You're a Poet and you didn't even know it

TORDA'S SPRING 2023 TEACHING SITE

You're a Poet and you didn't even know it

11/13/2022

And now a word from everyone's favorite giant and many people's beloved poet, Fezzick. . .

WHAT TO DO: One of the ways we help our students be writers and readers is to ask them to write the kinds of texts we are asking them to read. Writing fiction and poetry together can both be a little scary and a little fun. Hopefully this will be both for you.

Compose a quick poem. It doesn't have to rhyme--though it can. It can be a haiku or a limerick or a sonnet. But write a poem based on some of the work we are going to do in class (prompts). Don't be shy. We are all in this together.

36 Comments

Allie Gallahue

11/13/2022 06:35:57 pm

When will she see her own beauty?
She needs it to free herself from her own cruelty.
She is trapped in a terrible loop of pain,
with no idea about how to remain sane.
She’s struggling and trying to keep her head above water;
she hopes that she doesn’t pass these feelings off to her future daughter.
But society places these expectations on us,
And expects nobody to fuss.
Alas, nobody is free from this horror.
She needs to learn to love herself, not find love in someone who adores her.

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 09:48:44 am

Allie, this a beautiful poem. I think it resonates well with me and with other people who sometimes depend on others to see beauty on us when in reality, they need to learn to see beauty on themselves first. It's hard sometimes to break away from this cycle of thought. One time I learned that sometimes people are unhappy because they are depending on others instead of depending on themselves. You are your own warrior and your biggest cheerleader. This poem pushes me to keep seeing that and keep finding beauty within myself.

Meaghan Cook

11/14/2022 04:01:28 am

The sky is a mirror

As the gravel crunches under my tires I realize
I’ve been at this for hours.
Driving along, thoughts soothed by choirs. No destination awaits me,
just admiring the flowers.

Mother Nature seems to know
just how I’m feeling;
it always seems to rain on
these sleepless nights,
when my mind is so lost, simply can’t
stop reeling.
So I drive and I drive, pausing
only for crimson lights.

What a comfort to think, the sky is
crying with me.
How truly marvelous of the universe, it must be
so very alive
to be in such perfect harmony.
Maybe that’s why it always
rains when I drive.

Megan Moore

11/14/2022 04:49:08 am

Hi Meaghan, this is such a beautiful and well-written poem. I love your use of imagery! You do an excellent job putting into words the feeling of driving with no destination because your thoughts won't settle. I really like how you end the poem by relating the vast universe to our small lives. Amazing job!

Megan Moore

11/14/2022 04:46:19 am

Running, leaping, rolling,
Skidding to a stop at the edge of the yard,
The pups wait for me to leave the car.

Tails wagging so fast they blur,
Jumping to lick my face,
Blinding me with kisses.

Each time I visit home, I worry they’ll have forgotten me.
But the boys always remember
The one who sits with them in the grass,
Who pets them even when they fall asleep,
And most importantly, who sneaks them potato chips,
Even though they’re not allowed them.

Nicole Shepard

11/14/2022 08:35:06 am

Megan I love this poem you've written! It is so lighthearted and reminds me of when I go home and am greeted by my dog as well. You included strong imagery to the point where I can almost feel my dog giving me kisses on my face. This was such a fun poem you came up with!

Jessica Sweeney

12/23/2022 03:27:12 pm

Megan I loved your poem! This is a great reminder that poetry is meant to express feelings, and this was certainly a joyful feeling poem. I think students too often feel intimidated by poetry because they think they must write something very deep and complex. This is beautiful, fun, and about your dogs! That is awesome!

Nicole Shepard

11/14/2022 09:02:46 am

The sun shines down
Through the parted tree leaves
And makes its way to where I sit,
On the wood splintered dock,
Next to the lake where I will spend
The remaining few weeks of my summer.

Boat after boat after boat,
I watch as they all pass by,
Waving or shouting hello in a polite manner,
Especially to the golden retriever
Perched atop the lap of an older gentleman
Who glides by on his single seater kayak.

By the end of the day,
I will be sun drained and exhausted
From playing fetch with my puppy
And waterskiing around the lake.

But for now, I will sit under the blazing ball of fire
And watch as the magic unfolds in front of me.

Alexa Delling

11/14/2022 01:51:38 pm

Hi Nicole!

This poem made me feel so warm inside and want the summer weather back! This is such a good description of the summer, and you do a great job of involving the 5 senses. It is such a lighthearted and comforting poem in a way since this is such a core memory for many people during the summer. I absolutely loved your word choice as well; I enjoyed reading this so much!!

Samantha Tyrrell

11/15/2022 04:31:25 am

Hi Nicole,

This is such as light-hearted, lovely poem! It made me remember many of the positive memories I have associated with summer. Thank you for that!

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 09:45:16 am

I wish I was a bird
To fly and discover places
I've never been and people
I've never met who might
want to feed me or be kind to me.

To lose track of time and
not be concerned about expectations.
And the tricks of my mind.

How far can a bird fly?
One day, I would like to
break from my cage of thought
and live a colorful life away.
Away.

Sydney Blair

11/14/2022 01:19:50 pm

Hi Patricia!
I really loved the style and idea of this poem. Its so innocent and kind hearted. It makes for a really vivid image in my head of being able to break out of your cage and feeling of being able to move to new places and start new adventures. I also loved how you ended your poem with repetition with the word "away", I feel that it really left a deeper mark on myself as the reader, especially after reading the rhetorical question you had towards the end as well. Really nice job!!

Sydney Blair

11/14/2022 01:16:14 pm

Rejecting Laurie

Dipping my quill in the ink
Thoughts jumbled, don’t know what to think
My friend and confidant all in one
Now all of a sudden he says he’s in love

This news shocks me to my core
I run away from him, leaving his heart sore
It came out of nowhere, this confession
Could I learn to love him like that? That is the question

While my sisters crave and bask in a life like this
But I can’t say yes when I can’t even give him a kiss
This gave me the push, to begin my own journey
I can’t give him a yes, so he says he will find someone else that is more worthy.

Katie Rodrigues

11/14/2022 01:31:17 pm

Drowning in a sea of my own thoughts, I wrestle with the waves to try to stay afloat.

Shackled to the confines of my brain that seem like a prison cell that I cannot escape.

Running from the impending doom that my brain creates, trying to outrun the monsters that are my thoughts.

Fighting my own shadow, trying not to let the darkness over take me.

Finally, I stop swimming for one instant.
I stop yanking at the shackles that hold me back.
I stop running from the monsters that are on my heels.
I stop fighting my shadow that is merely a reflection of me.

I stop. I let the waves pull me away
I let the shackles keep me contained forever,
I let the monsters catch up to me and
I let my shadow win.

Once I learned to stop avoiding the darkness, I learned that there is always a light to guide you through it.

celeste barbosa

11/15/2022 07:45:28 am

Hi Katie!
I think your poem is so beautiful and relatable on so many levels! There is beautiful connection to the sense of being your own worst critic or the anxiety of uncertainties. I feel this is something everyone can relate to on so many levels especially us as college students. I also really like your ending to your poem, the connection to hope and knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel is so beautiful and compelling, because the majority of your poem feels so relatable that sometimes we may forget that their truly is light at the end, so I love that your incorporated this! Great job and beautifully done!

Alexa Delling

11/14/2022 02:02:14 pm

The winter snow falls

The bears go into their homes

They are safe and sound

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 12:57:00 pm

Hi Alexa,
I loved the simplicity of this poem and appreciate the short length of it. I often find that the shorter poems are more meaningful, at least to me. Bravo!

Christina Lynne Carter

11/14/2022 03:07:24 pm

One day I will fly,
far out and away from here
where I do not feel I belong.

I will be fly from one cage
to another,
in attempt to get away from what hurts me most.

Though one day I must learn,
that you cannot fly from yourself.

Allie Gallahue

11/14/2022 04:55:58 pm

Hi Christina. This is a really wonderful poem. I relate to the feeling of wanting to escape where you currently are, and I like how you expressed freedom in your work. Although you started off by expressing the idea in a physical sense, you then shifted the focus onto emotional freedom. I think many people can relate to struggling with their identity and insecurities, so we all know what it's like to feel emotionally trapped, and you did a great job expressing this feeling in your poem and comparing it to something physical and easier to understand.

Samantha Tyrrell

11/15/2022 04:32:37 am

The deer are playing

Through the mists of the morning

In the rising sun

celeste barbosa

11/15/2022 07:26:35 am

“Te quiero mucho Mi Chiquita”
“childdddd pleaseee”
“NO ME DIGAS!!!”
“Celestita, tienes novio?”
“Cowboys are totally going to beat the Patriots mija, sorry about it”
“when are we going to see you again?”

All words I continue to crave
endlessly
The open fields
And rich sunsets
Of the Lone Star State

The smell of grandma's tamales
Or grandpa’s carne
Make my eyes swell
With the thoughts of leaving this place that feels like home

“why don’t you move here already?”

The never-ending question that haunts me in my sleep
Leaving my home
My friends
My other half of the family
My political beliefs
My morals
Could I do it?

No…
Yes.. You’re in your last year of college!
No! You can’t teach in a state like that
Yes! They’re starting to evolve!
No they’re not…
But your family…

“Te quiero mucho Mi Chiquita”
“when are we going to see you again?”

Katie Rodrigues

11/15/2022 08:24:01 am

Hi Celeste! Your poem was very well executed. Your poem really tells a story and paints a picture in the readers head. I also loved that you used another language in your poem to make it personal to you and it adds depth and flavor to the overall piece. This was really well thought out, great job.

Megan Keller

11/15/2022 01:49:36 pm

Hi Celeste!

I really enjoyed reading your piece due to the personal examples you decided to add. I felt like I knew and felt your pain of being away from your family, but at the same time I could tell your constant questioning with this decision. I felt a strong emotion through your word choices, it was super well done. I loved it!

Megan Keller

11/15/2022 01:47:10 pm

Home is so far away
That small grey island
Off the coast

The beauty in the Summer
The gulls screeching
The waves crashing
The surfboards on the lawn

The beauty in the off season
Quietness
Stillness
Tranquility

I miss my little grey island

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 12:54:40 pm

Hi Megan!

I loved reading your poem and it was really beautifully written. I can tell that you took time writing this poem and I really appreciate that. I loved your word choice and how you made a connection with this little grey island. Bravo!

Lucienne Quirk

11/15/2022 06:54:42 pm

To a Lost Friend

To ____,

Did you know that my grandmother passed your house today on the drive home from dinner and she sighed for you? Her sighs are always big and long– remember? Like when you had cracked a whiffleball right into the birdhouse and made it completely
Off-kilter. Remember her sigh then?
I know I haven’t thought about your house for a while,
the yellow clapboard so tight, holding in, its breath, sucking tight
That memory of you there,
And the yard– where we ran bases
Got dirt-covered, fistfaught, laughing–
I think the grass still whispers, has footprints.
_____. So fiery as a kid, so funny. I always
Regretted I was younger than you; I wanted
To be older than you,
To shoot up tall like you so that I could crack the bat
Like you, so I could swear like you, fight like you.
_____. The house is holding itself in tight and so am I
When I pass it. When did you stop fighting?
Did you know that I finally did it—
that I’m older than you now?

Meaghan Cook

11/18/2022 04:34:22 am

Hi Lucienne,

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. This is a lovely piece of poetry honoring your friend. It really connects the reader to your grief and pulls us into your friendship. I’m very sorry for your loss, but I thank you again for allowing us to share in your grief in such a meaningful way. Very well done.

Adam Fernandes

11/16/2022 03:50:34 am

We are weavers of our own
Stories and stitchers of our
Our own lives, desires, dreams.
We are wonderfully made
Quaint quilts made from quality
Materials provided by a professional
Upholsterer who is near to us.
Our faults and shortcomings
Are the fibers which hold our
Lives together. Leave your
Preconvied notions at the door and
Let the Upholsterer stitch you together.

Meaghan Cook

11/18/2022 04:37:17 am

Hi Adam,

This poem made me feel something, and I can’t quite put my finger on it! The way you make human beings feel as though they are works of art put together by the hands of an artist. I especially like how even our flaws are part of who we are and what makes us human. Well done!

Chloe Tavernier

11/16/2022 08:06:38 am

A new friend, yet as if from times of yore
How I wish our story could have begun there
Imagine all the nights of tale-telling, their mystery enthralling
Stars shine upon our meeting, the sky embellished with pearls twinkling
From the joys of union we are awakening, our dreams inlaid with moonlit dews shimmering

Meaghan Cook

11/18/2022 04:38:42 am

Hi Chloe,

I LOVED this. I love the thought of meeting a new friend and wishing you’d known them forever. The idea of all the time you could have spent together is frustrating when you find your people. I especially love the description of the sky and all of the imagery you used. Great work!

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 12:52:17 pm

Oh, the beach
my friend, my escape, my home

So full of light and possibilities.
I watch the waves go
in and out

If only I could stay here
for life would be simply
and carefree

Oh, the beach
my sanctuary, my haven, my home

Meaghan Cook

11/18/2022 04:40:37 am

Hi Linnea,

This was so lovely to read. I really felt so light and carefree like you would on a beach. It’s very clear that the beach holds a special place in your heart and as a reader you can’t help but agree, even if you wouldn’t normally. I love the repetition in the closing line, it really wraps the poem up very well and drives your point home. Thanks for sharing!

Mary Viera

11/17/2022 07:44:12 pm

As future English teachers
we are the future leaders.
To turn a good book
into an educational hook
is a skill not everyone features.

Meaghan Cook

11/18/2022 04:42:16 am

Hi Mary!

This was short, sweet, and to the point. Very powerful statement. It’s so true that teachers are the future and have the very imperative job of engaging students in order to shape their worldview. Thanks for sharing!

Jessica Sweeney

12/23/2022 03:32:29 pm

Winter
It’s that time of year
It’s dark it’s cold it’s not bright
How did I get here?

You're a Poet and you didn't even know it

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