Ms. Munoz’s 7th Grade class began their exploration with the theme of: ‘Writer, Who Are You?: Identity Through Poetry” with a reading of Lucille Clifton’s deceptively, simple poem, in the inner city. We looked at how the poet used Lines and Space to draw us in and even turned the poem on its side to reveal a secret. Students discussed their perceptions of the city in which they live, and then put all hands on deck to create group poems, through a ‘Chicago Says…’ Exquisite Corpse writing exercise. For extra inspiration, I read them an excerpt from Carl Sandburg’s great poem, Chicago.
Ms. Munoz
7th Grade, 1st Period
Chicago says
the lights bloom in downtown
the cars honk all through the night
you can smell the food as you pass
She looks at the city below while standing on a high skyscraper
the moon and stars disapprove
they get in an argument and split up
they begin to think of the mistake they made
and forget it
Ms. Munoz
7th Grade, 3rd Period
Smells fishy like bus gas
people and cars make the city beautiful
the people as short as ants
but their souls as big as buildings
even bigger than Trump Tower
shootings, robberies and killings
busy streets and traffic throughout the day
but we love Chicago anyway
Ms. Munoz
7th Grade, 6th Period
Chicago says
forceful and windy
are the nights, these dots
Chicago
everyone loves it
the beautiful windy city is enjoyed by everyone
the lake shines bright by the morning sun
and freezes over when winters come
the beach filled with people and activities
as if it’s very fun playing with people
Ms. Munoz
7th Grade, 7th Period
Chicago says
the city lights
they inspire me to
become so bright
but there is still
a very
very
dark side
to a great side
of a great city
it’s an amazing place
Chicago my home
more like home of the
Blackhawks, Cubs and Bears
oh, look, home run
and a goalllllll
and a touchdown
yay us
this city might
have some good
and some bad parts
but it is our home
and we love it dearly
and keep it the best
we can so we can keep
living in this beautiful place
the big city lights
forever beckon me
I think to myself
it’s where I am
meant to be
Ms. Munoz
7th Grade, 8th Period
Chicago says
to shine as bright as the skyscrapers in the night
to stand as tall like a skyscraper over bullies
to be filled with many buildings
that shine bright like a diamond
in the night cars are asleep
lights are off and people are dreaming
in a house there’s a baby screaming disrupting all the
people dreaming
this turned their dreams to nightmares
and he could not sleep for years
