This week I was happy to hear from my friend Kristin Palm, a poet and teacher who works with California Poets in the Schools (CPITS). Kristin is inviting writing teachers and writers who teach to join her in a project that involves writing and sending poems to Barack Obama in celebration of his inauguration. Anyone can join in. Kristin would love to hear from you if you and your students decide to participate.
Dear Writers and Teachers—
I am writing to invite you to participate in a national poem writing campaign, Letters to Obama. This project was inspired by poems written by students in Detroit, Michigan, as part of theInsideOut Literary Arts Project, an amazing organization where I used to work (I now work through California Poets in the Schools). The idea is simple and fun: Have your students write “Letters to Obama” poems around inauguration time. Then, add a twist or two:
- Send the poems to the White House with a letter thanking President Obama for his support of the arts and arts education
- Hold a student reading or arrange for a display of student poems
- Or come up with other creative ideas to ensure that our young people’s messages to this historic president are read and heard!
If you would like to participate, I can provide you with a resource kit that contains:
- Writing prompts
- Model poems (below)
- Sample letter to the White House
- Sample press release
- Publication/display ideas
If you would like me to email you a resource kit, please email me atletterstoobama@yahoo.com. Even if you don’t need a resource kit, I’d like to ask you to contact me if you plan to participate so I can know how far this project reaches; please include the name of your school, grade level, and number of students participating. Please feel free to spread this post far and wide—I’d like to get as many students to get involved as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Kristin Palm
***
Advice to our Next President
Never start drama.
We voted for you because
we believe in you.
Don’t forget to not put
pressure on yourself.
Be sure to be ready
to be president. When
you answer the phone
you can say, This is
the Obama residence.
Are you going to be
ready for all of this?
Are you going to try
to be better than
those other cats?
By Dishuna, 4th grade, Detroit
***
Advice to the Next President
Always help the homeless.
Watch out for pointy hats.
Remember to share cucumbers.
Give the rich to the poor.
Keep your shoe out of your ear.
Follow your instincts.
Don’t help half of the world.
Help all of the world.
Don’t bail on us.
Stay strong.
Love the people.
Make this a new world.
By Talandra, 5th grade, Detroit
–posted by Robin Reagler, Writers in the Schools (WITS)
Ashley Tyler
Hey Obama, i guess this year’s gonna be cool with you being our president, just PLEASE don’t let the poor people go n e more poor than they already are. Well i gotta go, Im at school, the bell’s bout ta ring.
Khaidji
This is a great idea but are the poems going to reach the President-elect with any real certainty. I have written and devoted an entire book of poems to Barack, writing from his Primaries, through the General Election and my book, “Path To The White House” goes unnoticed by the President-elect. What is the secret to get readers to notice this historical book that was a day to day, play by play account of this incredible path.
All the works are Acrostic Poetry in rhyme . Here is the poem that introduces the book.
The Path To The White House
This time last year I learnt of a Black
Having enormous aspirations, his name was Barack
Eyes were on him and what he brought
People were believing the change that he taught
Americans for the first time were ignoring race
They were accepting the man and not the color of his face
His promise is of hope and change and that we
Together can revolutionize politics if he was the Nominee
Obama had obstacles from the critic’s voices
They tried everything to influence people’s choices
Hillary competed with all that she knew
Ever stone she turned and sink she threw
World interest peaked and soon it was clear
How many nations supported him, how many would cheer?
It is incredible that there has been so many
That backs Obama and his Candidacy
Every opportunity to disparage and defame
Had no effect on supporters who remained the same
Obama brought an interest not for decades seen
Unmatched number from voters as early as teen
So I wrote this collection of acrostic poetry
Every one written to commemorate this path in history
My book of Acrostic Poetry can be previewed The Bajan Poetry Society’s Store Front
Ashley
I used this poem to use for my project, I sure hope you don’t mine. My teacher said she loved it. Thank you so much you really help me out. Love Ashley
Robin Reagler
As long as you give credit to the author, it’s fine.
Khaidji
This is a great idea but are the poems going to reach the President-elect with any real certainty. I have written and devoted an entire book of poems to Barack, writing from his Primaries, through the General Election and my book, “Path To The White House” goes unnoticed by the President-elect. What is the secret to get readers to notice this historical book that was a day to day, play by play account of this incredible path.
Here is one of the very first poems, sort of a brief introduction to Barack. Note the Acrostic down the left margin. In this case it is the same as the title
Barack H Obama
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii in the great U.S.A
August 4th , 1961 on an inauspicious day
Raised up with Maya his younger half-sister
And from day one he was an adoring brother
College took him to the Harvard Law Review
Keen interest copped Presidency, his competitive debut
His humility as true as his ability to organize
Obama’s work with the community was charitable and wise
But his greatest decision was to choose Michelle
After dating a year they rung the wedding bell
Malia and Natasha were the daughters from his spouse
And together his family lays their Path to the White House
My book of Acrostic Poetry can be previewed The Bajan Poetry Society’s Store Front
Kate Mullikin
Hello fellow teachers, students and writers. My name is Kate Mullikin and I am an 8th grade LA teacher from Shoreline Middle School of Santa Cruz CA. I have some amazing poems that 8th graders wrote directly after they watched the inauguration…
Inauguration Day Poetry by Ms. Mullikin’s Class
My mind burns with feeling
Too deep for words to write
Too strong for written words
Too many emotions rushing about
Too many feelings in turmoil.
My mind runs and yet my feet cannot move.
They are imprisoned by mental locks
And hold me from expressing my great joy.
Nate Sheibly –
I feel more patriotic today
I do have more respect for my country
I honor our new president –
Not because he is young,
Not because he is black,
But because he is our hope
He promises to change our country
I believe change will come.
Michael Medina –
Take the time
It may be long
All in all, we will be strong.
Help us now
In our time of need
Learning how we can succeed.
Kate Camp –
Even though our nation’s story
Is not all glory
We still have pride in what we have today.
Some of our history might be a mystery
Built on fallen pieces that we must pick up
Together.
Leni Vasquez –
Overwhelmingly awesome!
Best president ever!
All his speeches are great!
Making history today!
Always has a smile on his face.
Antonio Nunez –
Obama is a “G”
He runs our country.
Made John McCain flee.
The white house just gave him the key.
He’s an inspiration to me!!
Mezziah Overley-
Today I feel our nation changing
I hear people cheering
For our new president
Today I realize we can do something new
Today I want to do something to protect our world
And save it.
Today I want to help our world.
Carla Diaz –
As we come into this new year
We ask ourselves, “What will change?
(or more important)
Who will make the change?”
As citizens of the USA we should
Stand up to our mistakes
And as a citizen I say
We will change.
Jake Rubens –
When will our nation change? TODAY
Where does the nation alter? Everywhere?
Who does this nation belong to? Everybody!
What does this signal? A new beginning!
Why does this matter? It is our world!
How does this affect us? In everyway!
Who is this because of? Barack Obama
Who was the inspiration? MLK
Chad Oklin-Jolon
Today was a truly great day!
Obama won and my heart cried hooray!
I almost cried. What an historic moment!
Words came from our poet.
Everyone was silent.
His words touching everyone
In such a way…
Cristian Melgar
So much music, so much cheer
Now a nation without fear
What a happy day!
It brought tears to some
What a relief, change has come!
Matt Birt
Lots of excitement
No more fear,
Lots of excitement,
SO much cheer,
OBAMA is in office!
Time to end some wars,
Pick up this economy
And fight no more.
Kyle Pittman
Today I am proud of my country
We have banded together to elect
A revolutionary
Today I hear the millions cheering
From the smallest children to the growing masses
Today I realize how lucky I am
To be growing up in America-
A country where change has come
And there is hope for my future.
Today I wish that all American people
Would take up the daunting task
Of bringing our country back to prosperity
Today I vow to do my part,
No matter how small,
To bring more change to America.
Saige Mariner –
Robin Reagler
Hi Kate, Thanks for sharing your students’ poems. They rock! Did you want to submit them to the Letters to Obama Poetry Project too? If so, here’s the url:
http://letterstoobamapoetry.blogspot.com/
I love that the expectation of the students is that we will all work together to bring about this change.
melanie espinal
Create your words actions
To better our nation
Oh son of diverse nationalities
Save us from our tragedies
From economics to poverty
Help us correct our stupidity
Barack Obama, our president, our leader
We pray you’ll make our lives easier
Let the choir of hope sing
And let freedom wring
Suzanne Gili Post
by: Suzanne Gili Post …
Water The Seed
A steady stream of longing
filled the river of our discontent.
It ran off the road with mock decisions
and somehow we knew, we knew
that so much was not right – not of our choosing.
Thorny territories of betrayal;
rudeness and arrogance gave way to systematic tortures.
Ordered from a menu of power warped.
Confrontations between friends and countries
held the bleak monotone tread of false justification.
The complexity of this tragedy weaved a landscape
of fallen towers, broken levies, smoke, mirrors,
ashes, bones, bombs
and the fading echo of lamenting cries
getting harder and harder to hear.
And so, the complacent and cynical transfusion,
so haphazardly pumped into our history,
became oathless, and it seemed improbable
that a better day would come.
but Now, like the vision of our early Fathers,
choice for a better day is at hand
and a renewed declaration serves as a battle cry to rouse
us from our consumer logged, apathetic binge.
Finally, ideal truths are uniquely and undeniably out in the open.
Slaves are not willing partners to slavery.
Gays and Lesbians are not incomplete human beings.
Women and children do not ask for rape.
People trapped by genocide do not aspire to be forgotten. And
our planet is not going to flourish as we continue to bully it.
Indeed, at times, suffering is indulged upon us.
And by some imperfect doing, atrocities fester,
evolving somehow from an indifferent dimension.
It is a sad fact …. Innocence is often stolen.
Disaster happens, time and time again, throughout history –
but as we bury the plagues, natural and otherwise,
what are we really doing?
Ultimately, it is in the hands of those who remain to decide.
Those who also know that along with our regrets and rituals,
not all not all is bound for burial.
Life, like a single seed, tenacious and curious
will take root even in a dark and narrow crevice …
It holds on and gives us a chance to embrace our humanity,
with the mysterious forces that are as old as time itself…
Creativity, Recognition and above all Love.
This imperfect experiment, this great nation,
is not so because of one symbol, or one man or one woman,
or because we can win wars and send rockets to the moon.
But because of millions, perhaps billions of us know how to choose
one man from another, one woman from another, which war to fight
and what side of the moon to land on.
It is the free and informed voice that demonstrates our brilliance.
So, empty the house.
Make room for a new maestro to conduct what Woody Guthrie
imaged so completely for us….
Indeed, this land is my land and this land is your land;
But in order to remain entitled it,
we can no longer afford to to sit by uninterested.
We all need to get up, walk over to the well, and water the seed.
kiara short
i just want to say change has come and will come
Isabel
President Barack Obama won I know hes about to change this world around…
Welcome President Obama
Whitney Harris...self created for my church black history program
Thoughout History we’ve had many catalyst of change
but some of our great black leaders were never acknolwedged their fame
Martin Luther King and Vivien Thomas are examples
Though the hardship and tough times in which they’d been trampled
My grandmother always told me how bad things were in the past,
on voting day i got to the polls i didn’t care how slow or fast
in line I let ladies like her in front of me
letting them come first to the President that promised the Change we Need
Many may think that it’s the color of his skin, not the content of his character
but that’s not the reason I boast about Our nations black caretaker
and It’s one thing that makes me laugh and even has me crying
not the color but For the first time in history our President is Hawaiian
I’m glad to see the change , he always told us YES WE CAN
And knew God had blessed us and included us in his plan
Some hoped and didn’t stop dreaming
and that didn’t end at the twilights last gleaming
So This black history month you have something else beaming from ear to ear
For the times far from now and those that are near
Tamiya Simpson
dear obama, im so glad your the first black president of the u.s because this world need a change and i believe u r the who can make this chang and that we can belive in it. But most of all im so glad when u bring the troops home because my daddy is in the army in iraq. So will u braing the troops home saftly and alive. My daddy have been in the war 4 three whole years. so please make this change and bring the troops home!!!!!!My name is tamiya simpson and i am in the fifth grade at goodman picken elementry school in goodman, mississippi.
Doreen Van Lee
You Can’t Win A Race
World famous runners will tell you the first rule of
track:
Which is you can’t win a race if you’re looking back.
You can ‘t win a race if you are not focused and
disciplined,
You certainly can’t get to Heaven if you continue to sin.
You can’t win a race if you don’t sweep around you own front door,
You can’t win a race if you are always finger pointing and taking score.
Just take a note from President Obama’s 2008 campaign,
You will see that he never looked back and refrained,
From dousing his opponents with equal doses of venom,
He just relied on the intelligence and talent within
him.
He didn’t wince when they called him a rock star and
inexperienced,
That is why they have been calling him commander in
chief ever since!
He didn’t stumble when nay sayers questioned his vital statiistics,
He promptly produced them just as he does with pertinent logistics.
So, I say to you can’t win a race by playing the race card,
You can’t win a race by being a cartoon drawing
retard!
My friends if you have learned anything today:
It is that you certainly can’t win a race if you are
looking back,
World class runners will tell you that it’s the
first rule of track.
ESTEFANIA-CASTELLANOS
BARACK-OBAMA-DID-NOT-LEAVE
HE-HAD-THE-GUTS-TO-STAY-AND-FIGHT-FOR-ME
OTHERS-DID-NOT-WANT-TO-CHANGE-CUZ-THEY-WANTED-TO-BE-THE-SAME
BUT-NOT-OBAMA-CUZ-HE-WANTED-TO-CHANGE
THATS-WHY-ADMIRE-HIM-CUZ-HES-NOT-LIKE-THE-REST-HES-THE-BEST
Carlos
Barack Obama
A man with a vision
A man with great hope
In times of division
He climbed the steep slope.
Like Moses in his time
Justice is his prime
A man of great hope
He wants all races to unite and to cope.
His time has arrived, his destiny is here
For a smart man like him to persevere
And to lead that great nation
Lead away from the greed, hate, and oppression.
Like great leaders before him
Martin Luther King and others like him
They died for confronting the hate and the sin
For justice and peace they had been.
These men are the Heroes
Who confront all the Nero’s
Time and again
They all fought for justice and freedom to reign.
With great fervour he pushed ahead
“Yes we can” were the words he said
Wining hearts, minds, and all the debates
To become the president of the United States
Barack Obama stood his ground
Crossing the barriers for those who were bound
To defeat the great giant
Which hate is so defiant.
The Goliath of inequality, racism and hate
This is the obstacle for people to relate
Change and hope has come to America at last
Change and hope for people of all class.
Justice Samuel
Just when all hope has gone,
1 person brought it back,
Now he is a answered prayer,
1 person may change the world and all that,
But the whole world of hope will get it done quicker,
More to live life and clear the hate,
Less time to get in a strong debate,
He asked for this friendly request,
Lets show this man why USA is the best,
Why he wants to represent us,
Why he chose to be president,
Lets show Barack Obama that we can ACE this test,
Taken the footsteps of DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
However, making more footprints,
How far will YOU go
Tom Zart
OBAMA POEM = FELLOW AMERICANS
Will we battle terrorism, as it should be fought
Or run away and let evil doers chase us to our door?
Will we protect our freedom and system of life
As our fathers and grandfathers sacrificed before?
Will we secure our borders against illegal entry
Or let our economy and security be destroyed?
Will we finally stop runaway wasteful spending
By leaders who are self-serving and void?
Will we continue to pledge our help to the less fortunate
Who suffer from war, hunger and disease?
Will we preserve our heritage and our future
From those who wish to bring liberty to its knees?
Never be afraid to be proud of America
And march with the thankful, honorable and just.
Never surrender our freedom of choice
Standing firm for what we believe and trust.
By Soldier For The Lord
Tom Zart
Most Published Poet
On The Web
You can hear all of Tom Zart’s 350 poems
of love, war, faith and more 24-7 on web radio at
http://internetvoicesradio.com/Arch-TomZart.htm
Tom Zart ARCHIVES:
Forums-War Poet Tom Zart : Veterans Today – News for U.S. Military …
clara
I would like to send a message to Mr. Obama, First I still feel it is an honor to have a president in color, black and free like me. This is the differnce I truly see. I believe in your words that it’s time for change, and over time others will feel the same. My mother would have been proud to see you standing there but she passed away before the miricle came.Mr. President you will always have my vote, you and your family are blessed. I’m glad I was here alive to see it, I must profess you are the best, keep up the good work that god lets you do, cause we as a people are gonna be behind you!!!!!!!
Judy Konos
“BARACK”
I have very few friends since I stood up for you,
because I believe in the things that you do!
I feel the justice you’re determined to bring
And you never exclude, not one living thing!
When I walk through my halls and glance at the walls,
Your photo assures me you’re there,
As you look down and smile like a frolicsome child
I know that you really do care!
You’re my feeling of happiness that comes from within
The first time I heard you …I knew you were friend
You are the very best President America has had
And far more important, you’re such a great dad!
May God keep you safe tucked under his wing
and continue to guide you to do the right thing
Just know that we “feel” your struggles each day
And if you need help,I’ll be right on my way!
Chieanna
Barack Obama
Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr.’s son.
Received NAACP award and Chairman’s award.
August 4th is when he was born.
Claimed Democratic nomination for U.S. president.
Kind father to Malia and Natasha.
Occidental College in L.A.
Barry was his childhood name.
Admired by many near and far.
Michelle Obama is his wife.
And he believes “Yes We Can!”
And yes he did!
C. William Clarke
Yes We Will by Flowetic Justice
This is a pivotal time in our history
the country hangs in the balance
the scales of equality teeter back and forth
and the hands of the people strive to reach a level
where this elusive plateau can be touched
there is so much at stake
for a land that is so great
the fate that can be held
in the palm of the voting hand
each woman and man must demand
that their voice and their choice be heard
for there are those who do not see us as equal
but divided do to our economic state
our upbringing and the color of our skin
those who still whisper silent words of old
segregation and hate masked on the winds of sin
the president who has done so much for us all
knowing that he would be opposed at every turn
still strove to correct the mistakes
left in the wake of the last leader
while others pretend
he accomplished nothing as of late
that each mighty step he took
was either one in reverse of just too small
I hear the words that are left stuck in my throat
and imbedded in my brain
on the many news channels
though they are rarely the same
the many secret quotes and notes
from the one who desires now
to be commander in chief
left us all disgusted and in disbelief
those of us who fall in that dreaded 47%
and could never fathom the thousands spent
for a plate to hear this stale rhetoric
captured only this past May
while others seek to berate the present President
for comments made over a decade ago
wishing he would simply go and fade away
we the people
have the power to decide the outcome this fall
for we must raise our heads
and see that there is hope
and realize so much can be d accomplished
with a single vote
remember
that there is an inherent threat to woman’s rights
for we know
that the decisions made on their bodies
are theirs alone
know that those entering college
deserve the chance
to achieve their degrees and goals
know that our elderly deserve our respect
and that no one deserves to be left out in the cold
four years ago
there was the national wide chant of “yes we can”
and those words still fill our spirits
with that burning desire and justified thrill
but we must change that view now
for there are many spoons stirring the social stew
that want to return to the days of old
rather than receive ingredients fresh and new
so it is up to us
every woman and man to unite and join hands
and keep those negative billion dollar voices
quiet, stifled, humbled, and still
for this time around there can be no doubt
so we must all stand and shout three new words
for when asked can we make a difference
in out countries future
this election we can no longer say yes we can
but scream for the tallest building
“Yes We Can !”
Thoughts of a Single Man 2012 tm
Isidoro Rivera Caravantes
Hello this is veronica Rivera Orellana and I was saying that I made póster project about you and my teacher said that she love the way. I wrote and she gave me a 100%.
Thank you so much with you poem. .
Love,
Veronica Rivera Orellana