Flowering crabapple tree (Photo credit: Martin LaBar (on hiatus))
When I am walking
and I see a flower
I smell it
Flowers make me
feel good
like a trip to
Disney World
I love pink and purple
flowers
I love tall and short
flowers
Sometimes I just
want to pick three
or four hundred
flowers and give
them to my mom.
By Ariana, 2nd grade
Tonight at Baker-Ripley House (Neighborhood Center, Houston) the slam team for teens will be selected. Winners of this event will become the official members of the Meta-Four Houston team and will represent Houston at Brave New Voices 2012.
When I get surprised my eyes glow and my
legs shake, I feel excited like I want to jump
into space and play around on Pluto all day.
When I get surprised I holler all across the
world and everyone gets all jumpy with me.
By Jamiah, 2nd grade
Marc Chagal - La Musique (1967) (Photo credit: Cea.)
Talk to the fire
And kiss the child
With happiness.
Everything you see
is an angel around you.
By Abygail, 2nd grade
Writers in the Schools (WITS) celebrates National Poetry Month locally through bookmarks, public readings, and our email campaign, A Poem A Day.
Through this project, WITS will email a child’s poem each weekday during the month of April. If you subscribe to our blog, A Poem A Day, you know how inspirational it is to open your email or RSS feed each morning and be surprised by the words of children as young as 5 years.
All poems featured in A Poem A Day are written by students in grades K-12 who have participated in the WITS program. If you have a friend who appreciates the written word as much as you do, suggest they subscribe or sign up for a poem in April by clicking this link.
Be on the lookout in the coming days for ways you can share poetry with children all month long. Here are the words of WITS student Quondaijah, a fifth grader, in honor of National Poetry Month:
We understand the sky
and see, laugh,
and love poetry.
rainbow (colours enhanced) (Photo credit: Magic Foundry)
I’m not looking for gold at the end of a rainbow
Or leprachauns hiding in my backyard
I’m not looking for a big party
I just want to feel good again
and run and play with my best friend.
By Janet, 2nd grade
On St. Patrick’s Day I’m going to eat
Image via Wikipedia
green beans and play green games
I’ll sing green songs and drink green juice
It will rain down green money and we’ll
sail down a green river and all
be happy green like the Irish
By Pearl, 2nd grade
Image via Wikipedia
Owls are hooting
The stars look pale yellow
like they are invisible
When everyone is asleep
thousands of animals hunt
In the north sky the moon
is bright white
There’s a sweet smell coming
from the trees
The night goes by very fast
like butter slipping out of your hands
until the sun comes up
By Rhea, 6th grade
On the way to Mexico
I dreamed that I was in a maze
wandering in the mountains
falling into dark leaves
and fields of flowers
A sadness came into me
It felt like fog
But on the tips of my fingers
I felt a pink butterfly
I glided toward the stars
Where I found a window
To happiness.
By Maritza, 12th grade
Jungle Gym Cherry Park 5-20-09 1 (Photo credit: stevendepolo)
You’ve taught me a lot of good lessons
You’ve taught me to be braver than I am
To swing out as far as I can
To keep pushing forward
To move one step at a time
To fall into a heap in the dirt
And then get up and try again
Monkey Bars, you’ve shown me the stars
By Diego, 4th grade
Smile
Play
Breathe
Master of All!
by Sai, Kindergarten
Come hear WITS writer Ryler Dustin at 2 PM, Saturday, March 3, 2012 at Park Place Regional Library. Other featured poets include Hayan Charara, Marcell Murphy and Susan Wood. As always, a WITS student writer will also read aloud a poem. Don’t miss this last event in the Winter Series with Public Poetry, winner of the Best Reading Series 2011 by the Houston Press. Afterwards, come meet the poets, select some books for signing, and enjoy some good Mexican food just down the street.
Here’s how to get to where it’s all happening. Park Place Regional Library, 8145 Park Place, 77017, is a stone’s throw from the intersection of I-45 and Loop 610. From 610, get on I-45 south. Traveling on I-45, take exit 39. (This is also an exit for Hobby Airport). On the south feeder, go under the freeway at the 2nd underpass (Broadway), and then turn right onto Park Place. The library is just one block from the freeway, on the left side of the street. There’s plenty of free parking, too.
Monday Monday (Photo credit: soonerpa)
Mondays make my head spin
I keep thinking where did my weekend go
It flew like a bird right out the door
And now it’s time to get ready
to go to school
I’ve got a test in math today and a paper due on Tuesday
That means a late night studying
Mondays put a frown on my face
I prefer Fridays and Saturdays
Not Mondays when my head is spinning
By Joannah, 8th grade
You see the world
as brilliant,
simply stunning!
by Raechell, 10th grade
Image by Cowtools via Flickr
He’s fluffy
He’s playful
He runs like the wind
He tips over his food bucket
And makes everyone laugh at him
Then he falls asleep on top of all his brothers and sisters.
By Evelyn, 3rd grade
