This week at Peterson we explored poetry all about the body. Many poets in the past have written about the human body’s beauty, flaws, and capabilities. Together we listened to the poem “Hands” by renowned spoken word poet Sarah Kay. Spoken word poetry is a performance art form that contains elements of oral storytelling, music, and theater. In her poem Sarah Kay describes the amazing things she can accomplish with her hands: mold poetry, tickle pianos, dripple a basketball, touch old people and hold babies. As students delved deeper into Kay’s poem, they discovered that “hands” represent her close relationship with her father, her views on the world, and memories. “Some people read palms to tell you your future, but I read hands to tell your past. Each scar makes a story worth telling.”
Inspired by Sarah Kay, students chose different parts of their bodies to tell a story from their pasts. They incorporated aspects of spoken word: repetition, rhythm, and wordplay to share significant memories. Enjoy this week’s published poems.
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 1
Ana’s Hair
Ana A.
People say my hair “es muy hermoso.”
But my wavy hair has been through
hard things. My hair isn’t always beautiful.
Sometimes it gets really tangled when
I don’t brush it.
I have had haircuts, that weren’t always
perfect and sometimes didn’t come out
the way I wanted.
When I was seven years old, my hair
turned out looking like Dora the Explorer’s.
Once, I dyed my hair purple, blue, and pink
mixed together. My friends started crying
as if you stole candy from a baby.
Some people as me “¿Como te sentiderias si tu
pelo estaria muy corto?” My answer was “Yo
todavia me sentivia feliz porque Dios me dio
pelo!”
“How would you feel if your hair was so short?”
My answer was, “I would still love it because
God gave me my hair.”
Syed’s Legs
Syed M.
People say my legs are so quick as a herd
of horses running down a mountain. When
I run my heart beats twice as fast as water,
like every river flashing away. What people
don’t know is that every time I play soccer
I always end up getting kicked right on my
legs. But I don’t I give up. I just keep on
trying, until I can’t anymore.
My Ears
Azucena R.
People say my ears are just for listening.
But I remember when I got my ears pierced,
when that nasty needle entered through my
ears.
I have heard real sad stuff like my love birds
dying.
Sometimes I have heard exciting things like
the bark of my new puppy.
My ears have heard amazing, scary,
and exciting sounds. But I’ve also
heard mean words said to me and
my siblings.
Now people say, “Wow you’ve heard
a ton.”
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 2
Hair is my life
Jacyen B.
Hair is beautiful. Hair can be soft,
curly, straight, long, short. I believe
my hair can tell people who I am.
Hair can be dyed different colors,
just like mine. I like my vibrant
purple hair.
When I’m stressed, I play with my
hair to help me calm down. Hair
can be put into different hairstyles,
like braids, ponytails, and buns.
Hair can be touched, hair can be
seen, hair can be awesome.
But I hate the day after I wash
my hair, when I go to school
and everybody thinks I dyed
my hair again. Putting things
in my hair can make it look
cute.
Hair is one of the things you
can be free with. Hair is not
something to discriminate
about. I love my hair. Hair
is my life.
Just like yours
Kassie C.
“Kassie your eyes are so pretty.”
I get this a lot. I usually just say
“Thank you,” but I want to really
say is that your eyes have the
ability to do the same things mine
can. See your friends, look in the
mirror, study for your upcoming
tests.
Yes, mine are “special” because they’re
a combination of my mom’s chocolate
brown eyes and my dad’s light green
eyes, but that doesn’t mean my eyes
work differently. Yes, they change
color, but we are able to see the same
things.
I’m sure we have both cried about
someone close to us passing away
and saw the way your friends laughed
at your joke. The only thing that is
different is the color.
We are all capable of seeing beautiful
things, so please don’t say “I wish I had
your eyes.”
Those Terrible Hands
Ivan L.
They are cracked as a sidewalk.
The left one has red, dry skin.
The right one looks pale as paper.
They both make it hard to do the dishes.
But, I’m still able to type an essay or
play video games on my Xbox or phone.
I love hugging my mom and dad.
I love hugging my stuffed monkey.
I love hugging my cat, Mojo.
I’m still able to do things even with
terrible hands.
My dad says, “Try putting on some lotion.”
“At least you have hands,” says my sister.
But, I’ll still keep my opinion.
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 3
Shanzah’s Heart
Shanzah A.
People always mock, “Why don’t you
let your heart open up?” But my precious
broken heart wasn’t always like that.
My precious broken heart has gone
through a lot in just these 12 years.
My precious broken heart had to go
through the pain of almost losing my
dad, not once, but twice.
My precious broken heart had gone
through the process of being judged.
on looks by people who I called,
“family. “
My precious heart has gone through
the pain of being ignored and left out.
Yet, my precious broken heart kept
positive vibes, cruising on with life,
taking every shot thrown my way.
Now, people shout, “Your beautiful,
strong heart can take every breath
away.
Brain
Josie C.
I had trouble at school, crying almost every day.
Mamma took me to a specialist who told her,
“What she has is ADHD. It’s something your born
with. She has dyslexia too. Everything will be harder
for her.”
I went through tons of tests just to figure out what
type of dyslexia I had. You know how dyslexia is
supposed to make it hard for you to read? Well
look at me now!
My old school never had the support I needed,
even when I had an I.E.P. I should have had help.
I was nine when I had my first panic attack.
I can tell you right now, that if you have never
had a panic attack, you are lucky!
I have anxiety, ADHD, and dyslexia.
Still my parents make me push through.
I know later in life I will be thankful.
Right now, I feel overwhelmed and
sometimes angry.
The good thing is that now people say,
I have such a creative mind and that I
have come so far.
Mouth
Erin J.
People always said I would chat non-stop
once I came back from speech therapy.
When I was young, they told me this so
often until I just hit the brakes. No one
wanted to know what I thought or cared
about. I hid my thoughts from the world.
I’ve silenced my life since the start of 6th
grade. But then something unbelievable
happened. Well actually, it was embraced.
One day after two years I finally got the
gift to escape. Choir.
We learned so many things in choir, but the
most amazing moment was when I started
to trust you, mouth. When I would present
all these amazing notes to people.
They loved me.
Then something happened. I got anxiety.
Terrible panic attacks where I couldn’t
breathe. I was losing confidence. I could
sing a song for three months, the one
thing that powered me. But with stage
fright it was hopeless. Would I ever sing
again? Will I ever be able to hit a note
without humiliating squeak of terror
or embarrassment.
Thank God music helped bring me your
soothing melody back. A solo rolled around,
these notes beautiful and glorious came out
of you. This boosted my confidence. I was
back with you. I can paint pictures and rich
colors with songs.
On the night of my solo, wow we killed it.
Everyone clapping, cheering, and giving
compliments with tears of joy. That helped
a lot with my anxiety, my panic attacks
decreased. As soon as you let me hit the
notes, I can feel my breath catching up
again.
Mouth, we’ve had our ups and downs,
sore-throats, hyperventilation, bad
breath, and possibly getting braces.
But thank you turning my life around.
From my first breath, to singing on stage.
I truly couldn’t live without you. My life
would be broken. Thank you so much
for everything. Don’t ever leave me. Now
people say to me, “Your unrecognizable.”
