Image by William Warby
This lovely poem was sent to us by Brave Writer, Anna:
by Anna Shields (age 12)
The petals of the flower are its ball gown
moving around as it dances slowly in the wind.
Its purple gown shimmers,
reflecting the suns light.
The clouds start to cry tears of happiness
as they watch the flower dance.
Their tears drop to the ground and the flower stretches up
and bows her head to thank them.
Julie,
I wanted to share this cinquain* with you by my 12 yo son who claims to not like writing. I know you like sports so I thought you would enjoy this.
Sara
Fantasy Football
yell, choose
takes up time
win happy, lose mad
managing
*A cinquain is a five-lined poem and can be written various ways (some cinquains use different numbers of syllables for each line).
For young writers we recommend:
Image © Greatdesignplusdotcom | Dreamstime.com
Yesterday we highlighted a student’s fragment poem based on a Daily Writing Tip and the building game, Minecraft. One of our lovely instructors, Susanne Barrett, also wrote a fragment poem. Hers was inspired by e. e. cummings’ unconventional sonnet, “the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls.”
by Susanne Barrett
after e. e. cummings
not caring,
not them—
as they bandy coy scandal,
fluttering eyelashes and tongues
simultaneously.
their perfectly-furnished souls
so stale and unbeautiful,
padded to stifle spirit.
cornered in futile cornerlessness
the precise hue of the invariably
lavender sky.
while the moon rises
presently writing,
trembling its poignant phrases
with mind wailing,
distinctly un.comfortable.
rattling, dull needles
ever knitting,
pearling,
knitting,
twisting
ever twisting
into the unscented, the shapeless.
ever ripping reputations
into miniscule shreds
ever fragmenting.
while the sky-lavender sky
refuses to blame the candy
for its righteous anger.
The image above is of “The Artist’s Wife Knitting” by William James Glackens
The following fragment poem was inspired by a Daily Writing Tip (see below).
Minecraft
by Tom (age 13)
As zombies gather.
Blocky and cubular*.
While I craft.
When I build.
Awaiting me.
*Cubular: to have a very cubeish nature; to be cubey.
Also, for the few who may not know what Minecraft is: “Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.” ~from the official website
Image by crdotx
“Hens in the Sunshine” by Heidi Malott
From Brave Writer mom, Joanna:
Julie,
I thought I would share this with you because “Since Hanna Moved Away” is one of your favorite poems. Using your poetry guide, my 10-year-old daughter Hannah wrote this about her beloved chickens that were lost to predators. We usually try to stay away from the verb “went,” but in this case it was perfect; her most honest choice for the title because it allowed her a little emotional separation in its vagueness.
Enjoy!
Joanna
by Hannah (age 10)
Mommy’s pie smells like bad breath
The piano keys won’t play
My favorite song moans like death
Since the chickens went away
Apples taste like rotten fish
Halloween’s called off today
Santa kept my Christmas wish
Since the chickens went away
The chicken coop’s an old mouse trap
On the dirt dead flowers lay
In my heart there is a gap
Since the chickens went away
