Students read a student poem that uses personification to talk to a star before trying their hands at their poems addressing something… bigger than themselves, using words from legendary poet/teacher Kim Addonizio’s word bank below!
Mirror
Smoke
Angel
Sizzle
Burn
Blanket
Fold
Dark
Light
Lesson Note: “We are chemically connected to all molecules on Earth. And we are atomically connected to all atoms in the universe. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.”-Astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Ms. Hernandez, 7th Grade
BEDTIME
BY: Harrison C.
I look in the mirror and see the stars looking at me from my window.
Smoke coming from the shower heating up the space to where the stars feel it.
Has a look out the window, the angel in the stars looks at me and smiles.
I hear the sizzle of the stove when my mom is cooking, like the stove was alive.
But the stars could feel the burning of the hot shower water.
I lay in bed, and the stars say goodnight, and it turns into dark but with light in the sky.
A star
by Calvin R.
Oh star
How does it feel that no one knows that you’re alive
To many, all you are is an occasional light
Oh star
How does it feel to be alone
Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade
Untitled
by David Z.
Through the Smoke comes the Angel
As its holiness approaches
It feels as if a blanket was thrown on me
The closer it gets, the dimmer the light gets.
The spirit changed everything from Dark to Light
So bright and light like a blanket.
When it was dark, everything would burn and sizzle
Somewhere you wouldn’t want to be
But this angel was a savior
The angels’ holy spirit saves me
Before, it was like looking at a mirror but seeing the complete opposite.
This is what happens if you take god in.
estrella brillante
por Jose V.M
brillas demasiado
entre la oscuridad
y tu luz es espectacular
tus reflejos son como un espejo
que se siente estar entre a lado del sol
el humo no me permite verte bien
pero tu luz como un ángel no se esconde entre la frazada oscuridad
TRANSLATION
Bright star
By Jose V.M
You shine so brightly
in the darkness,
and your light is spectacular.
Your reflections are like a mirror.
It feels like being next to the sun.
The smoke doesn’t let me see you well
But your light, like an angel, doesn’t hide in the blanket of darkness.
Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade
Night Stars
By: Liam P.
Imagine you are lying in bed, waiting for what’s next
Suddenly the bed moves out of its designated sspace
Starts to move at the speed of light
But you don’t see anything in sight
Until the bed reaches a hill in the middle of nowhere
Just one small tree, and then some pink, blue, white flowers appear
You’re still in bed, eager for what’s coming next
After you take in the beautiful scenery
The bed levitates up all the way up
So dark but so light
The sky is from folded to unfolded…
Just for me
You’re just sitting there so peacefully
So calmly
With a thick comforter and a blanket stacked on top, with a blue silk pillowcase
You’re just staring in the burning image of stars surrounding you
Your eyes sparkle and sizzle with the bright night
It feels like an angel is showing you the way to forever
No mirror can project this beautiful cinematic sight.
The moon and the stars
By Sloan L.
Oh, moon, how you shine so bright
You light up the nighttime sky with all your might
You bring tides and waves
You wake up bats in their caves
And guide us through the darkness with your gentle rays
Oh, moon, but tell me why
Do you ever get tired of reflecting the sun’s light?
What secrets do you hold in the blanket of your cracks and craters?
Oh, moon, but tell me why
Do you remember the footsteps that once kissed your skin
Or the silence that echoed long after they left again?
Oh, moon, but tell me why
You rise so calm while the world below is in fire and smoke,
Do you mourn us in phases, or just for beauty’s hope?
Oh, moon, do you wish you sizzled and burned like the stars above
Or does the job of mirroring the sun fit you like a glove?
Oh, moon, but tell me why
Do you fold or bend like a star in the sky?
Or do you sit in the orbit of our Earth
Oh, moon, our dear and beloved
What secrets do you hold above?
