Hale 6th-8th grade students continued crafting their group poem this week in preparation for their assembly performance. We spent some time learning stage techniques to boost confidence, and helpful ways to breathe when performing. Students worked hard to write stanzas together and complete the poem, then took the classroom stage on Thursday to rehearse. It was lovely seeing the crew gain more comfort, especially with some of the lines where they read lines in unison.
Check out the nearly-complete poem below:
Are you safe?
They still haven’t gotten them yet…
BANG! Mom, I’m scared…
They are going into yards now…
My phone turns off, the call with my mother ended.
Cowering in the corner I go, hiding from
the loud sounds and the… BANG!
There is is again… BANG!
The sound of my breath is almost as
loud as the… BANG!
I feel trapped, like I couldn’t move.
The stinging feeling hurts.
The taste of fear comes into me.
Locking myself into my room,
I still hear it… BANG! There it is…
The click of a gun in the hand of a strange
and cruel man. The screams of the people,
holes in property. The people in a half-empty school
remain hiding, as soundless as possible. Though
nobody enjoys hearing the… BANG!
The smell of a fired gun lingers, the stench of
fear fills my nose. Breathe in, breathe out.
I can still smell it in the air. The scent
of a fresh… BANG!
The knot growing in my stomach while walking
the halls of my school. The news filled with the
same old things. Fear in my chest, like a rock
squishing me when the thought of a family or friend
getting hurt. Walking in the street of my neighborhood,
suddenly… BANG! The aching screams of people
of my childhood and the dogs barking fill my buzzing brain.
The looks of horrified people, lock downs, wondering
are my friends truly okay? I see it, the streets, people
worried if they’re even gonna make it. BANG! There
it is again. The people even more worried.
