For their fifth virtual poetry lesson, Haugan 8th graders explored various emotions, such as fear, anger, happiness, and sadness. Students were asked “Why is it important to express your emotions?” Together we discussed how suppressing our emotions can lead to negative mental and physical effects like high blood pressure, strokes, panic attacks, and self-harm. Since the COVID-19 pandemic people are finding new ways to cope with stress and anxiety through meditation, exercise, and online therapy sessions.
Students read the poem “Loneliness,” by Kevin Tran a teen who was featured in the poetry anthology “Tell the World.” In his poem Tran uses personification to describe his feeling of loneliness. He lives in a single room apartment/ Loneliness has many achievements and good grades/ but he is the only one to see them/He forgets he his lonely with his friends/ but only for a moment. By giving loneliness human-like characteristics, readers can understand the poet’s isolation. Although he may be accomplished and surrounded by friends, he still feels lonely. Loneliness is a common emotion that everyone experiences. Sometimes we might even choose to be alone to have time and space to reflect, focus, and create.
Inspired by Kevin Tran, students wrote poems describing their own emotions. Please enjoy this week’s published poems.
Mrs. Thomas’s 8th Grade
Group 1
Powerful Emotions
By Caroline C.
Expressing your emotions is like expressing the inside of you.
Some people like showing their emotions.
And some don’t really like showing their emotions.
Some people like to have confidence with their feelings.
There are 5 or more emotions a person can carry.
Her mom will drop her off at school and give her a kiss
on her forehead.
She would get embarrassed because her friends would see
If happy were a taste it would be chocolate chip cookies.
If happy was a smell it would be red roses.
If happy was colors, it would be blue and yellow.
Braveness
By Bilal K.
Braveness always stands tall and it ain’t fear.
He live in a house that looks like the jungle.
He wears explorer clothes that are all light brown.
He got a pet tiger and a pet lion too.
He likes exploring places he’s never seen before.
Braveness is a great emotion cause it ain’t like fear.
Depression Lives In Me
By Alessandro Z.
Depression, he lives in the dark shadows.
Who sits in a corner and does nothing.
Sits in my corner and gets stuck in my head,
reminding me of all the bad times I’ve had
in school, and how I need to accomplish…
And is whispering in my ears that COVID
has killed people and brings bad things.
I forget what good and evil are.
I’m scared of those voices inside my head.
Mrs. Thomas’s 8th Grade
Group 2
Greed
By Erica C.
Greed always sits alone because it
wants everything everyone else has,
so no one wants to sit with her.
She can’t control it; she was so spoiled
all her young life. She wants, she wants,
hurts everyone, she has no care for
other people, she slowly attaches
herself to people, she makes one develop
Selfishness, Anger, and Jealousy. She
makes everything a competition. And
you slowly fade away and your
once warm heart is no longer.
Guilty Guilt
By Fernando D.L.S.
Guilt, the one that keeps me on track.
Making me see my mistakes.
Eating me inside until I do the right thing.
She is like a mother.
Telling me when I do something wrong
And insisting me to apologize.
Guilt follows me,
It reminds me of my mistakes
And their consequences.
I call guilt the worst punishment
Because no matter who you are
No matter where you are
Guilt will always be there.
An unskippable punishment.
Shame and Loneliness
By Melanie G.
Shame:
shame sits by the mirror
Everyday
Judging you…
As if maybe, they were insecure about themselves
AS IF-as if…their only desire is to
Tell you that that extra fat on your belly is disgusting
Tell you that…that-face is hideous
“GET A NOSE JOB” they scream at me
I feel so ashamed
Is everyone looking at me?
They creep into my thoughts at night…
Loneliness:
I wake up…
another day
Turn on my laptop.
Go to school.
Loneliness eats at me!
As the teacher explains the quadratic formula
Why me! Why today!
School is over. I did it
Except…
Oh yeah! Loneliness is staring at me, with a slight
grin to its face
I try to call my friend, she leaves…its back
It creeps into my bed when I’m doing nothing
Staring into a complete abyss
Suddenly I’m so cold
It whispers to me “no one cares to be with you.”
I know
That’s why you’re here
I am completely and utterly isolated from myself
My mom
My dad
Like-like…a deserted village
“It” is with me though. Me and it
Against the world
Mrs. Thomas’s 8th Grade
Group 3
la Felicidad y la Tristeza
By Aymy B.
la felicidad llega cuando menos te lo esperas cuando tu mundo es color gris cuando tienes tristeza dentro de ti pero a veces llega una persona que te pinta tu mundo de colores y es ahí cuando te das cuenta que la vida es maravillosa cuando eres feliz
Happiness and Sadness
happiness comes when you least expect it when your world is gray when you have sadness inside you but sometimes a person comes who paints your world with colors and that is when you realize that life it’s wonderful when you’re happy
Feliz
By Juniors F.
Ser feliz es dejar todo los problemas atrás y vivir la vida
en paz y unión a familias y ser feliz es
reconocer que vale vivir la vida en
felicidad y amor.
Happy
To be happy is to leave all problems behind and to live life
in peace and union with families and to be happy is to
recognize that it is worth living life in
happiness and love.
Sadness
By Andrea M.
She lives in
her room full of
Sadness
She’s judged by the way she dresses
She’s judged by the way she looks
It’s like she can’t go out without being judged
as if she wore a rat
It’s she wears black it’s like she’s at a
funeral.
Sadness is wearing a black hoodie
Happiness is wearing jeans
instead of being a “depressed” girl wearing
her hoodie and joggers.
When she’s happy she hands out with
Friends.
When she’s upset she stays still like a statue
In her room doing absolutely nothing
and that’s sadness…
