Make it Strange!

Surrealism is an artistic approach that sets irrational or dreamlike images in the “real” world. After discussing how surrealism can help highlight, question, or contextualize the normalcy of our lives, the 7th and 8th graders of Waters read “Would You Like to See This?” by Isabella L., a CPC student poet, and “Untitled” by James Tate. Using surreal images, students created some strange, funny, creepy, and fun list poems.

Ms. Hernandez (7th Grade)

What do u wanna see Amneh S.

A unicorn peeing fruit punch

a fridge cooking cookies

socks flying to Figi

a fish drowning int water

taking a snake on a walk to a cooking class

a ghost getting hunted by a ghost

eggs getting cooked by a chicken

bus on a school bus to school

a salad on a diet

taking a fish on a walk to go tan

My List Matthew A.

a plane in the air landing in a volcano

a soccer ball in flames

a bear flying

walking a snake

a fish making food

a cat driving

a dog lifting weights

a tiger flying to space

a horse making paper

a basketball reading a book

Would you like to see this Amelia B.

A tree swaying in the ash

lemonade pouring out milk

a field full of jellyfish

wood fire becoming fireworks

fireworks made of people

people shapeshifting into dinos

dinos made of little legos

little legos flying to casadilla

casadilla loving the moon

the moon becoming eggs

Would you be confused? Leila C.

Would you be confused

if fish could walk

if cake was alive

if gravity broke.

 

if a shiny blue glass covered in kittens

became the next great singer.

If a grilled cheese became the world’s

best chef.

If way above the clouds

a piece of french toast started turning

clouds into cotton candy and started raining

chocolate milk.

If corn started to pop on its own.

 

if water was cholocate

if grass was blue

if the sky was pink

if the world was flat

if you could walk on walls

 

if pillows were gummy bears.

If your teacher turned into a cheetah

and started to run

if cats ruled the world.

The Chef Aydin C.

French fries running from the lava pool of oil

French fries scared from the chefs working at McDonalds

scared of the customers who consume over 1,000 fries

the chef’s hat grew legs and arms and started running to a whale’s mouth

Spatula hitting the chef in sorrow for the food

burger throwing all the pencils at the chef

ketchup sauce squirting sauce on the chef

stove flying into the storm clouds

the microwave shouting 100 lbs of spiders

clock rotating over 400 times

floor running from the darkness in the chef’s heart

seasoning spitting out horses

Ms. Hernandez (8th Grade)

Surrealist Poem Finn M.

I flew to a golden moon in space in

my dreams. A green sun is ablaze in

my UV vision. The timeline

is here and there but not current. I

live on a meteor for 3 years. I turned

purple. I invented a new day called

pasta day. I befriended an eldritch horror

being creature called pasta. The pasta

became long thick curls of hair. Pasta.

A little robot rabbit with glasses made us

pasta. The pasta grew to a waterfall. Pasta

floods my brain, slushing around inside.

PASTA.

Surreal (Untitled) Abbie L.

A pink castle on a hill

am glad am

I that I explored

a marching band with

trumpets and tubas

slowly grazing across

the courtyard

a blue terrace with a

purple clock counting

the minutes till

doomsday

As the seconds do

lapse the marching band

gets too fast

their feet fumble. Jaws

stuck in a scream

and on the last second the

world falls beneath

a blanket of water

a second Atlantis

with rainbow fish

and the band does

get lost in the sediment

storm

and when the dust settles

there’s nothing left

but their flutes

being feverishly played

by the turtles

And many years later

the castle, now older, now greater

flourishes under the sea

with mermaid civilians

a sparkling cerulean

reflects of the summer sky breeze

Accomplishments in places of no possibility of accomplishing the accomplishments Elijah H.

I SWEAR I’M NOT LYING!!!

I did theses things for real trust me!

I made the roundest circle ever!

“Where?”

In a room full of boxes.

“…”

I discovered now money grows on trees!

“Where?”

The desert

“uhhh”

I RAN 200,000 MILES!

“…Where?”

In a pool of quicksand out in the forest.

“sigh.”

I discovered how the world ends!

“Whe—no how?”

at the end of the universe.

“Ok I know you—”

I ran on water!

“…do I really need to sa—”

under the sea.

 

Then you realized you were talking with a 10 year old the whole time

 

Then the writer realizes these locations make no sense…”the poem’s ruined!”

Then the reader realized…

Poema las reglas que nunca cumplo Kamila C.

Un dia me sente a estudiar sin ver videos

y sin escuchar musica por que tenia que terminar

rapido por que mi mama me estaba esperando

para cocinar juntas yo me apure a hacer

la tarea para hacer la comida y comer

rapido luego de comer yo me fue a dar

una ducha y luego me fue a dar mir

y no me pare a ver videos en la madrugada

ya que no me desperte en la madrugada

cuando sono la alarma en la mañana

me desperte sin ningun problema y me

metia a bañar sin ninguna flojera

Accomplishments Reeve S.

I reflected on all the accomplishments this year I did,

I taught a gorilla to play piano,

that was challenging.

I showed a caveman my phone,

that was a while ago.

I got snapchat and tiktok,

in my dreams.

I won a record for being the first on the sun,

I got a little burned from that.

How likely is it that these

actually happened.