Yellow looks like the sun shining in the sky.
Yellow sounds like a yellow bird cheeping.
I can smell yellow dandelions when they have their petals.
I can touch yellow banana peels.
I taste a yellow icing cupcake.
If yellow were a person, he would lie under the sun.
By Drake, Memorial Drive Elementary
The tree is blowing its hair in the air
It has more than one arm, it has legs and hair
It doesn’t like to be cut down
The tree likes animals to hibernate inside it
The tree doesn’t like to be alone
He loves the animals
The tree is warm in the sun
By Addison, Lyons Elementary
The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) Graphic Design Research Initiative (GDRI) and Writers in the Schools (WITS) recently collaborated on a special project that featured WITS students and University of Houston graphic design students. The GDRI students turned the children’s poems into graphic designs, using inspiration from various fields, including concrete poetry, expressive typography, and Dadaism. The visual poetry exhibition is currently on display in Houston’s City Hall Annex. Click here to read about this innovative project.
The mast shakes.
The sail is taut and motionless.
As the wind howls, people yell.
I’m hit in the face with icy sea water. People go down and get back up.
I look over the edge of the ship and see something tap.
I look up and hope to god I’m not the only one that sees it:
a giant blue eye looking down in wonder.
By Max, 8th Grade
In the morning when the sun rises I imagine you
as someone I love who has passed away.
My eyes hunt for you when I am sad or mad.
I cherish your lovely whiteness.
You make my eyes water with happiness.
I adore your fluffiness that is softer than a dog.
Nothing will separate us, not even the wind that howls.
Our love is stronger than a lollipop.
I cherish you like a dog who cuddles with me.
In the evening I look up into the dark sky to find you.
I wait to read you a book.
By Kennedy, 2nd Grade
Black is the night sky while you are sleeping.
Black is the sound of a crow chirping through the day.
Black smells like shoes on your feet.
Black feels spiky and hard, like a dinosaur’s spikes.
Black tastes like steak that was burned in the oven.
Black goes outside and jumps on a black horse.
by Drake, 3rd grade
Middle and high school students from the surrounding Houston area are invited to participate in the 2016 Watershed Awareness Student Contest! The theme is Our Bayous, Our Pollution. Houston- area bayous and waterways lead to Galveston Bay in turn affecting the Gulf of Mexico and its Flower Garden Banks. Help raise awareness about our local watershed and bring attention to the importance of the health of our local waterways, bayous and our bay! We challenge you to research, explore, interpret and say something meaningful about the connections between human activity and the health of our bayous and ocean through art or shape poetry.
Download the complete contest details here >>
Happy writing!
If I could write a poem anywhere it would be on my tongue
so the words were always moving in my mouth
If I could write a poem anywhere it would be on the clouds
so that people would look up into the sky more
If I could write a poem anywhere it would be on a leaf
so my words would float off into the wind
By Crissy, 4th Grade
Love Poem for a Tree
(Inspired by Pablo Neruda)
By Ms. Siegel’s Class
In the morning your branches wave in the wind.
My eyes hunt for your beauty–you’re something no one has ever noticed.
I cherish your gorgeous trunk that reaches to the clouds.
I adore your green leaves that sway in the sky.
Nothing will separate us, not a wall of stone or a strong hurricane.
Our love is fiercer than an army at war.
I will never leave behind your rough bark.
I will treasure you more than gold and emeralds and iPads.
In the evening when I walk by, you will smile at me, and I will hug you.
When I wake up in a mood, not feeling the love,
then I got to bring it from within, like a famous
basketball player.
I put on blinders to all the negativity and just
smile at the world. Then I do my thing.
By Jermaine, 6th Grade
Open those big black eyes
and plop those feet on the floor
I know it’s dark outside
I know you’re tired
But it’s Monday and
here you are again
So wake up and live
like there won’t be a Tuesday.
Today is the big day.
By Salome, 6th Grade
Dun dun dun
here it comes
splitter splat
fast and fat
here it comes
drippity drat
dun dun dun
By Sofia, 2nd Grade
Chop, chop says my dad
when he wants me to hurry up
Snap, snap says my sister
when she is being annoying
Blah, blah says my brother
who thinks he knows it all
Kiss, kiss says my mom
when she puts me to bed
By Loretta, 3rd Grade
Hey, you hurt my feelings
Now I’ve got a mustard stain
on my heart
Well, pass me a napkin
Let’s wipe this clean and
start over again
By J. J., 4th Grade
I adore you, egg
Oval perfection
Heavy in the hand, like gold
You shine like the moon
Inside, a secret
Yellow and white
You are fabulous, dear egg
By Winnie, 4th Grade
On the other side of the earth
do kids eat different foods
and play different games?
Do they take a bus to school?
Do they listen to rap music?
Are their parents strict like mine?
Do they ever go to bed hungry?
Do they ever hear gunshots?
It would be fun to go to the other
side of the earth and play soccer.
By Robert, 4th Grade
Tuesdays twist, turn, tumble
like testy tennis balls.
So, take hold of Tuesday like the
tough, terrible titan that you are.
By Josue, 5th Grade
I wear my hair in a braid so it
stays out of my way
My mom’s hair is black like the night
and it goes way down her back
My dad’s hair is short like beavers
cut it with their teeth
My brother’s hair sticks straight up
like knives
By Katrina, 3rd Grade
I want big muscles like my mom’s
She is so strong
I want a kind heart like my dad’s
He is so nice
By Stuart, 2nd Grade
