Blue like shimmering water
Blue like my friend’s eyes
Blue like berries in summer
Blue like a robin’s egg
Blue like forever
By Mercy, 3rd Grade
Posts Categorized: Poem
Alive
I feel alive when I am in the water
swimming strong like a fish
I feel alive when I play the piano
my fingers flying across the keys
I feel alive when I’m laughing
with my mom in the kitchen
I feel alive when I’m happy
doing what I love
By Jennifer, 4th Grade
The Long Way Home
Sometimes you take the long way home.
You mess up. You think you know it all.
You leave with your hands in fists.
Then you wake up alone. Not so sure.
And you want to go back. Home.
By Sh’nae, 10th Grade
Directions to My House
Go past the big tree at the end of the street
Its trunk is as big as my little sister
Then walk past the house with the cat
who is always hiding in the bushes
Run past the house with the barking dog
because he is scary
Next turn at the fire hydrant and you’ll see
a yellow house with a white mailbox
It’s where I live and I love it
By Kaitlan, 3rd grade
Little Things
I overlook the little things
way, way too much
a tall glass of water
with ice cubes
on hot summer day.
By Jay, 8th Grade
I Am a Pair of Sandals
I am a pair of sandals. I have beautiful stripes that are more colorful than a rainbow. I was happy this summer when a girl bought me. She wore me all summer long, and we had so much fun running and playing at the beach.Then, summer ended, and the girl had to go to school. Her school said, “No flip flops!” Now, I have to spend my whole day in a dark closet. I’m lonely! I hope summer comes again soon.
By Micaela, 2nd Grade
All the Days After
The day after is a let-down
no more cake, just back to normal
But my mom says that is where life is lived,
all the Mondays, all the days after.
By Julie, 8th Grade
I Wish
I wish that unicorns were real.
I wish I had a pet flamingo.
I wish my mom lived to be 100 years old.
I wish all the people had 100 shoes.
By Macall, Kindergarten
Summer Dreams
In summer…
hair’s bleached lighter
skin tanned darker
days feel longer
driving in the car
on the sandy floor
the sun fades like old blue jeans
the rays, blinding
but soothing too
the sun sinks in the ocean
closing its eyes to dream–
to dream about a new tomorrow
By Kylie, 7th Grade
In the Summer
In the summer I eat more bananas
and go to the movies with my mom
In the summer I play with my cousins
and have sleepovers with friends
In the summer I go to fun camps
and meet kids from all over the city
In the summer I feel happy like
dancing after dinner
By Chelsea, 3rd Grade
Freedom
I am marching down the street.
It’s night, and I am singing with
people all around me.
It’s cold, but I don’t notice
because I am trying to find my
way to freedom. I am letting
my soul take flight like a bird.
My arms are linked to the sky.
Voices ring in my ears as we
sing our way to heaven.
By Maya, 4th Grade
Man in the Lake
You stand deep in the snow.
You walk in the circular path
around the cracked ice on the lake,
the water underneath like black quartz.
You look around the frozen tundra and see him,
a weeping man on the thin ice.
He sees you and runs.
You yell but it’s too late.
The world slows as the ice shatters
underfoot. He stumbles,
you see the fear in his blazing sea green eyes.
“Help,” they seem to say but it’s too late.
He plunges into the ice cold water
and I know in my heart it’s too late to stop it.
By Max, 9th Grade
Friends
I am skipping and jumping rope
under the sun with my friend.
I tell her we will be friends forever.
If only we could go on top of the
world so we could feel the soft
floating clouds and be always happy.
By Reyna, 2nd Grade
When I Feel Powerful
When I feel powerful, I wear pink.
I write stories about girls who
run the world.
My heart feels like a drum,
but I won’t let anything stop me
when I feel powerful.
By Tria, 2nd Grade
Teen Writing Contest!
Gigantic Sequins is a literary arts journal. Check out their announcement below about a contest for teen poets:
GIGANTIC TEEN SEQUINS:
CALLING ALL TEENAGE POETS!
In celebration of young poets, Gigantic Sequins is seeking submissions of poems from teenage writers ages 14 through 19 for an online feature!
Interested? Submit 3-5 poems, no longer than 2 pages each, to teen.sequins@gmail.com
The deadline for submissions is JULY 20th, and all those who submit will be notified about the status of their submission by JULY 27th!
When you submit, please do the following!
1. Include a cover letter in the body of the email, listing your age, your email address, the name of your school and city, and a brief biography (any personal information of your choosing, up to 100 words).
2. Include your poetry submission as a document attached to your email in a .doc or .docx format.
A single poem from each age group will be given a spotlight on the Gigantic Sequins blog. Even if your poem is not selected for a spotlight, you will be listed on our site and receive the distinction of honorable mention in celebration of your dedication to poetry!
Each age group will be judged individually by the poet Robby Auld an undergraduate student at Salem State University, and by the poet Sophie Klahr, Robby’s mentor and Gigantic Sequins’ creative contributing editor.
The Gigantic Teen Sequins feature will appear on our blog during August 2015 and be publicized on all of the Gigantic Sequins social media sites.
You can find us online on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and our home site! Questions from teachers or students may be directed to Sophie at sophie.klahr@gmail.com.
So Much Fun
When my aunt comes to visit
we have SO MUCH FUN!
She brings us crazy string
and tells us stories.
She laughs when we jump
off the couch and snort
milk out of our noses!
My aunt knows how to
blast open a day.
Not even rain gets her
down. She is SO MUCH FUN!
By Josh, 3rd Grade
Sign Up for Houston Public Library’s Summer Reading Program!
Summer is here, and it’s time to read and reap the rewards! Sign up your child for Houston Public Library’s Summer Reading Program and spend the summer with great books! For more information, see the notice below from our friends at Houston Public Library:
Register! Read! Reap the Rewards!
How to earn books & badges this summer:
REGISTER: Early registration begins May 1, 2015 and continues through August 1, 2015 at any Houston Public Library location during operating hours or remotely from a computer.
READ or listen to books, enter book titles or reading time online and in your Badge Log booklet (be sure to ask your librarian for one). Go to your local Houston Public Library to pick up your prizes at the various book reading levels.
ATTEND hands on workshops, enjoy performances and take part in activities to earn your STEAM MACHINE sticker badges (collect them in your Badge Log booklet)! Participate in at least 5 library programs* and read a minimum of 5 books, to receive a prize pack: Houston Zoo and Houston Rockets ticket vouchers and a Raising Cane’s gift card!**
REWARDS include:
A Houston Dash game ticket and a certificate 5 books or 5 hours
A Houston Dynamo game ticket and one free book for reading 10 books or 10 hours
Chipotle meal coupon, additional free book and a coupon for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for reading 20 books or 20 hours
Children’s Museum of Houston admission voucher and entry into a Grand Prize drawing to win a new Xbox One console for reading 30 books or more or 30+ hour
Button Poems
Long legs
strong as a
tree trunk
Long snake
hiding in a
dark hole
Long grass
in the dark
night
Roots like a
spider web
of fingers
By Carlos, 1st Grade
I Wonder
I wonder what it would be like to live on the moon
and wear an astronaut suit to school
I wonder what it would be like if my parents still
lived together and we were a happy family
I wonder what it would be like to have a pet
dog that I could call my own
I wonder what it would be like if we only
saw the world in black and white
I wonder what it would be like if no one was
ever mean to me
By Tasha, 4th Grade
Change
Photo by: Aikawa Ke
Sometimes I don’t like change
but then I remember how
leaves turn red and gold,
then fall of and then grow
back again bright green.
I remember change is part of the life
cycle and I’m okay with it.
By Justine, 4th grade
Click the link above to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Caprice Haddad, a 6th grader at Johnston Middle School For the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. Faculty is Susan Calvin, 8th grade History Teacher The background music is “Hope For Tomorrow” by Seastock. 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.
Original post: January 12, 2015