By now, Hale’s 6-8th poetry club students have read a breadth of poets spanning a range of identities. Each queer, Black, Latinx, and Asian American poet has offered wisdom and taught us a new way of approaching our poetic process, and this week was no different with words from Indigenous poet Joy Harjo on the important practice of remembrance. Through her poem “Remember,” Harjo inspired Hale poets to consider which moments of their lives were impactful and worthy of being captured in the written form. Following a lively group discussion about which elements of our favorite moments tend to stick out the most, students were challenged to create a snapshot poem. This poem freezes a moment, turning it into a vivid memory for readers who weren’t there. Our student Mireya shared a brilliant poem on their favorite memory, choosing to keep the memory itself a secret but painting an image so vivid, the reader feels like they were there.
Ms. Marasovich’s After School
Grades 6-8
Unus Annus
Yeya R.
Its been a year since its end
The laughter still replays in my head like a beat you just
can’t forget.
The black and white suits
The clock that never stopped ticking
The sand that kept falling down into the glass below it
I watched as the 365:00:00 days turned into 00:00:00 (zero)
The screen turned black and I was left alone
The memories started to disintegrate
Now that it’s gone, it’s like trying to remember something that
didn’t ever exist
But now that’s all it’ll ever be, just a memory
On Thursday, we had a little leftover time after our open mic and decided to collaborate on a Foldover Poem. With these poems, students write a group poem, but can only contribute one line each based on the previous line. This activity always makes for some hilarious poems, and this time was no different. Check out our group holiday poem below:
Oh! The weather outside is frightful,
And the fire is spreading, so delightful,
The ash filling up my lungs,
I start to choke,
I want my pen.
Happy Holidays!
