Mapping Our Way Home

Happy 2022, dear reader! It felt familiar joining Ms. Marasovich’s 6-8th grade poetry club and I was met with excited students ready to craft some new masterpieces. Our Tuesday session was focused on the art of free writing, a practice that encourages writing without stressing about editing our words in the process. One student said that free-writing helped them write more than they’ve ever written before during poetry club, a major win for them. On Wednesday, poets read Fatimah Asghar’s “Map Home” and discussed the poem’s form. Everyone in the group agreed that they’d never seen a crossword poem before, but thought this new form was cool and they liked the secretive element of the crossword clues. Students then tried their hands at their own crossword poems, sharing them along with their free write poems during our open mic on Thursday. Check out some of our inventive poems from this week.

Friends Forever? Miley L.

You said you would never leave

You said we were best friends

We grew up with each other, we told

each other everything. But you just disappeared, it’s like you faded away.

But how? Why? Where did you go?

You said friends forever

Crossword Poem Bee V.

ACROSS

3. If I can feel it is it really figuratively?

5. He said it wasn’t my fault, but did he mean it?

7. If the loop never stops why do I question why it’s stuck in my head?

8. Why are you yelling at me like you own me?

10. She was so little, she did no wrong. So why did he choose her?

DOWN

1. If he loved me, why did he leave?

2. How old is too old?

4. Okay so maybe I shouldn’t have done it but it was fun, so does that make it okay?

6. The distance never bothered me before, so why does it now?

9. It’s my only escape, why does it have to end?