Dada!

We focused on collaboration for this session using a game that originates in the Dada art movement. When writing an “Exquisite Corpse,” students work in pairs and trade off writing two lines per turn. However, part of the lines are hidden, so the partner must continue the poem by continuing only from the part they can see. It’s an interesting experiment in what makes an effective collaboration, and how two people working together can create something entirely new and surprising.

Room 320

The Paper Rolled
Ashley H. & Jennifer M.

The paper rolled down the hill
It hit the kid’s leg
running down the hill
they rumbled and tumbled
rolling, rolling, rolling,
rolling, rolling, rolling
until they kicked Joey Bill
They ran up the tree
then the paper rolls into town
and a person picks it up and reads it
then scribbled and scribbled
stop writing a response
It’s a secret, a big one
Maybe even a change in the world

 

Turtle
Justin B. & Mario D.

Hi, I’m a turtle.
My name is Murtle.
I was walking and I saw
Dogo and Kden
They were two big men
who had muscles and brains
but I felt dumb as a tree
and hard as a stump
It looked like a lump
He liked turtles
I tried to eat a cloud, it
was nasty and tasted like water
It was sicky and sticky
It wasn’t healthy
My tummy hurts
so bad
Stuff
Mi T. & Nora O.

The dog ran over the log
Animals are very soft things
They cuddle and smile
at every beautiful thing they see
She ran in to bake cookies
She was hungry
She was starving
I think she wants me
She likes someone
but she is four
and growing
out of her imaginative world

 

Room 322

Like a Boss
Chelsy R. & Lysa A.

I see it across the rainbow
with a horn on its head
A little girl running home
to go pee
to sing and dance
with his friend
Around town looking
at that prince hiding from an ugly girl
hiding in the bushes
and jumped in a box
running back with new Jordan
shoes
walking fancy with
a mustache
riding a mustang and a Camaro
like a boss

 

Beautiful Night
Wendy S. & Rachel V.

The blue is like an ocean
It sometimes splashes my face
It pushes me to space
to see the stars
And to think about space
then come up flying
like a bird
go up, up, and away
then come back down safely
back to the blue ocean
where the water flows
steady not slow
starting to go slow
because the full moon is out.

 

Beautiful Sky
Marbella G. & Gabriela G.

There you are
as beautiful as a floating flower
I see a light through the water
It pulls me up into the sky
like a butterfly
trying to find its home
Now I’m in a fluffy land.
I jump up and down
like a kangaroo
reaching for the sky

 

Room 314

My Best Friend
Daisy H. & Laurel D.

At night
I see a monster
The monster
is in my closet.
It is big and fluffy
It is funny looking
It doesn’t creep
me out
It is a vegetarian
a hungry one
It is my friend
I love it
It’s name is
Doodly-Doo
It follows me
It reads to me at night
It is purple
and blue
It does all my homework.
The monster is called Sullivan.
Froot Loops are his favorite.
He goes to school with me.
He works at Monsters Inc.
and Walgreens.

 

They Call Me…
Alexander & Javier

They call me Juan, they call me Jose
They call you…
the sky blue and the grass green.
The red is fire and browns are trees and
your mom is making me tacos and
your dad is making me some mole and
your mom is a master at video games.

 

The Argument
Christian & Jose

I am so awesome you are not
I am a pro you are not
I am the best and better
than you, you suck and it’s the truth
How old are you ’cause you
act like a 3-year-old
I may act like a three-year-old
but I’m not the one who eats like a cow
Gingerbread cookie that is
what you are go make me some tacos
Fat cow that is what you are
now I will make some beef out of you
Be quiet you little chicken
You have that chicken body
You be quiet cow I am not
the one who eats a lot at one time
I may be a cow
and eat a lot but I am skinnier than you
You may be a cow but you are still my friend

 

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TESTIMONIALS

“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.