This week we read The Quiet Machine by Ada Limon, a prose poem that describes all of the different ways that the narrator embodies the state of being or feeling quiet. We had a great discussion where we made a list of emotions and states of being, and how being excited could feel like electricity in our bodies, versus how feeling sad might feel like carrying something heavy. This is one of my favorite poems to read with students, and a writing exercise I love doing with all age groups because of how it makes talking about emotions so accessible. Students also made some great observations about how the poem being written in prose form made it feel like a list that you had to keep reading. These poets have been making strong choices in how they’re structuring their writing into stanzas and lines, so it was a great opportunity to try something different. We’re so close to the end of our time together, and I’m going to miss all of the great writing this class has been doing. Enjoy this week’s poems, and congratulations to the published poets!
La tristeza es cuando me caí de las escaleras, y era piso de cemento. También cuando me encierro en mi cuarto, también cuando me caí de la bicicleta, y me hice un morte en el brazo.
I’m learning so many different ways to be quiet. I play lacrosse in big field, that’s one way. Helping my mother and my father get food out of the car when they go to Costco to restock on food that’s one other way.
