A Token of Hour Gratitude

After another protracted absence—spring break, local school council elections, the dreaded testing—we find ourselves in the antepenultimate homestretch with a poem by Bianca Stone. “An Hour” asks readers, “What can you really do in it?” and seeks philosophically, discursively, and yet poignantly to answer this provocative question. Along with its striking imagery, Stone employs personification to ascribe human characteristics to such things as tattoos, tear drops, and time, making this meditative poem worthy of (and subject to) much deep discussion. For their own poems, students were tasked with using personification however they wanted.

Ms. Nelson 4th Grade AM

Personify? Personification? Max B

What’s it called when you
make it seem like a person
or an animal seems inanimate?

Unpersonification? For example…

“the owl stills like a tree”

“the sea waves like grass”

“the bird lays dead like a fallen leaf”

“the girl curls up to survive like a bush”

See? Unpersonification is weird.

Surprise Tisya D

I saw the wind just wave.
Now I am in the sky.
What a surprise take
a look it’s a book.
When like the flower
blooms the bush
runs away from me.
Sometimes time runs
faster than me.

The Puck Problem Jack M

Hockey game boom! You get hit
on the boards. Pew! You slap the
puck and it says, “Please I beg you
stop hitting me!” The puck screams,
“Why is everybody so mean to
me?” I say, “What? How are you
talking?” The puck says, “I was a
human until a puckhumation
zapped me as hard as a rock,
turned me into a puck. Please
can you find the humanray? It
turns any object to human! By
the way my name is Gerald
Boon. I had the humanray.
I hit Gerald the puck with it
but it was fake. I skate off the ice
and the cold wind is whispering.
The pads are on the ice on your
skate flies off fast as a
star running.

A Lovely Day in Summer Mookie S

a nice day in summer
where plants are whispering
but the cloud is sad

the cloud cries
but the plants are happy
the cloud looks at them

the cloud sees how happy the plants are
it feels good about it
the rainbow comes

 

the cloud, plants, rainbow all of them are happy

The Tree and Eyes That Look at Me Amir T

As I stare at the moon
it stars back as I slowly
close my eyes I wake up
in my dream but I only see trees
no matter where I go. The leaf
moves fast under the blazing sun
as the wind whispers. I see eyes looking
at me in the bushes then I wake up in my
bed.

Mr. Martens 4th Grade AM

Sensing Places Rafael F

I have seen many places.
From Oklahoma to the
hairy Illinois.

I have felt many places.
From hot Texas to the sweaty
Hawaii.

I have heard many places.
From the calm Miami to the
yelling New York.

I have tasted many places,
from the spicy Spain to the
sweet Brazil.

I have smelled many places
to the Detroit using perfume.

And I will feel, smell, see,
taste, and hear many more.

The Hour of Lunch and Recess Noah M

The second 12:00 hits we are at
lunch my dad packed me great food
to eat then it’s recess the
playground is kind of my friend
and then the siren rings then
back to class.

CAR Jordan N

In the car, kids always ask
“ARE
WE
THERE
YET?”
Then the parent says no,
billions and billions of hours
left. Well the reality is 20
minutes but let’s not talk
about that.

Then the parent says
“Play a
game
help
the
time
pass
by”
The kid pulls out a chess
set but then they remember
they have no siblings.
So now they’re bored again.

Later they remember 1
thing, RACE TIME!
The kid stares out the
window with raindrops moving
fast.

The kid imagines that the
raindrops have racecars
and their hair swooshes
in the wind.

RACECAR NUMBER 13
WINS!!! The kid yells.

The parent says keep it
down but of course
the kid doesn’t listen.

That night the kid
dreams of pencils turning
into worms with raindrops
racing, and then they remember,
SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!

Crazy Canyon Dylan P

The Grand Canyon is alive.
You might not believe me
But when I went there
It started shaking.
Then the Grand Canyon talked.
It said…
Dude you’re hurting my back
I said whoa you can talk
It said yeah I’ve been doing this for years
I started talking to other people
They said I was crazy
But the thing is I wasn’t.

Untitled Otis R

1791 in Egypt a mummy was
died became alive I was
very scared but we became
best friends his name was
Adric Bean Burrito we drive
to Chicago and we ate
all the foods in Chicago in the
end we were so fat we went
to the gym

Mr. Waterman 4th Grade

ENDING EVERYWHERE Sally C

Flowers shift, moving quickly
running running all you can see

warm summer day yet cold as can be
blinking away, for all you can see

one second death, another life begins

time never stops, keeps running and running

life ends and begins again and again
a pattern starting, never pausing

last all you stay

Time Ruitong H

Time stops
a tear rolled down my face
trying to convince me that it is
not real. Everything shifts, time
seems to hold its breath. The
silence is unbearable. That’s it,
it’s gone there is no going back.

Nervousness Naomi J

nervousness
it grabs ahold of you
and you feel smaller than everything around you

it runs around your mind
it says, “You can’t do this”
and traps you in your own body

nervousness
it bangs your heart like a hammer
it makes you want to run and cry

even if you feel small,
even if you feel trapped,
even if you feel you have no control,

you still have to get through it.
you still have to push it aside.
you still have to do your task.

at the end of the day, it’s not as bad as you think
it is.

If Penguins Could Talk Vincent K

If penguins could talk,
They would go squawk.
I want pizza they would say,
No I want fish.
They taste good.
Yay penguins can talk.
Wait hold on they are asking for
A hotdog. Yum yum.

Pickle World Justin L

Pickle tell other pickle about
pickle. Pickle pickle the pickle.
Pickles shine in the darkness
and move so…so picklish. Pickles
are just so…pickled. If you
were to walk through a pickle forest
you would hear the pickle trees
pickling about pickles and pickles.
That is why the pickle world is
so pickle.

Untitled Iris Z

Wind
Running swiftly
Sometimes strong
Sometimes weak
Sometimes dangerous
Sometimes harmless
Making energy
And disaster.

Ms. Nelson 4th Grade PM

My Crazy Dream Augustus A

I saw a bird chirping
then I saw the tree moving
I thought it was the wind but
then I see the tree branches
moving and that for sure was
not the wind and I walk home
and my house is talking
and it has legs in my house
I see outlets talking to
each other but my favorite
part was when my stuff was
alive and they were like animals

Untitled Meiwei C

Time is time always the same.
Time whispers to me like me
I hear it most of my time in
life but now I am time it
transfers to my body and now
it flies to my time like a
bride and you are the
time the only thing alive to
me. Time masters time is everything
and now I hear my time is
gone for life and now it’s your
turn to be my time. For a short
life time. Time flies too fast and
goes too slow but time can be
perfect some times.

Untitled Alec L

I woke up my bed said “get up, lazy
my back hurts,” so I went to the stairs
and the stairs said “breakfast is ready
I can smell it,” then I smelled bacon
so I hurried down and saw my
mom she said “good morning” I said it
back

then I saw bacon on a plate and a fork
so I picked up the fork and stabbed the
bacon then, the plate said “hurry up
I want to take a shower” I said “OK OK,” then
hurried then I just noticed

beds, stairs, and plates can’t talk
my body screeched wake up my heart
said “wake up wake up wake up” my heart
pumped faster until it went pitch black and
I do not utter a word.

Prairie Evangeline L

The wind howling
the birds singing

The grass roaring in the wind
the wild animals talking

The wolves howling their song
in the hunt

The flowers blooming
with color

The sun moves on till
the moon comes up

The clouds shade to
gray

While light and noise
fill the air

The wind wrestling
the night till the
sun comes……

What's Happening? Dawson R

My head hurts.
What happened?
What happened to them?

Where am I?
What is that red stuff?
Everything blurry?

Time’s moving so slowly?
Whaahboom!
There’s a fire.

Calm down says the car.
Then everything went black.
I need your help.

Emotion Remi W

My anger takes over it controls
me starts saying its own words
I can’t control it but I can take it
down with happiness. When my anger
is in the wind it calms down. Happiness
feels anger.

Mr. Martens 4th Grade PM

Time Amari B

time all I think about is time
wake up time
I need my time to myself
time I’m out of time
I have a time and my house
we have a time and our house

all I think about is time
when I look at the clock it’s time
to go home
when you look at the time you
see it too
I just wish I can have
more time on my test
I just love time
you just love time the end

Water Storm!!! Stands for Tsunami Daniel C

This one was the
craziest! It all started
where there was a
water storm everyone
was just chilling all
of a sudden the biggest
pile of water attacks
the window breaks!
Me and my friend ran
to the classroom some
how not one drop of
water.

Potted Potter Penelope C

My potted plant is nice
it makes me

smile!

Pottery is her mama it
made be
designed.

When I said Potter
you’re nice

to why she is
Pottery

I made Pottery to Potter

Potter I need
she makes me
smile!

For why…I need her

she’s nice
she’s pretty
she has
troubles

APLENTY

She hurts to get
carved

But she is made

She has to…till

crack
She falls
to
the
floor

“ow” the crack
is
big

I Had a Pencil Jeremy H

I had a pencil

It was real

I tell my mom she said
no pencil is a pencil

So I ate my pencil

Then I have another pencil
and another then my mom said stop eating
pencils!

My pencil
new pencil
the end

Personify Camryn M

The pickle went to the pickle
barrel.
The Apple iPad went to the Apple
store.
The book went to the book
store.
Lilo went to Stitch.
Dino went to the saur.
The store went to get more.
The Cam went to the ryn.
The fore went to the head.
The Te went to the st.
The ear went to the ring.
Stitch went to the witch.