by Leon
Grade 3
I am the bluejay of the truth
flying into the wind of life.
I am the cardinal of sarcasm
always talking sarcastic in a tree.
I am the nature of life.
My heart expands the whole world.
My happiness is the fuel of internal life.
I am like a piece of coal
burning in a fire like a night sky.
I am the anger swarming with life.
I am the heartwarming sun.
by Walt Treat
Grade 4
Hope making me confident and self-esteemed, it is looking like Lake Superior, then changing and reminding
me of my quaint red lake cabin.
Hope pushes me into and through the school day, and when I get home it turns into the taste of fresh-baked
brownies, all chocolatey and chunky.
As the seconds, minutes, hours, days, go by, we find hope in our and other’s hearts, and in nature, and in the
products of people’s hearts.
It smells of roasted marshmallows. The fire is hope, roasting us, the marshmallows, into better people.
Hope is kindness, kindness is love, and love makes the world go round. As the ball in Times Square drops,
hope blasts. Without it, sadness grips.
Ode to hope, ode to hope, ode to hope!
by Jessica Williams
Grade 4
My name is the wind
squeezing through the small holes
on a flute
one letter at a time
J, E, S, S, I, C, A,
one by one
in and out
more then once.
Or it can become a
fish
swimming,
swimming
through the ocean,
purple, blue, and red.
Or it can
squeeze and twist
into the sun
right when it is about to set,
so beautiful people come to
sit
there
forever, to watch my sunset name,
or swim my fish name,
or play my flute name.
by Emma Daggett
Grade 5
Poetry is the living light in the sun,
that never will fade or fail.
Poetry is the shine in your eye,
that never will die,
or fade,
even if you pass away.
Poetry is the shine of the water,
glinting in the sunlight,
than many pass by, except for the thoughtful eye.
Poetry is the notes in a song,
the secret message that seems to flow together,
each note a blend of wonderful words,
that reach the ear as music.
Poetry is thanks to Marie Olofsdotter.
by Eric Sipes
Grade 4
(Inspired by "Need increasing itself by rounds" by Kathleen Pierce)
The way I go to his house on holidays,
The way he helped me build a present for my dad,
The way his hair is always shiny and styled back,
The way the birds land on him and I get to go close to them,
The way he gives me dollar coins,
The way he takes his time to decide,
The way his cologne has a good smell,
The way he likes homemade food,
The way his voice sounds like sandpaper scratching,
The way his color is sparkly gold.
by Shea Becker
Grade 4
Bring me on a journey pf peace
where the saddest times come alive
and then slowly fade away,
where everything is calm
and the only thing you can hear
are the good memories and the best times,
where you don’t have to suffer
if you choose not to,
where anything is possible
with peace.
by Merejildo Cardozo
Grade 2
I am the water from the storm
and the teardrop of the sun
in a sky filled with rain.
by Mark Anderson
Grade 5
The hummingbird is fast
for the wind might ignite
the flowers passion for fire.
by Yoetzy Perez Lopez
Grade 2
My grandmother is like a butterfly,
she lets me sleep with her at night,
and her wings are my blanket.
by Brett Eric Larsen
Grade 5
I lay in the grass up on a high, high hill just to relax
to look at the clouds and see the different forms go by
to spot all the animals and funny shapes.
Instead, I see black clouds of smoke from a war far, far away
to think how many leaders have sent people in the middle of their life
to go fight in a war and die. How many families will be
more then sad, almost mad with themselves.
My one wish is for all the citizens of the world
to think about war the way I do.
This is for all those incredibly hard times in life.