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
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 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
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 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
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
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
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, 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
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.
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
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
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 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
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
Photo by: Geir Tønnessen
When sheep dream
They don’t look up at
the sky, but their heads
are filled with clouds
floating quietly
this way and that
By Alashia, 4th grade
Click the link above to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Arianna Vara, an 8th grader at Johnston Middle School For the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. Faculty is Jerri Deleon, Assistant Principal. The background music is “J. S. Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze – BWV 208” by Kevin MacLeod. 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: February 12, 2015
Photo by: Theophilos Papadopoulos
I track the clouds
in the sky
as they fly
I track birds
in the trees
as they sing
I track ants
on the ground
where they crawl
I track my cat
on the fence
where he slinks
By Tricia, 2nd grade
Click the link above to listen to the poem read on KPFT radio by Alonna Johnson, an 8th grader at Johnston Middle School For the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. Faculty is Rolethia McKelvey, piano teacher. The background music is Sidewalk Shade” by Kevin McCleod, 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.
Original post: January 26, 2015
A personal invitation from Flashbang! Writing Studio, which is seeking poetry by students in grades 7-12 for publication on its website during April, National Poetry Month:
As participants in NaPoWriMo, Flashbang!’s Sarah and Jeff are writing and posting a poem a day for the month of April. But we want more! We want your poems. Send us your love poems, hate poems, pet poems, unicorn poems, football poems, name poems, video poems, macro poems, gif poems, breakfast-lunch-and dinner poems.
Come back to the blog every day in April for a new writing prompt and at least one new poem. Note: The poems you submit do not have to be based on the prompts we publish. If they are, that’s awesome! Let us know! But more important than following our prompts is writing something you love. Send us what you love.
All poems accepted for publication on the blog will also be considered for publication in the inaugural issue of KaPow!, Flashbang!’s creative writing zine, scheduled for May publication. If your poem is published, you’ll receive a free copy of the zine. Additional copies will be available for $5, and all proceeds will benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. (Want to raise more money for GPLC? Learn more about and register for our Poem-A-Thon here: http://www.
To submit: Send an email with your poem attached as a Word document or just pasted into the body of the email to flashbangwritingATgmailDOTcom. Please include your name, age, and school name in your submission. (School names will not be published unless you explicitly ask us to do so.) Let us know where you heard about us, too. Deadline for consideration for KaPow! and the NaPoWriMo celebrations is 4/25. BUT we will still consider poems on a rolling basis after that deadline for publication on the blog.
Cheep cheep cheep
my chicken pokes around
his eyes move fast
his feathers are smooth
I love my chicken
By Stuart, 1st Grade
I like to play tricks on a green day
like pinch my aunt on the shoulder
and put green eggs in my dog’s bowl
I like to sneak around on a green day
like a leprechaun in the bushes
I like to wear hats on a green day
and listen to the band Green Day
while I wear my lucky green socks
By Jonathan, 3rd Grade