Mrs. Hempe's 7th Grade Group 1
Like the bird flying even with gravity,
like deep sea fish living so far under water,
even with the force,
people don’t choose who I am. I do.
If I were a writer, fisher, musician, astronaut, teacher, or dancer.
That is my choice. For I make my own, no one else’s.
I am like rubber,
rip me and I break,
but push me and I find ways to be flexible.
For I make my own choices, no one else’s.
I can be who or what I want to be,
so can you, him, or her,
for we are human,
we make our own choices,
our own mistakes,
and we can’t blame others.
For we make our own choices, no one else’s.
We are different,
we are alike in many ways as well,
but I choose how I will live,
and you choose how you live,
we aren’t machines, we have hearts,
we can speak and think,
so we can make choices on our own.
You were impossible at the start,
yellows, blues, whites, reds, greens, and oranges
mashed together with as much rhyme or reason as
reading folders being yellow.
to you, I retained the wonder of a child seeing
the vast world for the first time.
It all changed that one evening,
with the mystery solved as if
Sherlock Holmes himself had been called.
But with that mystery gone, so was
that childish sense of wonder.
It was no longer a marvel when
the colors of the cube were arranged
like books in a library.
But at the cost of the childish wonder
came unforgettable friendships and experience.
You were the seed of the tree of friendship, skill,
and at the time, much-needed direction in an aloof life.
Because of you,
my first Rubik’s cube,
bought at Walgreens on a cold November night,
I forged deeper friendships than I had forged in my
past, fast-moving life, deeper than the Mariana Trench,
deeper than a black hole could ever be.
The pool is my happy place.
Its blue color hitting sunlight,
glimmering like thousands of
suns.
The sweet smell, lingering
on my hair and swimsuit
The coldness of the water
hits my skin, washing over
me like a wave crashes
against the sand
I am a fish
swimming through the water,
the pool’s tiles brushing
against my skin like
sand in Lake Michigan
Everything and nothing
compare to my pool,
my safe space, my
teammates, grinning at
each other.
Because nothing is
better than the pool.
Mrs. Hempe's 7th Grade Group 2
My bed is warm like a fire
it’s soft like a cloud
I like it because it means the day is done
and I can sleep
My bed is freedom.
Joy is the fog
It covers you
chokes you
blinds you
Anger is the flood
It crashes onto shore
like something that you will never be ready for
Sadness is the rainstorm
It doesn’t care about your
flight
your picnic
your life
Acceptance is the rainbow
it follow the rain
leaving you with a hope
False, possibly
But still there
Guiding you
Misleading you
Showing you
how to live
The following drizzle is the
feelings that never go away
always there
Throughout the storm
In life there’s obstacles
that try to test you to your limits
think of it as the world’s hardest video game.
Because if you thought what you’re doing is hard
Trust me, there’s been worse times.
And even though you may not realize it now,
that’s okay.
Look at the stars.
They shine brighter
than all the joy you’ve ever felt combined
And yet, with stars,
comes darkness,
which to no surprise
we all have
but if you do not realize it yet child,
that’s okay.
Look at the things you have
like you’re holding two flags
one’s green, the other’s red
You’ve got the bad stuff
for instance, how messy my house is,
as if a tornado swept through it.
But with that, I’ve got my family
that I could not imagine loosing
So with every bad thing, must
have a good thing,
and even though you may not realize it now,
that’s okay.
Look around child
This city.
This day off.
This wonderful masterpiece,
is all you ever need,
and if you don’t realize it,
that’s okay.
Because deep down,
in that sweet-like-candy heart of yours,
I know
you will eventually.