Poems Don't Frighten Me - The Chicago Poetry Center

Poems Don’t Frighten Me

This week, Kozminski students turned their bodies into walking lines of poetry. Before writing their own poems, they first read Maya Angelou’s “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” and imagined what some the lines might look life in real life. Next, they got to see for themselves with a fun game of Poetic Charades. Students acted out some of the poem’s lines while others had to guess which line it was. Before our eyes, we watched students transform into fire-breathing dragons, speedy panthers, and shadows on the wall. After our game, we spent some time listing things in our life that might scare us and ways we face those fears. Students then wrote awesome poems about conquering fears. Read some of our featured words below:

4th Grade

Morgan B.

Spiders scare me like a doll.

A doll scaring me so bad that I run.

Like I’m losing a loved one. I’m so scared

that I cry like a scary movie has me screaming

and laughing. Getting food poisoning

is worse. I’m scared of the dark. Imagine

if something grabs you.

Goodness A.

I am scared of the dark

I imagine there is light

I am scared of fire

I protect my body

I am scared of lions

I stay away from one

I am scared of monkeys,

I avoid going to the zoo

I am scared of centipedes,

I jump on high things

Things with many legs and hands,

I avoid my not making close contact.

5th Grade

Cassius F.

When I’m on an airplane I try to fall asleep.

When I’m on a dropper I close my eyes.

When I’m on a ferris wheel I do it over and over till I’m no longer scared.

When I’m on a boat I think of it as a car.

When I’m with my mom I do nothing to get in trouble.

Azaiah A.

When I ride on a roller coaster I would sing a song.

When I pet a tiger I would breathe in and out of my nose.

Sometimes when I stay home by myself I would get a bat.

Sometimes when I’m in a dark room I turn on the light.

When I am sitting by a clown I pray.

When I get bad grades I try my best to do better.