanted
a truce with water
but thought it was
foolish otherwise.
Oh, the wonders!
by Camille, 3rd grade
Click the link (above) to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Christine Bowyer, a 4th grader from Parker Elementary.
This poem is featured as part of the 2012 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by Writers in the Schools (WITS) that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click here to learn more.
In the morning a bird sings
“chirp, chirp, chirp.”
It sings about how it wants
to use words instead of sounds.
Soon there is a choir of birds
singing about what they want to do.
They will sing about eating good food,
about being grown.
They will sing about human things,
how they would want arms for wings,
and mouths for beaks, singing.
by Luke, 3rd grade
Click the link (above) to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Alexandra Maynard, a 4th grader from Parker Elementary.
This poem is featured as part of the 2012 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by Writers in the Schools (WITS) that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click here to learn more.
photo by Flat Cat Designs - click to see more
Un día vi una mariposa.
Yo me asomé por la ventana, y me salí de la casa.
Yo quería agarrar esa mariposa tan bella.
Corrí y tomé mi bicicleta para poder atraparla.
Después me subí a un avión para poder atraparla.
Luego la toqué y se sintió suave. Pude oler un rico perfume.
Yo escuché a la mariposa que seguia volando.
Mi corazon se sintió feliz de ver a la mariposa rosada tan bella.
Por eso me sentí contenta y feliz.
~
One day I saw a butterfly.
I looked out the window, and I went out of the house.
I wanted to catch the butterfly, it was so beautiful.
I ran and took my bicycle to try to catch it.
After that I went up in an airplane to try to catch it again,
then I touched the butterfly which felt so soft. I was able
to smell a magnificent perfume.
I heard the butterfly that continued to fly.
My heart felt happy to see the pink butterfly so beautiful.
For all these things I felt so content and happy.
By Emily, Kindergarten
Click the link (above) to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Chase Hayes and Van Logan Garcia, 4th grade students from Parker Elementary.
This poem is featured as part of the 2012 A Poem A Day campaign, a National Poetry Month celebration by Writers in the Schools (WITS) that features a different poem by a WITS student every day during April. Click here to learn more.
Rooster Polski: Kogut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One morning my sister was going to feed the chickens. She got dried corn and poured it on the floor of the porch. Accidently, she put too much down, so she had to pick some up. The fat rooster saw her, and he got mad. His red hair stuck up on his head, and he charged at her. My sister screamed! After 3 or 4 laps around the house, she jumped onto the trampoline. She thought the rooster would not be able to get her there, but he saw the corn in her hand, and he hopped up there. He stared really mean at my sister. My sister dropped the corn in a flash, and the rooster gobbled it up. Now, my sister and I are really careful when we feed the chickens.
By Carmen, 4th grade
Bears On The Beach (Photo credit: RickC)
One day in the forest there was a mama bear and her two bear cubs, one girl and one boy. They were trying to catch fish, and a crocodile came, but the littlest bear and the crocodile didn’t fight. They became friends and shared the fish. They went to the bears’ cave and the crocodile met the bears’ family. The family didn’t like the crocodile. The mom bear told her daughter, “Don’t be friends with that crocodile because it might be dangerous.” The mom was right. The crocodile was mean and hungry. The little cub did not listen to her mom. She thought the crocodile was nice, so she played with it. Then, the crocodile tricked them. The little cubs were eating fish, and he came up behind them to attack. But, the mama bear saw him. She saved her cubs, but the crocodile bit her. The bite was big and the mama bear couldn’t resist anymore, so the baby bears weren’t safe again. Then, a little deer appeared and tried to help the bears. But, the son of the crocodile came to help his dad. The deer used her antlers to poke the crocodile. She won. The bears were all happy. But, the deer was still a little mad because once at a party, the mama bear had tried to bite her, and her dad had attacked the bear. The moral of this story is to always be nice to others because you never know when you might be in danger, even in a good forest.
By Cendi, 2nd grade
Eyelids close
Hands go limp
Image via Wikipedia
Mind goes numb
This is where it
gets tricky
I try to
count sheep
big, woolly
sheep but
usually I just
worry about
everything
while the hours
tick by.
By Celeste, 10th grade
They sit on the wire
Photo by Jonathan Greenwald
looking down at
us in our cars
thinking about
what it must be like
to be human
and wait for a
traffic light to
turn red,
green, red.
By Alex, 9th grade
Image by InfoMofo via Flickr
Once there were dinosaurs grabbing hot rod cars with their teeth. Their teeth were yellow and sharp.
There was a storm and some wind. Everyone fell in the water. They all drowned except for one who swam to the land. It was a dinosaur robot.
Inside the robot there was a guy. The robot was swinging its tail. The dinosaur robot broke into little pieces, and the guy fell out. He was sad. He fell in the water, and a shark swallowed him.
The End.
By Chris, age 5
Image via Wikipedia
The howl of a wolf
sounds bitter
The wolf smells smoky
He laps water
from the glistening lake
The wolf is strong
If anyone gets near him
he will snap and growl
because the feelings
of a wolf are
cold.
By Madeleine, 4th Grade
Image via Wikipedia
My horse Silver visits me
every night. We go riding
way above the clouds.
We gallop through fields of lavender
and go into a pasture where all the
horses come up to Silver and me.
We walk on paths where
trees have chocolate on them.
Then he takes me home.
I get in bed and wait
for the next time to come.
By Sasha, 3rd Grade
Image via Wikipedia
I am a mouse,
a crook indeed;
my gray clothes match the shadows
in the night.
When I attack there’s no stopping me
until the sun rises
again.
Just one
precious jewel
falls from your plate
and I’m there, just as the last light
of your house goes off.
Then I snatch
the treasure and bring it to my palace,
hidden in the wooden walls.
There, my ferocious
teeth rip and tear the treasure
so I can taste its delicious taste
because I’m the crook
of the night.
by Maria, 3rd Grade
Image via Wikipedia
I see an orange dragonfly
Fluttering softly
Its big eyes bulging like
Punch-out eyes
Four wings, light and see-through,
To help support it
It flutters on many things,
Even my dog!
The dragonfly spins through
the morning sky and
never tells its secrets.
By Pearl, 2nd grade
Image via Wikipedia
SAVE THE FROGS is accepting submissions for its annual frog poetry contest. To read winners from the past two years, visit the website.
For inspiration, they provide a haiku written in the 17th century by Basho about frogs and then invite YOU to write one for the 21st century.
The following is straight from their website:
We welcome any poems that mention frogs, salamanders, newts, toads, caecilians, amphibians, savethefrogs.com, and/or SAVE THE FROGS!
Here are some ideas for your frog poems:
(1) Find out about a particular kind of frog and describe the world from that frog’s point of view.
(2) What if you found the last frogs alive on the planet … What would you do? How would you feel?
(3) Write a poem that makes the reader understand the importance of saving frogs, or one that makes them realize the danger frogs are in.
(4) Write a poem about any of the threats to frogs.
(5) Write a poem about how ridiculously cool frogs are!
(6) Imagine all kinds of brave, extravagant and daring ways in which you could save the frogs. Check out our How to Help page.
Did we mention that there will be prizes? Aside from fame and the admiration of your peers, the Grand Prize Winner and Honorable Mentions may all see their poems featured in a book of Frog Poetry we will produce. Contest winners will also be acknowledged on this website, alongside a copy of their poem. And to top it off:
The Grand Prize Winner will:
(1) Receive $100 CASH (or check!).
(2) Receive $50 worth of “Frog Cash” to be used for any of the cool, environmentally-friendly merchandise in the SAVE THE FROGS! Gift Center.
(3) Become an official judge of next year’s SAVE THE FROGS! Poetry Contest.
(4) Receive frog fame.
Category Winners will:
(1) Win $50 CASH (or check!).
(2) Receive $30 worth of “Frog Cash” to be used for any of the cool, environmentally-friendly merchandise in the SAVE THE FROGS! Gift Center.
Category winners will be chosen from the following categories. Note however that the Grand Prize Winner may be chosen from any category.
(1) 18+ years of age
(2) 13-17 years old
(3) Under 13 age group
(1) Submitted poetry must be your original creation!
(2) Be sure to mention at least one of the following: frogs, salamanders, newts, toads, caecilians, amphibians, savethefrogs.com, and/or SAVE THE FROGS!
(3) You may submit up to two poems. Please always give us the title of each poem. Please do NOT name your poems “Save The Frogs”.
(4) Submission of poetry constitutes your agreement to the Poetry Contest Terms & Conditions. Please read these over, as they describe your rights to the submitted poetry as well as ours.
(5) All entries are to be submitted no later than 11:59pm U.S. Eastern Time on October 15th, 2011. Email submissions must be RECEIVED by October 15th, 2011. Mail-in entries must be POSTMARKED by October 15th, 2011.
