For our 10th session of poetry, O-School students explore their sense of humor. There’s usually a misconception about poetry, that it has to be serious all the time. But the great thing about poetry is that it can have elements of humor and satire. Poetry can help us make fun of ourselves and the world around us.
Together we read Leslea Newman’s poem, “According to Bread,” and watched a video by Jill Swann, who created visuals of her interpretation of Newman’s poem. In her poem, Newman writes in the voice of a piece of bread. She uses hilarious puns, jokes that play around with words and ideas connected to bread. I always need dough/ and most often than not my life is toast/ as long as you butter me up and need me honey/whenever you’re in a jam I will rise. Students had a good time coming up with more bread puns that were not in the poem.
Inspired by Leslea Newman, students wrote poems, using silly puns to describe objects, animals, and people.
Group A (Middle School)
According to a Dad that thinks he’s hilarious
Has a beard.
Bald.
Fat.
Tells “good” jokes,
plays video games,
sleeps a lot.
What do you call a deer with eyes?
No eye deer (no idea).
What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?
Still no eye deer (still, no idea).
Why are balloons so expensive?
Inflation!
According to Commander Bly
I look like Jango Fett
I wear yellow and white armor.
I love hitting clankers.
I eat food,
ride on a ship,
and fly on a V-Wing.
The clone said to the droid
Get Blasted Clankers!
Get your arm out the door!
Sir, yes, sir!
According to Martin Kell
I’m white,
21 years old,
Blonde
I like being kind,
I sit down,
I have no friends.
What do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef.
What do you call a pig that does Karate?
Pork chop.
Group B (Middle School)
Shuffling Along
With my fur suits, I can dress for any occasion.
Whether it’s a casino, your living room,
or a classroom, I can entertain a whole room.
Messy or put together, we think inside
or outside the box.
When we get mad, we get red in the face,
but everyone’s happy when we’re all
together.
According to Green
Sage in my room, is the sage
in my life, I’m a sage with my friends
with the dark and the light.
Green bean more like jellybean,
I need the sweet in my life
as sharp as a knife,
chilling in the forest with my cat
named Horace, drinking my
emerald ice cream.
According to Frost
I’m cold, firm (hard to break,)
and icicle like.
I expand, cover more ground,
freeze the air and implode (melt).
I will frost on your car,
I eat through frost bite.
Cold weather is here ….
A Rock
“I am sometimes called hardheaded,” said a rock that day.
“I cannot find a slate; I’m usually taken for granite.
My life is kinda gray, I wish I was bolder,
but I feel like a pebble.
I usually listen to Hard Rock, but I feel as cold as a stone.
There’s no concrete evidence that my jokes asphalt off.
So, I roll down the erode”
“It’s alright, Mr. Rock,” I said to the stone-cold slate.
Its ok to have a mountain of sadness.
But don’t let it cave in on you,
because it stalag-might get better,
and now, let’s get on a roll.”
According to My Sister and her Friend
Secretive, tall, and younger.
Plays Roblox, Minecraft, plays
with friends, yells a lot!
at me.
What do you call a sister that tells bad jokes. . .
Sis-terrible
What do sisters hang out with friends. . .
Because they cannot annoy their bros there.
What did the sister bring a ladder to school . . .
She wanted to go to Highschool
You really shouldn’t be KATEFUL.
Never be Kate to the party.
Comedy and Tragedy
The old saying is, comedy is tragedy plus time,
but sometimes it doesn’t work, like it would say:
Here’s a bone joke. “Oww my funny bone!”
Someone yells in the room, “That wasn’t
very humorous.”
Even these make their most laughable point.
“I hope I don’t have a femur pain later.
They keep going.
“At least have enough spine to keep
making even more jokes!”
This is a clear example of how the tragedy
of this person. When they hit their funny
bone, turned into comedy of how the
funny bone jokes were.
But it doesn’t always work like that.
Sincerely,
Your poet of comedy
Comedy, herself.
