Like the previous post, these poems were written by students at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, where I work as Professional Development Specialist. Almost all were written in the classroom in journals and during poetry lessons, and many are first drafts that didn’t need revision.
Haiku
Today is summer.
School is closed for a long time.
Parents think: bummer.
– Chigozie, 5th Grade
My Young Life About Chicken
I feel free when I eat chicken.
When I ate my first bite of chicken I was four years old.
I liked it so much, it felt like the chicken was massaging my mouth and
the juice was running down my chin.
I felt protected.
I ordered more so I could eat the chicken over and over again.
The chicken whispered to me, “Eat me, Jaden. Eat us all.”
– Jaden, 4th Grade
The Freezer
On a hot summer’s day, I go to the freezer to cool off.
In the freezer, I stay cool eating Cookies and Cream.
Colder than a polar bear’s toes, I should do this every summer.
– Elizabeth, 3rd Grade
Acrostic Riddle
Joy is here.
Can you see it?
People are waiting at the door.
Even old people are at the door.
Now you better hurry up.
No, no, it’s getting crowded
You better hurry, people,
So hurry your butts out of bed.
– Janiya, 3rd Grade
Things We Like to Hear
I like to hear
Wind blowing
People talking
Singing, playing, clapping.
I like to hear violins,
Children screaming,
Thunder roaring.
I like to hear windows
Shutting, toilets slamming,
Beads shaking.
I like to hear pencils
Dropping, water dripping,
Raindrops falling.
These are the sounds
I like to hear
– Chelsea, 2nd Grade
Allergies
Allergies make me sick
and do you know what I
have a running nose,
my eyes are red,
I have a sore toe,
I have a headache
my back is aching me and what is that you
say it is Saturday well goodbye I am
going out to play.
– Fadeke, 3rd Grade
Icky Gloppy Slimy Things
Chicken legs and banana soup
Icky gloppy slimy goo
Lizard tails and little snails
Juicy eyeballs and dirty feet
With some ants and spiders too
Angry witches a wizard too
Cast a spell and make good soup
– Nzube, 2nd Grade
Let the Rain Sprinkle Down
Water droplets are sprinkling all around,
Sprinkle on fields and trees,
Let the rain sprinkle down,
On the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea,
Sounds like a lovely sleep song,
Let the rain sprinkle down,
Smells like dead flowers,
Floods in an hour,
Let the rain sprinkle down.
– Tyler, 3rd Grade
Springtime
Two things I like about spring are when the flowers bloom and people pick them off their stems.
I like when the taxi men paint their taxis like the flowers in bloom.
The flowers are making the world look more colorful.
I like when the butterflies break out of their chrysalis and fly out to see the beautiful world.
That’s what I like about spring.
– Shane, 2nd Grade
Summertime is Great
I’m making a smoothie full of summer,
But without the fun it will be a bummer.
You can go to the beach and take a vacation.
When summer is over you’ll get more education.
Summer is the best there is, no harm.
You could go on trips like to the beach, museum and a farm.
Summer is great and it’s the days which you can count.
Ice cream, too, and school is out.
– Theodore, 2nd Grade
Airy scents tickle your nose
Plants crack from the earth
Reel in the scents of April
Inhale the living breeze
Living trees swish
– Brynne, 3rd Grade
About Spring
Spring
has three
months. Hibernation
is done. Easter is coming.
Going outside, riding bicycles
and just having fun. Smell flowers
and trees. Hear birds singing.
See flowers blooming. Taste
pies and other
foods. Feel the
wind in
your
hair
and
feel
spring
fever.
See
children
having
fun.
That’s
spring.
– Tiya, 3rd Grade
Happiness
What is happiness?
Everyone asks.
Is it the cars, the man,
The ring or the brand new mini-van?
Or maybe it’s the job
That fulfills your happiness
Or maybe
It’s the life you live.
You thought if you were a celebrity
Maybe the bills wouldn’t be so high.
Or maybe you thought
If you had a bigger house,
Your daughter would have
Higher esteem.
So the question
Still goes unanswered.
What is happiness?
The world defines happiness.
– Ariel, 5th Grade
For more examples of poetry from the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, click here, here, and here!
