Poetry Friday: Poems of Hope and Fear by Young Authors

 

I had a great time working with 4th-8th graders at Young Authors Conferences in May, and I wanted to share (with their permission) just a few of their poems. We imagined certain scenes/settings, and then the writers brainstormed all the things Hope and Fear could do in those situations. They used randomly chosen verb lists to prewrite, then chose their favorite lines to create poems. They came up with some amazing stuff! Here are just a few of my favorites:

Fear 

Flies me on the wings on the swarm
Rolls me in a thick carpet of yellow and black
Brushes my arms with stingers of steel
Clenches my stomach so I am no longer hungry for the picnic

–Janessa H., 6th grade

Fear

sleeps until he hears his prey
walks he can’t, he has no legs
runs and screams and yells
hunts for me again and again
learns not to go by them again

–Lexis B., 5th grade

Fear

Screams from the battlefield
Constructs a legion of utter destruction
Destroys the hope of victory

–Trevor B., Woodland Elementary

Fear

Climbs up when I board the plane
Swims around in my stomach
Hops into me when the engine starts
Skips a beat in my heart
Casts me into an unhappy place

–Kellie S., 5th grade

Hope

Holds the hands of those who are scared
Sprints to the entrance, eager to ride
Dances in the splash of the wave
Spins the ferris wheel around, making me soar above the park
Catches the door as it shuts, and always keeps it open

–Emma S., 8th grade

Birthday

hope runs its way to the party
hope sprints to the cake and presents
hope marches home

Erik E., 6th grade

Hope

creeps on little feet
stumbles across a forked road
relishes in pride of heart

–Colleen S., 7th grade

Fabulous, right? You can find more poetry goodness at the Poetry Friday Roundup. It’s hosted this week by Kelly at The Cazzy Files.

 

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