Avondale-Logandale 5th graders kicked-off National Poetry Month with a couple of weeks contemplating MASKS. We looked at images of cultural masks from around the world, as well as masks that the global community began fashioning for themselves in the early months of the pandemic. We viewed a moving video from the Favorite Poem Project in which a young Cambodian woman named Pov Chin reads “Minstrel Man” by Langston Hughes, and tells the story of why that poem is a favorite of hers. Finally, We also read and discussed Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” before writing our own poems.
5th Grade – Room 206
The mask
Yelitza R.
The mask can help in many ways
Those who don’t want pity wear a mask
Those who are empathetic wear a mask
Those afraid of judgement wear a mask
Those who have secrets wear a mask
Those who have self doubt wear a mask
Those around you are wearing a mask
Whether it be a small mask or big mask
Are you wearing a mask?
My Real Identity
Jocyana C.
My real identity is not what you see
It may seem so but really not at all
When I get in a bad fight
I may seem fine, but really I don’t
I feel like masks layering me over and over
Until I can’t show what I truly feel
Making me show fake feelings
Making me want to feel fine
But oh, can’t you see?!
That really I am not like what I seem!
My true feelings are hidden within
The truth is inside of me.
the hidden mouth
Masks!
Leah F.
I wear a mask of happiness
So that everyone can see
How happy I am
But when I go for an evening bath
I unmask the mask from my face
And the happiness fades
With the water of the shower
Mixed with my tears…
Gabriel Gonzalez
I am what I am, I am who I am, I know what I am
I know myself but do I know myself the best is what I ask?
Wear my mask and now I’m new and different
This mask is an addition to my feelings
This mask is something I need and I think it needs me.
The mask is my life I can’t leave it right now.
When the mask decides to leave and go I will have to say
Goodbye.
my mask
Leslie M.
I wear my mask to make people happy
But is that okay? yes for other people but not for me
I put other people before me and I just can’t
I take so much pain and sadness in
until I’m just done and cry for hours or days
I need to focus on myself but I don’t know how
it’s hard because other people will just say just get over yourself or
you’re being dramatic don’t over react
And those are the people that hurt me the most.
My mask feelings
Angel L.
One of my masks is Mad another could be happy or sad
The mask I wear is the Neutral
I am calm and sad at the same time
This mask makes me…Me so I can be who I am
This mask is also the reason I live
it is the mask I wear the most.
The Angry one is the least favorite
I would break stuff
Happy is the second mask it makes me feel like I tell a funny joke
Sad is the one I dislike the most.
This one will make me sit in my room just sitting there waiting for a cheer up
or wait until I cheer up
The calm one is where I’m just doing something or in class
The Class clown one is when I’m in class
I always try making people laugh (I should really stop)
The Kind one is when I go and help someone out. (For example my mom who has a knee problem or my dad whose wrist hurts)
But anyway this was my poem so enjoy.
Masks have Tasks
Michael N.
Masks have important tasks
People ask why we wear masks
And people say being unmasked is bad
Masks are the reason we are still alive today
We could be sick in a flash but masks are a thing
So masks have the most important task ever
Be happy that you are only looking out for one thing
Because people have the sickness in a flash
Because they also have to watch their broken bones and sickness.
So be happy with your mask
the happy side
Elicia N.
I am happy most of the time
I am happy when I see my mom
I am happy when I see my dog and my dad
I am happy when I go to the store
I am happy today
But on the inside of my mask, plot twist
I am happy also inside my mask
So when I’m happy on the outside of my mask
I am happy on the inside of my mask too
Mixed Feelings Behind The Mask
Megan T.
Every once in a while you feel mixed feelings about anything
That’s completely normal and fine
But that does not mean a mixed feeling is always positive
Sometimes you feel sad and mad
You feel like punching a wall
Feeling with complete anger and sadness
With a mask you cover it all
You hide your feelings and emotions
Nobody can see it now
Masks don’t always cover the best secrets
They can be covering dark secrets
Masks will hide your negative feelings
Mrs. Pannell
5th Grade – Room 204
Why do we smile
Angelina A.
We wear masks to help stop spreading illnesses
But why do we have to hide our smile?
Why do we have to keep smiling for others to be happy?
Why do we have to smile for others to know we are ok?
What if we aren’t ok?
But how come some people don’t like smiling?
Have they made too many people smile?
Or have they not made enough people smile?
We need the mask to help others
But also to help the world from falling apart
So…
Why do we smile?
Alma A.
Masks are funny.
Masks are scary.
Masks are beautiful.
Masks are cute.
Masks are hard working.
Masks are smelly.
Masks Can Be Mysterious
Brandon C.
“Masks are for your safety,” once a person said that
“Masks can protect you,” once a person thought that
“Masks are only for your face,” once we all thought that
but why are masks important?
Masks can protect us, masks are sometimes gloomy, and boring,
but with some creativity of culture,
it can express your (Feelings/Expressions) instead of your facial expressions,
but they can still see the top of your head like eyes and eyebrows,
and those are facial expressions,
so you can make them somewhat show how you feel,
so to sum all of this up, “A mask can always be Mysterious”
we are going to love masks!
Destiny O.
I personally think we are going to grow up with masks.
Because we are already
Like, most of the world is populated with covid 19
so I think it is going to be like the flu
we have to take a shot of vaccine every year.
Before
like back then
people didn’t know what the flu was
and people were dying because of the flu
and now it has gotten so small it is ultra rare when someone gets the flu
and people didn’t know how to treat it back then
because now we have more medication in our life.
But I believe that when we are older covid 19 is gonna get so small
that it will be rare when we get it.
ones that I love but died
Eduardo H.
The people that I love that died
first the one that died and made me sad it was my dog
my dog died by a car
before she died she had a baby and one of the baby dogs
we kept it and it was Lala
we still have her but she didn’t see her mom
and it was sad because that was my first pet.
Then the second person that was my grandma
she got in a plane crash
it made me sad.
And then there is the final
my cat well my cat did not die
but he is missing and I’m sad right now
and I have to find my cat
but I’m hiding my feelings and being happy when I’m not
I don’t want to worry
but I don’t want to hide my feelings but I am.
Behind the mask
Mitzielys T.
We wear a mask of happiness and of joy only to lie
Behind the mask there is the truth and sadness thinking when is this
going to end
but keeping a smile on your face for those who love you
I know it is really hard but there is that little stain of hope
that we are stronger than this
we will get through this and that it’s going to be okay
But sometimes it’s not too good to hide yourself and feelings under a mask.
It’s time to breathe out and express what we felt before
once you do that your mask won’t feel so heavy and it will be easier to wear than before.
Why should we have to wear masks?
