Michael Ondaatje’s “Sweet Like a Crow” is full of wild and almost surreal similes that are rich with imagery. I asked students to connect to their senses to describe their own voice using similes.
Room 320
Charging
Mauricio D.
My voice is like the waves crashing.
It’s like the wind passing through the
trees, it’s like the plains, always quiet,
it’s like a gun fired and hit, it’s like
the feeling of school ending, it’s like
the wind but never sops,
it’s like an apple falling from a tree,
it’s like dandelion fuzz flying into the air,
it’s like lightning striking a tree
and it makes a fire, it’s like lockers
being smashed, it’s like he sun when it
goes up but goes down, it’s like Afghanistan
getting bombed, it’s like a bear growling,
it’s like people screaming in a fire,
I’s like the sound of my pencil
finishing this sentence, it’s like a charger
charging but never stops. So this is
my voice, what’s yours?
Wave
Mateo R.
My voice is like a wave,
so quiet laying in the sun.
My ears sucking in sounds
made by the people
in the outside.
My Quiet Voice
Dayana G.
My voice is deep.
My voice can talk fast
like a bird
can fly fast, my voice
is shy and quiet
like how a turtle
stays quiet sometimes
just like I don’t
know how to
peel a banana.
My quiet voice
will always be
like that.
My Voice
Michael C.
My voice is like a crow
which is always dark and always
cold. It always flies at night and
it sounds like a ghost.
People think I am mean. Just
know me more, you will see I am
nice and soft and warm. Be with me,
you will see.
Room 314
The Not-So-Pretty Voice
Enrique V.
My voice
is like
a girly
voice and
funny for the clowns,
like
a weird
laughter on
Halloween.
My laugh
sounds as
loud
as a
sea
lion clapping and a car honking.
My voice
is like
an apple
getting bit,
like a panda
eating bamboo.
What is My Voice Like?
Chainida P.
My voice is like peanut butter
being scooped out of its jar
like an ambulance chasing
to save someone’s life
like a whistle of the
wind
like someone opening up a
big book
a clown squeezing its big
red nose
like a lazy person just
waking up from a nap
like someone talking to a little
newborn baby
like someone climbing
out a chimney
My Voice
Jocelyn T.
My voice is like a sleepy bear, like
winds blowing hard and the ocean’s waves, like
the busy streets and the birds flying freely,
like the kids screaming at the park, like the
dog barking at the mailman and a baby
sleeping peacefully on the mother’s arm
Room 322
My Voice
Lysa A.
My voice is like an opera singer that lost her voice
My voice is like someone being stuck in the cold for ten years
My voice is like an older person is inside of me
My voice is like I’m confident for who I am
My voice sometimes sounds like I’m ill and about to die
My voice sometimes sounds like I’m drowning in thin air
My voice sometimes sounds like a person cracking peanuts.
My Voice
Dayanna D.
My voice is like a shy little girl.
My voice is like a hurt dog crying.
My voice is like an elephant.
My voice is beautiful like your face.
My voice is perfect for screaming.
My voice is me and I am my voice.
