Seasons in Chicago - The Chicago Poetry Center

Seasons in Chicago

Although it is supposedly Spring, things have been pretty gloomy around here! In order to try to welcome some warmer weather, we read “Knoxville, TN” by Nikki Giovanni and relished her very specific descriptions of summer in Knoxville. We thought about how there are details of a place that can only be told by someone who lives there and why it matters that we tell our own stories. We also talked about form and why Nikki Giovanni may have used such short lines and lack of punctuation and considered how those elements could make our poems feel. Some of the students even combined this with our lesson on concrete/visual poetry and made some beautiful art to go with their poems!

Ms. Carteno 6th Grade

Pool Paradise Hayli

I love a pool but even better
a no bug allowed fence around the pool
in a Florida house we rented
for me and my family.
The best time to get in
is after a long day
when you feel like a racecar
that just did 200 laps! When you jump
into the pool, it is like flying
out of a plane getting refreshed with a nice
breeze, laying on a float
looking at palm trees
with the most beautiful sunset.
That is what I call a pool paradise

Summer Dro

I hate summer.
The horrible bright sun is torture to my eyes.
The unbearable heat is like being stuffed in an oven.
The horrible repetitive buzz of the mosquitos ringing in my ear.
The smell of the chlorine in the pool water burning my nose.
The feeling of sweat dripping down my forehead.
I hate summer.

Spring Madelyn

I love seeing flowers, bloom,
I love hearing the
rain on my window
as I sleep, and
I LOVE
smelling the newly
bloomed flowers, I
love the salty taste
of rain on my
tongue and
I especially love
to feel the fresh cut grass
on my feet.