Creating Our Heavens

Second week of poetry camp at Twain Elementary started off strong with our 6th-8th graders! We talked about list poems as well as lines and stanzas. List poems is one way to break up your poem into various sections using numbers or other symbols (drawings or special characters like an asterisk or pound sign). Perhaps each section has its own theme or maybe various timelines or chapters you are wanting to explore. Our example poem was from José Olivarez, “My Mexican Heaven.”

We talked about how art and writing is a way to create new realities we hope to see in the world and how art is often used for social change through naming new dreams and realities. Students were tasked to write their own version of “heaven” thinking about who is there, what sounds are present, flavors and food, and more! Students were encouraged to include lists and numbering in some way to create sections to their writing. Check out today’s writings from poetry camp!

Mr. Barr 6th-8th Grade Poetry Camp!

"My Special Heaven" Mateo S.

My Special Heaven is everything this is special to me, in my heart.

My family would be in my special heaven because they are
the people who would take care of me for the rest
of their life. They are my blood. They are my everything.

My friends would be in My Special Heaven because
they are the people who make me happy everything I hangout with them.
They help me when I’m down. They are my everything.

Qiko would be in My Special Heaven because he would
make me happy, he would always sing to everybody.
He was too young to fly away. He is my everything.

My Special Heaven would sound like whatever you
want and it would play in your head.

My Special Heaven would taste like a sweet candy, sweet as pie!

"My Heaven" Sebastian A.

In my heaven, I want my grandpa, my dogs, Fuerza Regida, and god.
The dogs are white
and brown running around, my grandpa is
wearing a white suit. Fuerza Regida is
with his band making music, then god is
chilling in his house.

There are birds chirping in the back, and
you can hear the wind blowing. The birds
are white and blue, and you can
see the fog from the wind.

The air smells like my mom’s cooking like
tacos, asada, and enchiladas.

"My Heaven (And Only Mine! Back Off...) Leslie O.

I go to my heaven,
mine only.
*
The music I need is
all there, gentle
and relaxing or
hype and fun!
*
My friends are great and amazing.
I laugh with them, I
joke with them.
I could never hate
them
*
Cats and kittens,
kittens and cats
Any kind you want!
right and exact
*
I hear gentle
rain drops, I
taste refreshing
water
but also
something sour
then sweet.
*
HATSUNE
MIKU, GO HYPE!
GO SOFT! ANY KIND
OF MUSIC YA
WANT!
*
All I
want is
there, All I
need is there

But I’m
sticking to my
everyday life,
I’ll be there someday

Until then…
I’M GOING TO SLEEP!

"Safe Heaven" Valeria G.A.

As a Mexican it’s
hard to do things white
people can.
*
though we fight for our
rights no one listens
it’s like no one can
hear us
*
there should be a place
where we are all the same
where we all do the same thing
where we all work in the same place
where we all shop at the same place
*
but there isn’t all
because of him.