A blank paper is not blank at all,
it’s a balloon that floats me up into the sky.
Up here, I can see everything.

When I come back down,
I grasp my pencil, kiss the paper.
It cuts into what is blank
and changes into an explosion of light.

I see myself more clearly than I ever have before.
The picture stares back at me
waiting.

By Caitlyn, 7th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by MacKenzie, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Balloons Rising” by A.A.Aalto. freemusicarchive.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

It was a perfect square.
It had four matching corners
And four equal sides. And it was perfectly happy…
But on Saturday, the square was cut,
crumbled, and snipped.
So it made itself into a heart
that beats, loves, and keeps me alive.

By Raynisse, 1st grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Tori, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Hearts Aflutter” by Podington Bear. freemusicarchive.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

The shadow of whiskers like an invitation with the address missing. A fin
like jellyfish but more tulle.
Craterous tulle; black swan pirouetting on the moon.
Tulle skirt with cigarette burn holes; laddered tights.
Iron stain on tulle; muddy.
Burned tulle drowned; Ophelia enters
the water with her head split open.
It sizzles.
Light glinting off scaled arms like merman preparing for battle. Drape him
in tadpoles- a garland to keep. See that collection of freckles
by his elbow? It’s almost a constellation. Call it filtered sunshine on teenage boy
& it won’t come home with him.
An ink blot blossoms in the water. Looks like a smudge of blood on a war photographer’s lens
except there’s no war here. This is the moment –frozen– just
before.

By Rukmini Kalamangalam, Youth Poet Laureate

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Rukmini, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Japanese Bagoda with Reflection in Water” by Lena Orsa. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

¿Por qué las inmensas motos no van a Hollywood?
¿Cuál es la ballena ruidosa que siempre va a cantar?
¿Dónde dejó la rosa su dulce olor?
¿Hay algo más triste en el mundo que árboles muertos?
¿Quiénes gritaron de alegría cuando nació el color rosado?
¿Cómo logró su libertad la casita de la muñeca lenta?
¿Trabajan la leche y el pan para dormir a una persona?
¿Y a las margaritas les agradezco por su rey?
¿Entre los pájaros posados en el nido cuál es el mejor?

Why don’t the enormous motorcycles go to Hollywood?
What is the noisy whale that always goes to sing?
Where did the rose leave its sweet aroma?
Is there anything sadder in the world than dead trees?
Who screamed with joy when the color pink was born?
How did the slow doll’s little house find its freedom?
Do milk and bread work together to make a person sleep?
And do I thank the daisies for their king?
Among the birds sitting in the nest which one is the best?

By Ashley, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Jackson, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Puzzle” by Fresh Body Shop. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Bones everywhere
Bones fill my chest
You hang bones in my closet
I got sick and blew my nose with delicate bone
So tired I slept and my bed was made of bones
Drove to work in my car made of bones
There are bones beneath me
Bones blowing in the trees
The chandelier made of milky white bones
Picked up my phone made of bones and listened to the voicemail made of bones because her voice was no more
I cling to the bones
Bullets of bones
Bones under the floorboards
Bones growing backwards
I held your hand and you told me it was bones
Warm bone it was
Warm. So warm.

By Mia, 8th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Rukmini, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Skeleton in da Wardrobe” by ZRZ Beats. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

white
blossom
flower

alone
with
no
one
with
you

flying,
going
tree
to
tree

with
bees
going
to
you
drinking
your
nectar

you
are
like
velvet

By Hifsa, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Rukmini, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Flower Dance” by DDmyzik.  jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

The ocean shouts out
with all the courage it has.

The ocean dives down
with glory pounding in its heart.

The ocean loves deeply
with all its might.

The ocean glows
when the sun shimmers on its waves.

By Elena, 2nd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Jackson, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Ocean Time Blues” by Septahelix. ccmixter.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

(Inspired by René Magritte’s The Healer (Le thérapeute), 1967)

Oh, Mary, oh Mary, what do I do?
I have a rib cage—a real cage, too!
Birds are inside me.
I’m like a jar!
I have a bag full of seed for the birds I feed,
but the birds will never—oh never!—come out!

Even the times I put seed on the ground,
they still will not come out.
I wait for an hour, maybe two,
but they just peck at my cage.

Mary, help me! I feed the birds
a tuffin. Rejected.

My relationship with the birds
has given me a rib cage
and a chest full of feathers.
My cane is made of bird feet!
You must help me.
My cape is torn because of their beaks.

By Helena, 4th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Tori, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Nice Bird” by Short Hopper. ccmixter.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

My voice is a whorly wind picking up houses, Toto, and Dorothy, whipping through the calm night sky.

A strong storm is my soul, sweeping through towns and sloshing colors everywhere I go.

Most times, my imagination is the beginning of the universe, the big bangs of colors spewing colors, making planets and sun.

The future is a square, grass green cactus storing lots of water inside for droughts.

Her hair is a slide, so slick, silky and slippery, I fly down.

By Sadie, 4th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Ella, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Talk to the Wind” by @nop. ccmixter.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Red can be a highway
that leads to
glory,
love,
fame,
and family.
Red can be a
door to a
whole other
world!
Red can be as
sweet as tomatoes,
as happy as an apple.
Red can be anything you
choose it to be.
It can be as small as a mouse or
as big as a lion!
Red can be the fire in your soul.
Red can’t be distressed or dismantled
only misunderstood.
Red.

By Jack, 5th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by MacKenzie, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Crimson Clover Crystal Star” by Lenny Wiles. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

My father was born where the insurmountable skyline assaults the sky.
My mother was born in the wagons of the desert.
I was made with two rhythms and one tune to create a symphony of imagination.
My child will make her own world.
I am the moonlit laughter tinkling through the air like bells.

By Athen, 8th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Tori, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Desert Flower” by Doc. ccmixter.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

O pizza, your tomato sauce
tastes like dreams.
The peppers, the mushrooms—oh,
I like those!

O my pizza, then you go in the oven,
it is more than dreams.
It’s as beautiful as a rose blooming.

Your taste is like art class.
Imagine the beautiful red paint as the
tasty delicious tomato sauce.
Imagine the smooth clay
as the amazing mushrooms.

By Noor, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by MacKenzie, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “24 Slices” by DJ Dangerous. ccmixter.org. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

You are the face of wisdom,

and

the stairs

to clouds.

You are history not discovered.

Also, you are the

heaven              light.

I am grass in wind, I am

a bird                     climbing a tree.

You             are          not          the

bird falling, but I am.

You are not the fish, no never could

you                         be the fish.

no way.

You are the          water, but

not the

f

a

l

l

.

But you will always be the face

of wisdom

and

the

stairs

to

the

By Rhea, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by MacKenzie, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Waterfall Wisdom” by Solxis. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Underneath my leather blazer is my dark purple buttoned down shirt
Underneath my purple buttoned down shirt is my grey and red shirt
Underneath my gray and red shirt is my caramel skin
Underneath my caramel skin are my strong muscles
Underneath my strong muscles are my strong, thin bones
Underneath my strong, thin bones is my loving and caring heart
Underneath my loving and caring heart is my feelings and the bond I share with my family
Underneath my love for my family is the love for my classmates and teachers
Underneath my love for my classmates and teachers is my dream to be an EXPLORER.

By Isaiah, 4th grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Ella, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Explorer” by Kenny690. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Ve, nieve mía, y a mi mamá desea
lluvia en el cielo, una corona de cristal,
una perla de agua,
una casa de anillos, una maravillosa vida en su corazón
y un poema en la hoja.
Aquí soñaré para siempre y mis ojos buscarán.
Aquí está el verano, aquí las flores.
Esta es la tierra de la canción.
Aquí están las hermosas rosas.
Esos son los cuentos de la sirena.

Go, my snow, and wish my mom
rain in the sky, a crown of glass,
a pearl of water,
a house of rings, a marvelous life in her heart
and a poem on the page.
Here I will dream forever and my eyes will seek.
Here is the summer, here the flowers.
This is the land of the song.
Here are the beautiful roses.
Those are the mermaid’s stories.

Arely, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Jackson, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Mermaid Princess” by Koke Nunez-Gomez. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

The puppies glide
across the land
of song
All of them
pearling and swirling
and whirling
for the existence
of
music
is a
trance
the extraordinary
cells of
the song
are
unstoppable
the
curiosity
continuing
is
enough
and the
waves of
music
rage
on
like a
clock
waiting
to strike
upon
the end
as
the waves
of music
cross
the endless
ocean
of
crystal
sky

Catherine, 3rd Grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Tori, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Waltzing Circles” by Sideway. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Originally posted: October 6, 2017.

Love cries out with joy.
Infinity multiplies forever.
The Earth gets dizzy from spinning.
My friend loves me.
All of these ideas make my heart zoom!

By Isabelle, 1st grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by MacKenzie, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “High-Speed Racing” by AHP60. jamendo.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

Originally posted: October 6, 2017.

My mind explodes with anger.
My mind shatters like glass.
My mind cries for help.
My mind crumbles into bits.
My mind burns like lava.
My mind gallops like a horse.
My mind mesmerizes everything.
My mind juggles the air.
My mind dives into a black hole.
My mind turns into ash.
My mind dreams of trees.
My mind catapults to earth.
My mind multiplies 15 X 2.
My mind says I love you.

By Sarah, 2nd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Ella, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Division” by Kevin MacLeod. Incompetech.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.

I. I, the youngest jalapeño in the Godinich Garden, have seen exactly 70,562,712 dewdrops topple off my olive green leaves.

II. My predators above wait till my body is ripe enough to harvest and consume me for supper.

III. My leaves will shrivel to show I’m declining. A nip in the air shows no water, not even the freezing water the puffs in the air give.

IV. Daisies: good to see ya, rain has come and green peppers are sprouting on my bush.

V. When the sun heats up I tell a joke to Broccoli, my neighbor bush: “What do you do when you get angry? You wish rain would pour to cool your heat!”

VI. Hi, mouth. My name is now “Sausage Noodles with Jalapeños.”

By Julia, 3rd grade

Click the media player above to listen to the poem read on KPFT 90.1 by Tori, WITS Youth Advisory Council Student. The background music is “Sneaky Snitch” by Kevin MacLeod. incompetech.com. Produced by Susan Phillips.

Poem a Day is made possible in part by H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Copy.com, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and KPFT 90.1.