Good Night

School
Skinner West Elementary School

Poet in Residence
Larry Dean

Date

Hard to believe we’re almost halfway through this year’s residency! With the recent switch to daylight savings time having occurred, I began classes this week asking students if they considered themselves to be a ‘day’ person or a ‘night’ person? Next, I asked what advantages and/or disadvantages there were to both daytime and nighttime? As you can imagine, there was quite a variety of responses. I then informed everyone about the 24 hours of daylight Alaskans experience surrounding the summer solstice, and the nearly two months of night from late November to mid-January in northern Finland, inviting them to imagine what that would be like.

After our opening discussion, we read Eve Merriam’s “Lullaby.” This pithy poem incorporates rhyme, similes, and description into a compact rumination on the moment when day slips into night. One of its comparisons is “Purple as a king’s cape,” and we thought of the many ways that could be interpreted. As for its title, lullabies are sung to children to help them fall asleep, but I wondered if there might be any additional connections between the poem’s title and its content? I also pointed to the poet’s use of “purry,” inquiring if it was a ‘real’ word and regardless, what it reminded students of?

For their own compositions, they were instructed to write a ‘night’ poem. Here we go…

School
Skinner West Elementary School

Poet in Residence
Larry Dean

Date

Mrs. Rosenzweig 4th Grade

Darkness Lucas B.

Nighttime, Nighttime, It is dark.
Nighttime, Nighttime, scary like a shark.

Darkness, Darkness, is here.
Darkness, Darkness, a little bit of fear.
Darkness, Darkness, it is time to sleep.

Time to go to darkness.
Time to fly into darkness.

Shhhh Mason B.

You are are so sweet but it is time to sleep
It is the night it’s not bright
You cannot fly a kite
So sit and hold on tight
It is colorful now that is wonderful
So slept tight and do not fight

Nighttime Jackson K.

Finished dinner
Time for bed
Put on pajamas
Dozy in my head

Look out at the sky
It’s black and blue
Moony and starry
What a beautiful view

It’s black like a cat
And blue like the sea
Bedroom door opens
Someone’s looking at me

Mom walks in
Followed by dad
We say prayers
I feel glad

Sleeping now
I start to dream
Thoughts drift away
Like a river’s stream

Snoozing Xitlali L.

Black
Black
Night
Fright

Black as the night sky
Black as a burnt fry

Black for the time
Where there’s no rise-&-shine

Sad and blurry
No rush or hurry
In this sleepy time

Black
Black
Night
No wrong or right

Sleep
Don’t weep
Into the night sky

Sleepover in the Dark Sasha L.

We knew we were going to win this bet
We didn’t want these people to think they were a threat

She came in ready for the night
We got our sleeping bags expecting a fright

We turned on the movie, got our glasses and cheered
She sneaked for more snacks and I heard her fear

She screamed louder the whole world heard
I was about to leave till blood slipped from under the door board

I was going to search out the window instead
I opened the door making a noise, tripping on thread

But once the door blasted open, I saw the monster from the movie
And my friend dead

The next day I had to go to school
I took the money from the bet thinking I was a complete fool

He said nobody has every dared to watch the movie
That they would get scared and too moody

I walked home feeling very off edged
And promised myself

I’m never taking a bet again

Mrs. Johnson 4th Grade

Night and Mite Agrim A.

Night mite get untie,
Mite as dark as Night
Night as mighty as night

Look up at the sky
You see the moon
Then you think the
The sun will come soon.

You look in the tree trunk
You see a mite waking
In the night.

Untitled Niko G.

I am going through the night
I got into a fight
Outside it is black
During the fight I went smack
I have some height
And I took flight
It is the end of the night
And I am out the fight

Untitled Michael S.

The night is calm the night makes you yawn you want to go to bed but you can’t resist your friend the night is so calm you look at your palm

Mrs. Barnes 4th Grade

Midnight Veera K.

One night it was dark

In the beautiful park

Midnight was almost here

And the sky was clear

The New Year countdown was on

3 2 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

All the adults grab a beer

The New Year was finally here.

Untitled Marshawn P.

It was the fourth of July and fireworks were about to go high in the sky while it was night, fireworks exploding and kids saying bye bye, the fireworks go and people leaving saying good bye.

Untitled Gianna Z.

There was a little black cat that looked like the sky. It walked and walked and walked and walked in the night. It looked up and down to the moon. Then glitter was around it and it flew up to the moon.

Mr. O'Brien 4th Grade

During the Night Rieyecon B.

During the night I watched the fight. During the night I flew my kite. During the night I saw a spider then I said yikes. During the night my friend slept over and he said the dark was his fright. So then I turned on the bathroom light.

The Night Athan C.

The sun was falling down, the moon rising up. If only anyone could make that kind of stuff.

The sky is black, no longer colorful. I miss the white and blue sky.

I went back into my room, feeling lonely. My house was only me.

I have to go to bed now, goodbye. Tomorrow, I will see the blue and white sky.

From Day to Night Xavier G.

When the day ends the night comes out, the nights where people will have fun and build forts, the nights where they celebrate birthdays, the nights where they spend time with each other. Just from the day ending.

I See the Moon Zia R.

Coyotes Howl
Enemies Prowl
I see the moon

Blue cape Your life is at stake

I see the moon

This is time to be with family

Cause I see the moon.

Coyotes Howl
Enemies Prowl
I see the moon

Blue cape Your life is at stake

I see the moon

And you do too.

Black Clara S.

Black
Black
Very sad
Very mad.

Black as the night sky and as dark as a black crayon.
Black
Black
Very dark
Very tuffy.

Muffy
Foggy
Sad
Black.

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