With your partner, follow the character’s thoughts on his way towards his love and despair. Make him imagine the conversation, and trace the thoughts he has about his own inability to connect. Use surprising imagery and metaphors, unexpected rhyme, free verse.
The Love Song of Gerald Thompson III (2018)
Let us go then, you and I
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a volcano pouring destruction across the land
Lava vaporizes our toes
So we fall
in love. Later, lava
Ashes our hearts.
Aspen leaves evolve through the cold river
Swirling scarlet stains of nature’s morgue,
The tomb of folded pages,
A trace of letters imprinted in the cold stone
‘R.I.J….
A sudden whisper in the wind
Like flies swarming the lungs
For I don't know what love is
If the truth’s not in your profile picture
We were never meant to be here and we knew it
The trees tell me to do it
They say I’m going the wrong way
Am I naive to turn back?
We will join the pirates on the moon
And ride with Mator and McQueen
Let us go where goblins cross
Magic vines that cover oceans, a graveyard, a fish pond
Where we feed the helpless fish souls
While shelling turtles
We were never meant to be here and we knew it
The trees tell me to do it
They say I’m going the wrong way
Am I naive to turn back?
I will go to the depths of the ocean and drown
I will greet the ocean man
Who takes me by the hand
And leads me to death
There is something so threatening
About lying on a cold slab
Waiting for the embalming fluid
The tall trees whisper to us
“What’s up?”
We do not respond
Our hearts are barnacles - and wonder.
(Aidan, Jack, Torria, Brandon, Cliona, Caeley, Joy, Maddi, Haley, Sadie, Audrey, Darrion)
The Love Song of Joaqin Ponyfeather (2017)
Let us go then, you and I
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like peanut butter in a cherry pie
Let us slip down muddy streets
And take flight like a raven
Don’t be frightened, don’t be scared
I am everywhere
Head underwater
A shivering moth
The leaves whisper of chocolate fountains
But then the fall comes and death
Sweaty palms clasp together
I wet the bed
With the rivers running down
A rock in the chest
Mic drop but no impact
And you looked adorable with your little bow
Don’t be frightened, don’t be scared
I am everywhere
I see you when I sleep
The poofy haired douche
Whose hair is not fabouche
You bust my heart
I slur my words to tell you how I feel
I need to gain some confidence
Milkshakes on a sunday morning
You smile at me, and I smile back
With each step toward me
Walking closer, passing by me, to the other guy
My smile retreats
To the castle of my heart
I stand up, my boujee shoes wet with tears
Drive in movies and corn dogs
Like a baby straight out of the womb
Where shall I find the courage to talk?
Beards are growing
Love is flowing
But not for Joaquin
Not for Joaquin
He’s gone
by Anna, Geny, Kaydee,
Kacie, Makaya, Madison,
Liam, Ty, Judah, and Mr. K.
The Love Song of Shia Trump (2016)
Let us go then, you and I
When the morning is spread out against the sky
Like rusty spoons in empty cans of spray cheese
Doomed to continue being brushed away by my feet
With an equal amount of significance as you
and me.
The crows circle
When this evening ends I will surely be disappointed
I long for the day it rains eggo waffles
The world descending into peace
No war no hate
Just waffles for everyone
Who believes
A crepe on a skillet,
Sizzling with butter that tastes like motor oil.
Your eyes shine like the steak juices that run down my face,
Rocketship ride:
I can see their beauty from the reflection in my clock.
The crows circle
When this evening ends I will surely be disappointed
I refuse to cry even though you treat me as if I’ve already died.
I think of your eyes.
I wish maybe I had a different smile
by Alec, Zach, Ella, Mariah, Finn, Lauren, Shannon, Ry,
Natty, Nisha, Griffin, Sofia, Jaden, Abbie, Paul, Charlie,
Scout, Sidney, Kristian, Preston, Alannah, Evie, and Mr. K.
The Love Song of John Cena Jr. (2015)
Let us go then, you and I
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a chewed wad of gum on the bottom of a school desk.
Let us go through the trees in the sky
That are filled with pencil shavings and strawberries.
Let us go, with the Grim Creeper stalking,
Chasing women that rapidly speed up their walking;
Running from alleyways, blowing whistles in vain,
For the sound is covered by a passing train.
I am not made of soggy bread and second hands
But indeed of steel and padlocks
I wish I believed.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of teen pregnancies, and snow.
Rain bloods the street like tears on a pillow
leaves of a willow
Like the stillness of a bread baker
Let us don our gloves and
Oppose one another with equal reluctance
with our eyes locked in the inevitable battle that is to come
I cannot help but dwell on my incompetence
And indeed there will be space
For you to cry throughout the night
Your tears made of silver drops
Your hair red as counterfeit bloodstains
eyes blue like bruises
willingly gained.
And all the world will be at the mercy of over sensation
For I have been to the Subway building,
I have bought that $5 Footlong
that makes a cheap date
Last too long.
He made me think of love and I
Would like to curl up and die.
And the rage of my enemies reflects
How many times I have failed my father
I will again
He body slams the ones he loves,
And whispers in my ear,
it's all ogre now.
I am not a fighter who enjoys the pain of those I hate
The only pain I like is my own, and constant.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of teen pregnancies, and snow.
No, I am not a poet.
My shoes, untied, clack on the pavement
What will I say
Words behind my teeth
Waiting to burst, sending bits of dentistry flying.
I should sink into the street,
Scuffed shoes first, then pleated pants
Followed by everything else.
The yarn that ties the colors together
Unravels.
Still I drudge on,
In existential dread,
feet, to heart, to head.
--Aaron, Reysa, Courtney, Evan,
Mackenzie, Henry, Elizabeth,
Charlie, Cooper, Keegan,
Owen, Sam, and Mr. K.
The Love Song of Jose (2013)
Let us go then, you and I
to the moon above or
to a cave below
stars or snails as company
and your company, dear?
I pace the floor.
Belly butterflying eyes look straight at me.
Eyes that resemble not the sky, nor the sea, nor the pigment of a Picasso,
but a shade more varied and pure than all of them together.
The sky, an iron mirror, breathes the mountains in, exhales dust of snow.
Mud grips my shoes, flecks my cuffs.
Street lit snow littered roads.
A shriveled rose on a windowsill
My stomach turns twice
I turn and forget
But I am a stubborn man
Will I say the words
or will all go wrong
I never think about what could go right
My shoulders shrug to my ears.
I am a snowflake that touches the sidewalk
and melts in thin and frosty air.
More of me melts: can I
piece back together what has no peace?
What to say or how to say it.
Will she slap me? Or slam the door?
The worst thing that could happen? What is there to lose?
The half-hope she won’t be home
The whole hope she is.
Were I to say…
I don’t fully know you or you know me
but a part of me misses you.
You can see my legs shaking and stomach in knots
but I try to live by a code:
‘Follow your heart’ which has led me here to you.
Let’s go do something crazy!
Walls enclose me.
Strong hands shut off any chance of breathing.
I fight, I squirm like a worm in the grasp of a curious little boy on the playground.
Give me a moment.
Silence is a resounding answer to my pleasure.
I am a mouse in feline eyes.
I am a dove in a fit
flight of fancy, deciding between freedom
and the lioness’ claws
My faults are
the only evidence of my existence.
Hesitation is wisdom, an undisturbed delicate balance
And wisdom is cowardice.
Freedom is the cage
of empty dreams I have abandoned,
all my life.
Comfort versus joy:
Falling onto bed pillows
or thousands of feet from the sky.
A lifetime of solitude or soft red hair and the big blue eyes staring.
I have walked the bridge of heaven.
My vantage took in hundreds of peaks.
I’m blind now forever.
-Bonnie, Micah, G, Haley, Miya, and Mr. K.
2013