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

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, 3^rd 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, 3^rd 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, 3^rd 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.