History (in third person)

Today we read Tomaz Salamun's poem "History." We talked about writing in third person to gain some distance and a new perspective. We also talked about how imagining one's own history could be interesting, especially when the poet chooses vivid images. The students wrote great poems of their own imagined histories. Take a look!

Ms. Cole 6th grade



History
Andrea T.

Andrea is a sphere rushing through
the air. Andrea is a girl who, when
she walks down the street, people
look at her. She lies down in
twilight. Andrea has a dog and
is a girl. She likes the rain. She
likes to go to Miami. Andrea is like
the wind. Andrea likes hot peppers.
Andrea does not like snakes. Andrea
has never been in a tornado or hurricane
and sometimes she thinks she is
a refreshing person.

Rahkeem is?
Rahkeem O.

Rahkeem is a giant bowling
ball knocking down and conquering everything
in its path. He never gets afraid or
backs down from a challenge.
Or maybe Rahkeem is like a
cool summer mist. After a long day
it is refreshing to see one.
Or, Rahkeem might be a
Fierce Tiger, always ready and prepared
for anything.

History
Takayla J.

Takayla is a sun.
Takayla is a spotlight
shining on a superstar.
She lies down like a
sunset.
People and I look as if
our eyes are flashlights.
Maybe she’s a star
from the sky.
Possibly she should be a
highlighter.
Next year, she’ll be
in the Bahamas where
Takayla shines on people.

Ms. Harris 6th grade


History
Omarr B.

Omarr is a king.
Omarr is a sun rising
every 6:00 a.m. He hops like
a rabbit, and runs fast like it
too. People and I, we all look
at him shocked. We give him luck.
Maybe he is a bird. Maybe he is a
mouse or a dog that only bites
bad people. People see Omarr buying a car.
He buys it and thinks of history.

Poetry
Malik T.

Malik is a tree.
Maybe he is a thunderstorm.
Possibly he should be a pit bull.
Next year, he will be an angel.
Maybe he is a fast car.
Maybe he is a chair so that
you can sit.
Possibly he should have been a lemon
that is sour.

KeJuan the Invisible
KeJuan M.

KeJuan is a beast. KeJuan
is a monster. KeJuan is the air
that flows in the earth, that
people inhale and exhale. KeJuan
is the thunder that strikes a
tree falling on cars. KeJuan
is a beast. KeJuan is hurricane
Katrina that hit New Orleans. KeJuan
is like John C. You can’t see him. You
can only hear, smell or taste KeJuan
because he is like a burger flipping
in the pan. KeJuan is the energy
that you drink. That is how I explain
KeJuan and KeJuan is what you can’t see.

Ms. Kessinger 6th grade


What’s History
Eric. W

Eric is a king. A lion.
A block of sunshine a light
that doesn’t go off like a glass
star. Music. A clock that
doesn’t have numbers.
Eric is an Independent man
that loves his work,
going for his goals. That is
history.

History
Keyonna B.

Keyonna is goofy.
Keyonna is a shoe addict.
Keyonna is a tree climber.
Maybe she is a nice person.
Maybe she is a rude person.
She might only be kind.
She might only be cute.
Keyonna is crazy.
Keyonna is lazy.

Poem
Chaddrick M.

Chaddrick is a leopard.
He is a snowstorm.
He might only be
two dogs going at it.
Possibly he should be
waves when people
are surfing.
People will say: I am
going to get security,
because he is a
bad boy.

Crazy Adorations

Today we read an excerpt of Andre Breton's "Free Union." We talked about the power of metaphor and discussed the strange and surprising way Breton describes his wife. We made a list of unusual parts of the body that might go mostly unexamined, and created a list of unrelated nouns. Then, when asked to think of someone they adore, students came up with many exciting comparisons. Read their work!

Ms. Cole 6th grade
Week 14


My Friend
Daveon J.

My friend whose toes are a pack of string beans,
whose neck is like a big professional
football whose armpits are like a bush
of hair, whose eyeballs are like two
big bowling balls, whose ears are like
two airplane wings.



My Brother
William D.

My brother is a cricket then
a hill billy snail and has an elbow of
a goat. His voice is louder
than a lion’s roar. He has hair of
alligator skin and a body made
of bricks. And eyelashes of a horse’s
tail. He moves faster than the wind.
This is my brother.



Mother
Miguel A.

My mom whose hair is like a river of gold
whose mouth is like a rainy puffy clouds
whose teeth are white as snow
whose tongue is made of sharpened stainless steel.
My mom whose eyelashes are like the
Statue of Liberty’s seven spikes a little bit bent
whose eyebrows are not as bushy as kiwi.
My mom whose heart is a big open door
for everyone
and my mom’s fingers that are as
soft as stones on the beach.



Ms. Harris 6th grade
Week 14


Mom
Michael B.

My mom has eyes of roses
teeth like snow.
My mom has hair like a condo
ears like rain.
My mom’s nose is like trees
her lips like a sunflower.
My mom’s skin in like a condo
her breath like a fountain of chocolate.
My mom’s toes are a river
her forehead is like snow.



My Cousin
Dequan B.

My cousin smells like sunflowers,
she looks like a tree. My mom
smells like roses. My baby
sister’s cheeks smell like
sweet candy. She looks
like a baby lion when she cries.
It looks like she was in a puddle
of rain.



Crazy Body Parts
Latisha M.

I admire a person whose
forehead is like a river
whose hair is like a ball
of itchy grass whose
neck is like a skyscraper
whose shoulders are like chocolate
milk coming out of a fountain
whose waist is like fish swimming
in the ocean
whose hands are like waving
flags whose legs are tall as trees
and whose toes are like roses.



Ms. Kessinger 6th grade
Week 14


My Twin
Justina P.

My twin who has a mouth of birds
who has energy of a 3-year-old
who has skin of a baby
my twin who has legs of a model
who has moods of a mood rings
who has skin the color of light chocolate
my twin who has clothes of flowers
who has eyes of a brown star



My Brother
Johnny B.

My brother whose shoulders
are fountains of chocolate
whose belly button is a block
whose legs are long as
the numbers 1, 2, and 3
whose teeth are white as snow
whose tongue is longer than trees
whose stomach is full as chocolate
my brother’s forehead is smaller
than windex paper towels
whose fingers can write a
response in seconds
whose cheeks are shiny as
the sun
whose elbow is rusty as nails
whose tongue twirls like a cyclone
whose ankles twist like a screwdriver
whose eyes are smaller than pop cans
whose eyes can see like posters
whose face is on a dollar bill of money



Everything in the Body
Brianna D.

My mom has a face made
out of money.
She’s getting rich.
My mom has ankles made out
of chocolate, she’s
walking slow.
My mom’s toes are made of
blocks.
She’s falling down.
My mom’s ears are made of flowers.
She can’t hear.
My mom’s forehead is made
out of snow.
She gets a brain freeze.