Earlier this week it was Election Day across the US, so in response to the occasion we read American poet, Larry Levis' In a Country. The poem talks about inventing a country but in a manner that is elusive and maybe a little mysterious. Carrying over our discussion from last week we talked about certain line-breaks in the poem and why Levis might have made his choices; we also looked at repeating elements in the poem—birds, river, sky, wheel tracks—and thought about how they worked together to create images and feelings in the poem. Finally, students were asked to write their own perfect world poems.

Forest
Griffin B.

I am in the woods
I am running from the wolves
I become wolf
I run with them
I run into a river
I become a fish
I swim down a waterfall
I flop onto land
I become a man
I build a castle
I am the castle

The World
Lily B.

The world is
everywhere,
a calm place

so many great
countries some
are not.

The world
has nice friends
your family
lives in the world.

So many great places,
and houses. It's
a place
where we live.

The beautiful
world is
where you
live. And
there is
everything you want.

A Peaceful World of Mine
Nicole C.

A world of mine to live alone,
without my parents fighting.
A world of mine to live with friends,
to watch movies, and sleep till noon.
To drink hot cocoa and think, think about
a peaceful world of mine.

My Perfect Home
Maya G.

My perfect home.
My perfect home is
where I can do
anything,
anything at all and
nothing bad can
happen.
My perfect home is
all candy that never
goes to waste.
It always appears
even when you think
you eat all of it.
My perfect home is
all ice-cream too.
Just like the candy it
never goes to waste and
it always appears too.
My perfect home is
anything.
Anything you
want it to be.

Mine
Aleena I.

The blue seas sparkle in the light.
The sun beats on my bare back.
As I fall to the sand it makes
an outline of me.
As I run into the water the coolness
makes me numb.
I can feel the sand between my toes.
This place is mine to relax and to
express what I want. It is my luxury
where no one may interfere. Nobody can
come and boss me or tell me to "do
your homework." I can come and
plummet onto the squishy beds. This is
my place.

Mrs. Jones, 3rd Grade

My Perfect World
Hannah I.

In my perfect world
it will only be my friends,
and family.
There will be thousands of
malls, parks,
and Chuck E. Cheeses.
And we will eat nachos,
pizza, and
tacos!

Untitled
Zachary R.

My favorite place is
the beach not because of the
water or warm sand but the
beautiful blue skies that tell
me it's going to be an amazing
day.

My World
Sara S.

The wind is touching
me! The breeze is
cool! The clouds are
moving fast! I'm inventing a
country with cool wind and breezes!
I feel like I am flying in
the cool breeze!
The breezes are so fun
it feels like walking!

Untitled
Alexandra T.

My favorite thing is not my world
my favorite world is in my dreams
but it's my country that I dream I'm
in I would walk and talk which
is my favorite thing but it's in my
favorite world that I play in that only
I can see. My favorite world will
always be my favorite country which
is Romania the place I love
to dream and be in all the time.
My favorite thing is my
country!

My Bed
Christina Y.

blue
dark
soft &
cuddly
warm
can't get out
blue decorations
all over the
blanket
dark
blue is
everywhere
just perfect!
just perfect!

Mr. Sandlass, 4th Grade

My Perfect World
Kate B.

I want my perfect world to
be made of candy and ice cream.
It would be awesome. The only problem
is I would feel sick every day, but even
though I would feel sick every day I would
love to live there. I wish when I open my
eyes I would be there.

My Perfect Place
Vicky C.

My place is my dream
If I have no dream my head blank, white, nothing,
gone
If I'm real sleepy no problem I don't need a
dream
What if there's something I want to dream about?
If I can't sleep I think about a story, a topic,
for my dream. I say it in my mind and shhhh
I go to sleep
If I have no dream my head blank, white,
nothing, gone, and white like the moon.

Untitled
Christopher M.

My perfect place is Florida.
In Florida you can swim.

The Real World!
Vanessa M.

The shivering light
is here. The castle just
appears. With a dress of
ice sliding down the stairs.
Have you seen it? A crystal
that is delicate as a snow
flake. With a shake of a
wake. Soon the sun appears.
Everything is gone except
for the red sun.

Dream
Riya P.

I'm sitting down playing
on the computer.
I play games all day.
I don't care about anything.
Don't have to go to work.
Because I am rich I
have twelve trillion dollars for my
life.
Oops. It's just a dream.
Hope comes true.