TEAM Englewood – Week 5
Tim Seibles is definitely one of my favorite poets of any era. He is wacky and serious at the same time – which is probably my favorite emotion too. He often writes (beautifully) in the voices of cartoon characters, before persona poems jumped the shark, and there’s a pulsating kindness at the center of everything he does.
This week we read his poem “First Kiss” dedicated to lips. I admit my performance of his poem is a little sillier than his own, and I think the 9th graders picked up on that. One boy said, “I don’t know, man, he seems a little goofy. Especially with the birds driving the car.” I said something like, “Listen, if you want ladies to be impressed with you, this is exactly what you need to sound like.” Please pardon my heteronormativity. Utilizing a lesson created by another brilliant poet, Scott Beal, we wrote about first times.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
5th Period
“First Time I Rode My Bike”
Elijah
My first time I tried to ride
my bike, I kept falling. It was
like trying to walk on water,
Impossible. As I got up, I tried again
this time my father helped me, then
he pushed me. As I started peddling
I looked back and I was nearly 50 feet away
from my dad. Then I looked forward – finally I got it.
I felt like I was riding off into
the sun like E.T.
“My First Smack”
Andreonna
Ouch, cry, scream
a red print screened
across the face. Laugh
tears, pain, you heard
a bang. Stomp, yell,
smack again & again
I felt attacked like a fly with
a fly swatter. “Runnnn!” is what I
thought as my jaw
slung with a swing.
“Ouch” is all I could
spit out.
“First Boyfriend”
Latara W.
My first boyfriend
is the boy I call my “forever boy.”
Meaning we’re not together,
but our hearts will be with each other
for forever!
Our love is like Honey!
“Sweet as candy.”
Our trust is as healthy as our bodies.
He makes me feel like a Queen
and I look up to him as my King.
“Every Queen needs a King.”
He warms my heart
like the beginning of summer.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
7th Period
“The First Time I got on a Rollercoaster”
Tangier
The first time I got on a rollercoaster
I was under my skin
I was like a new baby chick
seeing the world for the first time. It felt
like the world was coming down
it took my breath away
like a doctor unplugging my life support,
like an astronaut going into space and not
coming down to see his family.
It felt like I wasn’t going to see the next day,
but it was awesome.
“My First Time Playing a Video Game”
Robert F.
Video games, video games
so fun it felt like I was there
my little sister asked can she play
I said “No! Go play with your hair,”
and she said “Not fair!”
I said “mom, can you come her
before I smack her out this chair?”
“The First Time I got Chased by a Pitbull”
Brandon L.
The first time I got chased by a pitbull
it felt as if I was in a race for my life.
As I ran, I would turn back to look how far I was.
It made me want to stop, but then I thought about
what would happen if it caught me.
I ran and I ran, but never did I stop
and when I saw a truck on top I had to hop.
I jumped on the truck, but thought what if he
jumped up her, too, so I hopped on a garage to get
out of sight and view.
When I hopped on the garage, I tried to catch my breath
then I looked down at the dog, and thought he must
have good health.
Because for him to chase me for four blocks he must
never run out of breath
and if this dog would have caught me, I thought I would’ve
met death.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
8th Period
“My First Trophy”
D’Shawn M.
My first trophy
was like the Statue of Liberty
in my house.
More spectacular than learning
to speak words up out my mouth.
It was like the landing on the moon,
or the miracle of a butterfly
coming out of a cocoon.
It was like my life had been awakened
or my first time tasting bacon.
“First Love”
Sequoyah S.
He was any & everything I could ask for
funny, like a comedian
crazy, like a psycho
outgoing, like a lion
weird, like me.
He was wonderful, to me
great to see
perfect to meet
& outspoken like me,
but he wasn’t the perfect boyfriend.
He turned into
a liar, like a lawyer
guilty, like a suspect
mean, like an animal
& horrible to me.
I hope I never fall hard like this again.
If so, I hope he’s the one for me,
I hope he’ll be with me till the end
I hope he doesn’t turn into the one above
I hope he’s the one I can forever love.
“What is Love at First Sight?”
Bryan P.
What is love at first sight?
How does it feel?
She was like a warm bottle of milk putting
a newborn to sleep
touching her, seeing her everyday
hearing her stadium loud sounds she cry
when the ball go in.
It was like my new favorite toy
I would never leave her, I was her permanent scar.
Explaining how much I cherish her was like explaining
the taste of water.
Now basketball is in my life forever
I love Spaulding.
