Photo by marko&olja via flickr
Stand up straight and hold your spot in years. Rain will nourish you. Drink water and soil. Be as huge as you can. Don’t fall down during strong winds and break your long, thin branches. Grow as tall as you can. Be healthy and strong as a house. You are shelter for animals. You can’t fall.
By Henry, 4th grade
When I tasted rain,
it tasted like the water
we drink when we run a lot
on the playground with friends.
When I heard the rain,
it sounded like coins.
It sounded like treasure.
When I saw the rain,
I saw my reflection.
I looked happy.
By Jennifer, 2nd grade
Photo by Impressions by Lindy via Flickr
Image via Wikipedia
Inspired by Charles Simic’s poem “Stone”
I want to go inside you,
Where I’d see dolphins and
Hear a whispering sound
Let someone else become
A rock or a mountain
I’m happy to be an ocean like you.
Inside you are colorful
Clownfish and jellyfish
Blue waves crashing
Deep down you are dark
And cold like taiga
I wonder how you feel
And what secrets you hide
By Yesenia, age 15
Meta-Four Houston presents “Houston Speak Green” in partnership with Youth Speaks, Houston ArtsAlliance, DiverseWorks, Houston Museum of African American Culture and the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts on November 1 and 5, 2011. Houston Speak Green is the Regional Premiere of a spoken-word poetry contest for young people to speak about environmental effects on everyday life.
Houston-area youth ages 13 – 25 will speak their truths about environmental issues impacting their everyday lives in the regional premiere of Houston Speak Green, a spoken-word poetry contest in two parts. The preliminary round of the competition will be on November 1, 2011 at 6 p.m. at the Houston Museum of African American Culture (4807 Caroline, Houston, TX 77004) in the Museum District. The finals will be on November 5, 2011 at 5 p.m. in the Wortham Theatre of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, University of Houston (Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard.)
The Houston contest is a regional response to the global conversation sparked by Brave New Voices Speak Green, the national competition launched in 2006 by San Francisco-based Youth Speaks, Inc. in partnership with the Redford Center and the U.S. Green Building Council to engage leading spoken-word poets as ambassadors for environmental change. Winners of Brave New Voices Speak Green have performed their works before actor and environmental activist Robert Redford, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Nobel Prize-winner Bishop Desmond Tutu and mayors from across the country.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Houston Speak Green events (Preliminary and Finals) are free to the public and no ticket is required.
Tuesday, November 1; 6 p.m.
Houston Museum of African American Culture, 4807 Caroline, Houston, TX 77004
Saturday, November 5; 5 p.m.
Wortham Theatre, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts
University of Houston, Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard
Image by demandaj via Flickr
When I am lost, I turn to the stars
When I am lonely, I climb trees
When I am angry, the storm screams in my ear
When I don’t have any answers, I walk in the woods
When I feel strong, I run in the wind
When I am happy, the sun burns bright
No matter what, the world is with me
By Sid, age 11
Image by lutmans via Flickr
On the beach in the murky sand
Lays a cracked and chipped shell.
As the sun looked down on it,
A rainbow of neon colors glittered.
For one special moment, it showed
All of its beauty.
Next second, it was a shell again.
A cracked, chipped shell.
by Michelle, 5th Grade
Image by Lady-bug via Flickr
I like when the sun rises in the East to
get me out of bed. I like how the cool
wind blows on my face. I like when new
flowers open and bloom in the morning. I
like reading encyclopedias. I like serving
food to my family on Thanksgiving. I like
playing with my baby cousin. I like
cheering for teams I want to win. I like
planning parties. I like the smell of
summer air. I like the season of spring.
I like dancing in the night under the stars
and I like moving to music. I like doing
other people’s hair. I like how flowers
and doors close at night. I like how my
family loves me. I like the way the moon
puts me to bed when it’s dark and I’m sleepy.
by Reasha, 3rd grade
Image via Wikipedia
On August 18, 1983, Hurricane Alicia hit the Texas coast. It killed 22 people and caused a billion dollars in damage.
Many children have lived through natural disasters and witnessed difficult things. Creating a safe space for them to talk and write about their experiences is a form of healing.
Today, as we remember the destruction caused by Hurricane Alicia and other hurricanes, here is a poem by a high school student about what it feels like to live through one. Her first-hand testimony captures the intensity of the storm, her fear, and her new-found understanding that home is not always safe.
We shouldn’t have stayed
Slashing winds, my parents arguing, and the electricity cut off
No way to take a bath to calm down because of this storm
My mom says I could get shocked
My dad says quit complaining
We shouldn’t have stayed
The rain looks like a wall of water
The winds are howling like monsters of my childhood
And I feel scared because I might be blown away
We shouldn’t have stayed
It’s black and dark and LOUD outside
I can’t sleep because I’m worried about the pets
that people might have left outside
I want to go home but I am home
We shouldn’t have stayed
by Lauren, 11th grade
Our Green Tomorrow is sponsoring a writing contest for kids.
Deadline: October 31st, 2011.
What to submit: Based on our topic, children between grades 6-12 can either submit a written entry or scanned artwork that relates back to the environment. The main goal is to encourage kids to start thinking positively about the environment and the way it shapes our lives.
Awards: Winner of Written Entry – $500
Winner of Art Entry – $500
Entry fee: None (free)
For more information, click here.
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
The sun is bright.
It’s the brightest thing
in the sky. It stays up
all day, but not at night.
It whispers to us, and
when it is going away,
it thuds its way home.
By Faraz, 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
May 20th is Flower Day. Robin Reagler, Executive Director of WITS, often tells the story of her mother explaining to her what she needed to do to be a poet.
The first thing on the list? Memorize the names of 20 flowers. So, Robin got right to work: daisy, azalea, silverbell, dahlia, magnolia, petunia, zinnia, snowdrop, iris, tulip, tiger lily….
Robin learned her first writing lesson. Smart writers study, observe, and notice world around them. Smart writers find ways to become one with the world outside of them. In honor of poets and flowers everywhere, here is a piece written by a third grader:
Listen to Who I Am
I am the tiny, yellow flower that comes out in spring
I am the ghost hiding in your book
I am the moon, brighter than the sun
I am your flag singing from morning to night
I am the white paper you write your stories on
I am a balloon that goes up and never comes back
I am the old shoe that walks away from you
I am the shadow that follows you forever
I am salt like the snow in winter
I am a dream that opens and closes
I am the baseball that flies like a bird
I am the musical note that plays on the moon
I am beneath your feet
I am above the stars
I am in your soul
By Alyssa, age 9
posted by Marcia Chamberlain
I come from
the dog that barks
in my neighbor’s backyard.
I come from
the noise of the hurricane
in 2008 when
many things were
crushed.
I come from
the clouds
in the middle of the sky.
I come from
a tree in the middle
of the world
where it’s quiet.
by Jonathan, 2nd grade
Photo by angus clyne via Flickr
This poem 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.
Let the night’s darkness
turn into the light of the sunrise.
Let it shine through
the windows of houses, buildings,
and barns.
Let the farmers start milking,
let the clouds float in.
Let sunrise come.
Let the children flood
into school.
Let the babies make messes
with their breakfast.
Let sunrise come.
To the lazy cats,
to the active puppies,
to the croaking frogs,
let sunrise come.
Let the roosters call
cock-a-doodle-doo as everyone
wakes up to their alarms.
Let it come
and let it be bright,
let sunrise come.
by Claire, 3rd grade
Photo by Jason A. Samfield via Flickr.
This poem 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.
