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.