Tuesday, March 15, 2011

First Favorite

After perusing the many books of poetry we have available, please share a poem that "spoke" to you.

  • Please type the poem, giving the author credit.
  • Let us know what made you chose this particular poem.

22 comments:

  1. Hummingbird


    In a whir
    Of wings he
    Floats at the
    Flowers door,

    Wearing his white
    Silk vest,
    His glistening
    Ruby collar:

    And who could
    Refuse a sip
    Of nectar to
    Such a Caller?


    I love this poem. It set’s a perfect image of a hummingbird dancing across the sky. The language in this poem is very rich and describing but also the words flow together as if one giant gust of wind whispered it to the world. I love the outdoors and my Grandma loves hummingbirds. All in all, I love this poem so much.

    MM

    ReplyDelete
  2. CRAYONS

    Their paper
    Torn, their
    Snapped Sticks

    Worn down
    To grubby
    Stubs, they

    Still shed
    The colors of
    The rainbow.

    -Valerie Worth
    Peacock and Other Poems


    Yeah, the poem I picked is about crayons, and I love crayons, but that’s not why I chose this poem. I chose the poem because it is giving off the message that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Just because something is old and grubby it is still beautiful, and can still create a masterpiece. I also love the way that the author wrote the poem, and I think that she did a great job really describing the crayon. I can vividly imagine me when I was really little, not wanting to use the stubby crayons, because the pointy one were “better”. But then an older kid would use the old crayons, and make a great picture. Also, the language in this poem is fantastic. If you covered up the title, you would not be able to tell that it was about crayons. The author wrote the poem in a way that really could me, or be about, so many other things than crayons. This is why I like this poem, and this is what it means to me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Night


    Stars over snow,
    And in the west a planet
    Swinging below a star-
    Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
    It is not far-
    It will never be far.

    -Sara Teasdale



    I think that I connect with this poem because it sounds like something I might write. I think that she uses the same kind of voice that I use in my poems. I like how the poem is so simple but it grabs you and you can’t stop reading it. I think that she used simple words and made them into a poem.

    SW

    ReplyDelete
  4. FLEAS
    Roaming these
    Furry prairie,
    Daring every stop
    And sink a well
    In the soft pink
    Soil, Hoping
    To draw up a Hasty drop, and
    Drink, and survive,

    There’s always
    The threat of those
    Inexplicable storms,
    When over the hairy
    Horizon rages

    BY
    Valerie Worth

    This poem reminds me of my dogs and cats because they both get fleas in the summer. Why I liked this poem is because it just pops out at me and it flows very well. It has great language and it reminds me of my pets.

    NG

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tugboat of daybreak


    The necklace of the bridge
    Is already dimmed for morning
    But a tug in a tira
    Glides slowly up the river,
    A jewel of the dawn,
    Still festooned in light.

    The river seems to slumber
    Quiet in it’s bed,
    As silently as the tugboat,
    A ghostlike apparition,
    Moves twinkling up the river
    And disappears from sight.

    _Lilian Morrison

    I like this poem. I like this poem because it gives me a vision of on the lake at 5:00 A.M. Another reason I like this poem is, well, it just has good language. Finally, It reminds me of a foggy morning at my grandparents camp (which sadly, burned down) as the ferry approaches Vermont. This poem reminds me much of those days. The language was so rich. This is why I like it.

    FC

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tanya
    By Marilyn Singer

    While Roddy reads aloud
    about a wondrous secret garden
    in a voice as boring as a blank TV screen
    I watch Sophie squirm in her seat
    and suddenly I think
    she’s like a garden, too
    a crazy quilt of flowers
    where tulips fight with roses
    asters argue with peonies
    and a sign swings from “Keep Out”
    to “Come In” and back again
    in a flash
    All the colors of the world
    in Sophie’s clothes
    in Sophie’s smile
    so full of yeses and noes
    stops and goes
    she makes me dizzy
    I don’t know where she was
    Or where she’ll be
    She’s a place so busy
    I want to visit it
    if only she’d let me

    The thing in this poem that resonates with me is the language and reality of it. It totally connects with me and I love its language. I’m exactly like the girl Tanya wrote about except I’m male. I’m busy and conflicting with myself or thinking 24-7 exactly like that girl. I also know some kids like that as well. This poem is reality and that’s why it clicks with me. I haven’t read a more realistic poem that I love like that.

    WA

    ReplyDelete
  7. Umbrella


    Slack wings
    Folded, it
    Hangs by a
    Claw in
    The closet,

    Sleeping,
    Or moping,
    Or quietly
    Hatching
    A plot


    To flap out
    And escape
    On a furious
    Sweep of
    The storm.

    -Valerie Worth

    I like this poem because it has an interesting feel to it. I like the layout of the poem. The way it just goes down is interesting. I like the language because it is something you wouldn’t think of. I like the way the poem could be about a bat. I like the way it does that because it is mysterious. I think this poem is a wonderful poem to read. -Eli

    ReplyDelete
  8. Christmas lights by Valerie Worth

    Bulbs strung along
    Our porch roof
    Pour clear
    Colors through the
    Cold black air;
    But our neighbors
    Have a spruce, like
    A huge shadow
    Full of deep blue
    Mysterious stars

    I resonate with Christmas lights because there colorful, sparkly, and florescent. I think there perfect, fragile, and bring cheer. I really enjoy Christmas too. I think it is really nice language, is mellow, and is calm. The poem is also really descriptive. That’s why I like this poem. The rich spot in this poem is when they were explaining the spruce tree.
    CM

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Lawn Mower


    The lawnmower
    Grinds its teeth
    Over the grass
    Spitting out a thick
    Green spray;

    It’s head is to full
    Of iron and oil
    To know
    What is throws
    Away;

    The lawn’s whole
    Crop of chopped
    Soft,
    Delicious
    Green hay.

    Valerie Worth




    I like this poem because it is about lawn mowing and I do so much of it. I like this poem because it has to do with mowing and I LOVE MOWING! Well I do get stung by a lot of bees. The language used in this poem when it says “it grinds its teeth over the grass spitting out a thick green spray” is true. I like the language because it’s just like mowing but they are over exaggerating a little bit. That’s because it’s a poem. JB

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Sea

    An everywhere of silver,
    With ropes of sand
    To keep it from effacing
    The track called land
    -Emily Dickenson

    I really like this poem because it stood out to me as soon as I read it. I like that it’s very short, but it’s still beautiful and says a lot about the sea. When I read it I can imagine the waves rolling over the sand beach. I like poems that give me an image when I’m reading it. In this poem the author uses very rich language and the words flow smoothly. I feel like the author was imagining the sea too and put a lot of thought into what she was writing.
    HW

    ReplyDelete
  11. Under the hull by James Stevenson

    Under the hull of the Dorothy B.,
    Where bluefish swam,
    Where dolphins rolled,
    A golden dog lies sleeping in the shade.


    I like the poem under the Hull because it makes you think that the boat was very beautiful and amazing and now it’s old and forgotten and a stray dog’s home. I like the language in this poem because it all seems very rich with all the details in the poem with only tree sentences. This poem resonates with me just because I like the language and every thing about the poem. I like when they said a golden dog lie sleeping in the shade after they said where the blue fish swam and where the dolphins rolled because it’s so descriptive. So as you can see I really like this poem and it is a very good poem.


    MW

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ocean by Valerie Worth

    Listen: its name
    Ocean, held
    Like a shell
    To the ear,

    Echoes its
    Moan, its rush,
    Its run
    To the shore.


    This poem really resonates with me, because I just like how Ocean is worded. The language in the poem just seemed to flow beautifully, and that’s why I liked it. The words paired together were made into beautiful lines, The language the author used in the poem was phenomenal. The author did a wonderful job describing the sea, and wrote it so that it seemed like she loved the sea herself.

    By Audrey

    ReplyDelete
  13. Catfish

    I cannot purr.
    I don’t have fur.
    Or claws or paws.
    Don’t sleep in drawers.
    I don’t chase mice.
    Let that suffice.
    I am a fish.
    I have no wish.
    To be a cat.
    That’s that.

    By Douglas Florian.

    I love this poem because it relates to my life. One day in Bristol I was watching TV and then my cat was under the drawer and then my dad put my brother’s fish in the fish bowl and put the fish in the drawer. Also I think the writer was writing this poem because I think he wanted to tell us a funny story. AC

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ambush

    I threw
    a small water balloon.
    That’s all

    I hide
    I tossed
    I ran

    My victim knows,
    and lies in wait
    with the garden hose

    By Kristine O’Connell George

    When I was younger I used to fill up a balloon and put it under the faucet and watch it plump up bigger then a granny smith. Before it explodes I grabbed it and ran to find my victim. As I run water splatters out and it shrinks down to the size of an empire apple. Then I stop to take aim and toss the grenade. Suddenly theirs a splash of water and little green rubber specks flailing threw the air, when all the water and stuff fades away then there is a new puddle on the ground and speckles of mud on my dad’s jeans. Then there is a stream of rainbow mist that shoves me down and when I get up their is a huge smile on my face. I like this poem because it reminds me of my past when I was younger. This is a small way to put a small moment into a poem. KB.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Long Trip

    The sea is a wilderness of waves,
    A desert of water.
    We dip and dive,
    Rise and roll,
    Hide and are hidden
    On the sea.
    Day, Night,
    Night, Day,
    The sea is a wilderness of waves,
    A desert of water.

    -Langston Hughes


    When I read this poem, I automatically loved it. I really liked how the author closed the poem up by repeating the first two lines at the end. I also really liked when Langston Hughes put just one or two words in a line. It really punctuated it. When she said, “Hide and are hidden, I think it really described the feeling of being engulfed by the sea. I almost tasted the distinct spray of salt water on my face, and the rocking of the boat. I t really is amazing what words can do to you.
    BK

    ReplyDelete
  16. Icicles
    When they
    Finally fall
    And litter
    The snow
    With splinters
    Of clear
    Rock candy,

    How sad
    To discover
    That rather
    Than sugar
    They only
    Taste of
    The roof
    By Valerie Worth


    This poem resonates with me because I like to like icicles that are very big and they do have a sugary taste. I like this poem because it describes exactly what they do and tastes like.
    DB

    ReplyDelete
  17. MM,

    I also love that poem you posted. I just don't like it as much as I love mine. Still, it does set a perfect image of what was happening. Its also lovely worded.

    ReplyDelete
  18. MM,

    I also love that poem you posted. Not as much as mine, but in close, close second. You were right in saying that it paints a perfect picture of the scene.

    WA

    ReplyDelete
  19. At Last
    Dogs go in the back seat,
    Always in the back seat,
    Miles in the back seat,
    Hours in the back seat,

    But in the parking lots of shopping centers,
    You’ll see: Dogs get their chance
    At last
    To drive
    -James Stevenson


    I resonate with this poem because my dog when we used to bring him to Mimi’s he would try to sit with my parents in the front and he would whine because Derby wouldn’t know where we were going at all but we still wouldn’t let him come up front. I like this poem because it is one true poem. Dogs only sit in the front when their owners go shopping. I think the language in this poem isn’t describing anything but it is saying time periods.

    I think “Miles in the back seat, Hours in the back seat,” is rich language because it says a certain time or length. This is what I think is rich language. HC

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ice cream

    Melting it
    Softly fills
    The mouth

    With something
    Like the velt
    Word vanilla

    I love how it is written because the words are so rich. I think all the poems by this author are good but ice cream really caught my eye. The title made me want to read it. When I started to read it, I felt I wanted to read it all over again. TD

    ReplyDelete
  21. The Little Short Legs

    Little black dog
    Down the road
    We called
    Little Short Legs.
    One day
    My mother late for work
    Went driving hard
    Down that dirt road.
    Ran over Little Short Legs.
    Never knew a grown-up could
    Make such a mistake.
    Never knew one could make it
    And say it was so
    And feel sorry.
    But she did.
    And nothing for me to say
    But
    It’s all right mom
    It’s all right

    By Cynthia Rylant


    I like this poem because out of the ten poems I read it stood out to me the most. This poem is about a situation that could really happen in real life. It would be like my dad late for work and running over our neighbor’s dog. He would feel bad the same way the little boy’s mom did. This poem is a really sad poem but it’s written very well. By JF

    ReplyDelete
  22. HC I really like the poem that you choose! because I LOVE dogs, and I like your paragraph to, because you really put character in it. (Derby) does he like car rides? TD

    ReplyDelete