The Assignment

We were asked to write five different poems with the general theme of: Tell the World. After writing all five of these poems, we ended the unit by presenting one or two poems in front of the class.

My Poems

Poem #1-Tell the World Who You Are

Life

I was born on October 15

I’m a sucker for sweet things and girls with wavy hair and a bright smile

I’m still learning how to live life to its fullest

And I’m often doubting myself when I shouldn’t be.

I like food like a monkey likes a banana…. so, a lot

I’ve been told so many things that make my day, but also so, so many things that bring me down

Secretly, I have to tell myself that I need to figure out my thoughts before they spin into an endless cyclone of my conscience yelling at me through the winds of daily life.

I enjoy being with my closest friends whom I know care about me

But I don’t allow myself to express myself publicly, to the world

I have a past that which I am the sole person who knows all of the minor details, the ins, outs, and the in betweens

My hobbies include listening to the waves of the Earth, and trying to figure out where I could possibly fit in the flow of people and the high tide of life

I don’t know much, but I do know this: I am unique, I am happy, I am human, I am alive, and I am me.

Poem #2-Tell the World What You Love

Ode to My Cats

Gray fur, fuzzy and light

Stays up, howls all night

Jumps on my back and pins me down

Cuddles with me to feel safe and sound

5:00 AM, time for food

My cats’ minds have internal clocks

The can cracks open, the cats start to scratch

Gobbling, no more howling, back to bed

They come back to lean on my head

Soon they leave to watch the frost settle in on the gorgeous green grass

Swaying in the light morning breeze like a gymnast on a trapeze

I leave for school, the bus came

They watch me leave, then think ‘back to bed again’

Poem #3-Tell the World What You Think

Just Because I Am Me

Just because I am happy doesn’t mean I can’t be sad

Just because I fail doesn’t mean I can’t win

Just because I show kindness doesn’t mean that meanness won’t crash down

Just because I am white doesn’t mean I am racist

Just because I have social media doesn’t mean I am self-obsessed

Just because I love doesn’t mean I can’t hate

Just because I can hide my emotions doesn’t mean they can’t show

Just because I am young doesn’t mean I don’t know

Just because I am talking doesn’t mean I can’t hear

Just because I can be smart doesn’t mean that I am better than you

Just because I am organized doesn’t mean that I am a ‘nerd’

Just because I write doesn’t mean I can’t read

Just because I am me doesn’t mean you should judge me

Poem #4-Tell the World How You Feel

Dear Loneliness

Why do you feel like you can engulf me?

Why do you frown upon my happiness?

Have you ever thought of joy?

Why do you think you can take away my bright mood just like that, and create a silence only for me?

I feel alone, I feel scared, I feel unwanted, I feel sad

Why do you push me to feel these dreadful emotions?

Why do you beg to be in my nightmares?

Why do you scrape away all of my hope and love and throw it into a pit of despair for the ghouls and the ghosts and the monsters to feast on?

Have you ever thought about being happy?

You would be a master

Have you ever thought about joyfulness?

It might not be a disaster

But yet you’re so resistant

You still seek to peck and prick

At my emotions and my thoughts

Deep inside my head

When I’m all alone I can feel you creeping on me

Trying to be sneaky

But then hope rushes in to try and keep you away and get you off my back

But like always, you pin her down like a tac

Then you crawl into my brain and mess with my thoughts of joy

And you always bring me down and make me feel so sad

Loneliness, is it really worth it?

Do I need to be blue?

I don’t, I can push you out of my head

Just like the sky pushes out the clouds

And then my mind is finally safe and sound

And then once you’re gone

I feel happy once again

I go back to my normal life

Knowing I have friends

Poem #5-Tell the World About a Special Place

Home

I see a white door, a cracked golden door knob sticking out of its side

I hear the creak of the door slowly opening

I smell dinner, cooked and sitting on the counter, ready to eat

I feel the heat from inside sweeping over me like a wave

I see a hallway with rooms on the side

I hear the floor groaning under me as I walk

I smell the scent of the air freshener that my mom always loves to use

I feel my cat’s soft fur as he stretches his stiff bones of stone

I see my bedroom, quaint but perfect

I hear my mom, calling me to eat

I smell dinner, waiting for me patiently

I touch the silverware, as it reflects the light into my eyes with a shimmer

I sit down and begin to eat, and taste the deliciousness of my meal

I look around at my family and my familiar surroundings

I am home

Reflection

While writing these poems, I think I definitely showed growth in the character part of the 6 C's. I had to think deeply and write them thinking of my own perspective and my character. I then was able to express my thoughts, feelings, and actions through a poem and was able to let other people see that and interpret it through the character that I was showing them. Overall, I think that the poetry unit went really well for me, and was one of my stronger parts of English this year.