Persona, 6th grade

We read "Jorge the Church Janitor Finally Quits" by Martin Espada, and discussed how Espada spoke in the persona of a janitor who has been dehumanized by his work, and has privately made the decision to quit his job. This poem is written in an accessible voice, but is deceptively simple: it is riddled with sophisticated metaphors and poetic language, which the students had no trouble digging out. We then tried our hand at writing persona poems, focusing on adults with jobs.

Mrs. Hernandez, Rm. 109, 6th grade

Mr. Henry
Vanessa A.

No one ever
talks to me,
ever since I
got a new partner.
I must be invisible
like the cold white walls.
No one knows my name
like they've forgotten all
of a sudden.
My friends are
no longer my friends.
I sometimes wonder
why I chose them.
Could this have been
my passion?
Was this my first choice?


Doctor Josue
Adalberto S.

Every day
saying, "Help me."
Studying, never
finishing school.
Disease spreads
more faster
than you finsih
discovering the
cure.
Being the worst
student in class
not smart, not
cool, just me.


My Day
Daisy A.

I was a substitute and now
I'm a teacher.
It's my first day, I carry books,
eat breakfast, and study my
lesson plans.
Many unknown children enter
screaming and shouting like
a zoo where animals are not
controlled.
I say Stop and Stop and they stop.
I was five when my teacher was my
boss, now I'm 30 and I'm the
boss.

"I Remember", collaboration, 6th grade

I've been wanting to have the kids work collaboratively for a while, but after working individually for so long, I wasn't sure how they would respond. They rose to the challenge admirably. I gave them a time limit and their "I Remember" litanies from before, and they turned out beautiful work.


Mrs. Hernandez, Rm. 109, 6th grade

Our Rememberings
Daisy, Vanessa, Alex, Joey

I remember when the snow
came and it was so icy
cold.
I remember when I started
school.
I remember that I got in
a fight in school.
I remember when I got in
trouble.
I remember my best test
grade.
I remember when I got
out of school.
I remember when I fell
and broke my tooth.
I remember when the waves
were so strong and scary.
I just Remember.


I Remember
Miguel G., Chris R., Miguel A., Cesar L.

I remember my friend when I was one year old.

I remember a dancing monkey in my car.

I remember the drunken fans.

I remember when I was short.

I remember eating 14 sugar cookies in a row.

I remember my weird teacher.

I remember the train ride.

I remember when my parents would
argue while I played with my car.

I remember falling off a horse.


Remembering
Christian H., Miguel C., Andres F.

I remember running around naked
when I was a baby.

I remember getting punished for
running naked.

I remember changing the dirty
diaper.

I remember eating Gerber.

I remember crying, screaming, yelling,
and kicking.

I remember getting ready for my first
day of school.

I remember pulling hair.

I remember when I met Mickey Mouse.

I remember my first detention.

I remember the first few friends
I made.

I remember the first time I burped.

I remember the first time I was scared.

I remember we finished our poem.


I Remember
Paola, Monse, Jailene, Jocelyn, Lizzet

I remember when
my mind was
sent free
creativity flowing
around my find
listening to me
not to someone else
creating something
new no one else could
think of
finding me
self surrounded
by ideas
looking at
them thinking
them twice
I remember
my mind never
getting locked

I remember

I remember when
my mind was sent
free
I remember a hand
popping out of a bird
I remember looking
at a lonely girl
sitting by herself
I remember my
soul being taken
away
I remember my
dreams falling down
I remember my
dreams coming back

My Words, 6th grade

In "My Poems" by Nita Penfold, the speaker describes her poems as mischievous women who tell her secrets, who are "not polite ladies." She says, "I like their red-rough hands." This poem provides ready lessons in metaphor, personification, and image, plus it's short! And by this point, I knew that many of the students had begun to identify as poets and nearly all had a large enough body of work that they could speak with some confidence about what their poems are like. Penfold's poem also "wraps" the title into the poem--uses the title as the first line--and I asked them to try that, while writing a piece about what their poems are like (or their words, as an alternative). Their responses were extraordinarily playful; they owned this one.


Mrs. Hernandez, Rm. 109, 6th grade

My Poems
Daisy A.

Heart
My poems touch my heart
with phrases and words
and when the politeness occurs
and the mood and the tone
so much to say but too little
to speak.

My poem says
classmates are cool
who talk and talk
but not too much. Some
who play sports
and some who
draw. They help others
that's why they're so cool.

My poems say
Vanessa is nice
She makes me giggle
and laugh.
When I need help
she helps me. Ooh
Vanessa what would
we do without you.


My Poems
Paola Monse A.

People say to me, "Que pasa contigo"
with happy mouths
I hate it when people tell me that
will still be sad
sad moods on my computer
keep a secret to myself
have to run away from the darkness
go to the light
you always say no to everything I say
but you'll always be in my head to stay


My Poems
Lizzet B.

are like clouds that fade away
they run free
and help me understand.
I forget and they remember.
They are calm and peaceful
but can be mean.
They are mine and only mine.


My Words
Adalberto S.

come to me like a fierce
tordado blowing with
no meaning for life
Will destroy anything
in mind to be concentrated.
They just blow up
burdting out my secret
without reason
So please tornado control
my mind


My Poems
Jacqueline S.

They are like the
clouds going away,
and coming back.
When they come they
go, when they go they
come. Clouds, clouds,
please come back and
stay, you make me
laugh out loud.
Please please come back!


My Poems
Vanessa A.

come to me with a twist
with loud meaning
they are all over my paper
will be silly all around
they run through my paper
like little kids
I like how they sound
they make me so happy
I want to cry
they way they take
words right out of your mouth
can't stop crying
until the night when they are fast asleep

My Heart - 6th

Sandra Cisneros' "Little Clown, My Heart" was the inspiration for this batch of poems.



Mrs. Hernandez, Rm. 109, 6th grade

Funny Monkey
Jocelyn R.

Funny monkey, my heart,
cute and furry with lipstick on.
Juggles and tells jokes at the
same time.
He hops he runs but most of all
he just walks.


Little Hands, a Mom’s Heart
Destiny M.

Little hands, as they meet
She hugs her little one
and plays with her feet
She giggles, she laughs
Little hands, little hearts


Music
Yaneliz R.

loud music, my heart
spinning and dancing
falling and practice
and making a mess


Little Monster, My Heart
Vanessa A.

Little monster, my heart,
hiding in closets and under the beds,
scaring away little kids,
wants to play but everyone’s afraid, like
a tornado just hit the earth.

Little hairy feet walking
into a dark room.
He’s so scared and no one’s there,
happiness is gone,
all there is is emptiness.


My Heart
Daisy A.

loud fireworks, my heart,
with the boom and the pump.
With the happiness outside and inside
filling and willing to do what I want.
Little heart little heart as you
hear the loud fireworks I sigh.
Hurry, hurry heart, fill me with
love like fireworks fill the sky.


My Lonely Heart
Daisy A.

Lonely me, my heart.
I sleep while you are trying to talk.
I wake up, you’re asleep, I try
to talk to you but you don’t
hear. We both can’t talk, you
take care of me, I take care
of you. At least we’re together.

Singing personality: more personification (6th grade, rm. 109)

We spent a second week revising our personification poems, which gives me a chance to showcase more of them! The below poems are from Mrs. Hernandez' 6th grade class in room 109.

###

White Snow
Miguel G.

Snow is cold not
warm but very cold looks like
many squished marshmallows all outside
walk outside up to my ankles
all white but not as bright kids are
not hoping for
sunshine.


Star
Samuel N.

Once in the night sky a star
came down from the sky and it had
singing personality and let me turn into
a star and fly high up in the sky and then
I fall down down into the clouds which
were my bed and "Good night, star," I said. As I
went to bed.


The Paper Trip
Yaneliz R.

I write on the paper.
It talks to me. It is telling
me about his trip, how
he used to be a tree. "They
cut me up to pieces until I
was paper," the paper said.

"What a trip! Did it
hurt?" I asked.

"Sure it didn't, I am
very strong and powerful," the
paper said.

"Are you sure?" I
asked.

"Sure I'm sure! When
I say something I mean it."
The paper had finished his story.

Personification a la O'Hara and Cisneros--6th grade

Here are a few more of those poems featuring personification, inspired by Frank O'Hare and Sandra Cisneros, by Mrs. Hernandez's 6th grade class in Room 109.


###


Moon
Daisy A.

Black the sky is.
The white moon flashes through the black.
Round eyes, curved mouth, solid as a stone.
Talk to me, moon, day and weeks I
waited. I reach to touch but I'm too
far. I got to bed as soon as it's pitch
black, I see your white eye blink.

A Lonely Car
Vanessa A.

I look out my window. I see a
car. A car with blue skin. A car
who's overweight. A car with four
legs, who runs all day long. A car
with feelings. Who's always sad
and never happy. He talks to
me with no words but tears.
No one sees to understand him but
me. I go outside and comfort
the car. When he is sad I am
sad. When he cries I cry. I ask
him, "What's wrong?" He tells me
he's lonely. I tell him, "I'm here,
I'm here."

My Garage
Miguel A.

My garage opens his mouth and sticks
out his tongue.

I look at it for a long time until
his tongue drives away.

My sister screams, "Stop looking
at the dumb garage."

I say, "Shut up!" and she does.

My garage starts talking. It says,
"Be nice to your brothers and
sisters."

I ask why.

He says, "What if you want them
to be nice to you?"

"Oh, right," I say.
"Then why do you pour gas
on your brother, the yard?"

Windy Night
Miguel G.

I heard a screech at my window.
The windy city is living up to its
name tonight. Very windy, not
completely peaceful as I thought
it would be tonight. "I must ask
you something," said the tree. He
is scared, like when you watch
a very scary movie at night. "May I
use a jacket? I am freezy." Planes
passing, trains running, and trees are
screaming of windows.

Haikuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Oh, how exciting it was to work on these haiku poems. These kids were intent and intense. We started with a freewriting exercise last week to get warmed up to the idea--and generate some material--and this week we used that material to craft some lovely gems, some razor-sharp moments, some crystal snapshots, pictured below.

I was especially impressed with the students' willingness to mess with conventional sentence structure, and toy with how they articulated their original images and ideas in order to fit the haiku structure.


###


Mrs. Hernandez, Rm. 109, 6th grade


Haiku
Samuel N.

The birds are chirping.
The wind is blowing like a
freezer in a store.

My dogs are barking.
Also the clouds are flowing.
They’re going away.


Haiku
Chris R.

School I do and write
I blush in embarrassment
I laugh while I laugh


Haiku
Briana D.

It’s very dark outside,
soon will be time to sleep.
Dark, outside I’m scared.


Haiku
Miguel G.

staring at the sky
daydreaming about many things
that the bell can ring


Haiku
Daisy A.

I am in a class
where desks move like blue and white
rumbling water

Tomatoes are brown.
My face blushes in the cold.
Trees are calm and cold.

Aunt cooking a pie.
The sour blueberry pie.
My aunt, a berry pie.

Praise Songs, 6th grade, room 109

Lucille Clifton's poem "Praise Song" describes a strange incident involving the speaker's aunt, which very nearly ends in tragedy, but doesn't. In Mrs. Hernandez's 6th grade class, I asked the students to think of everyday things that they would praise, encouraging them to zoom in on some part or aspect of this item (as Clifton's speaker praises "the arms of the family."), or on some unexpected item to praise.

Here are some samples. Notice how Daisy mentions "words and voice" when talking about the poetry we read in class. I introduced the topic of voice on the first day when we were discussing "Abuelito Who." I'm also interested in the exuberance in Briana's poem, and how she breaks form at the end to let that play out. Also, note Miguel's internal rhyme, how he played with the word sounds a little.

###

Untitled
Daisy A.

Praise to Mrs. Hernandez whose brain
helped me get my grades up.

Praise to Mrs. Javellana whose poetry
has words and voice.

Praise to my sister. Without her I wouldn’t
have a heart.

Praise to the trees that give us
paper.

Praise to my eyes ’cause without them
I wouldn’t see.


Praise, Praise, Praise
Briana D.

Praise to my mom for having me.
Thank you.
Praise to my dad for everything
he does for me.
Praise for my two silly brothers
for making me laugh.
Praise for my friend for
having my back;
Thank you!
Praise for my mom for saying
I’m her right hand.
I love when she says that!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO


Untitled
Miguel A.

Praise to videogame creators and their creative heads.

Praise to calculator that cheats for me in math.

Praise snow like a cold version of clay dough.

Praise to hair that keeps my head warm.

Praise the T.V. and all its comedy shows.