In collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on March 20 and 21, students from the Hands on Stanzas program will participate in a presentation of Carnival of the Animals. This special concert designed for schools and families concert will feature poems written by students to acompany the musical suite, Carnival of the Animals. These poems will be narrated by CPS students during the concert.
Leading up to the concert, we will be featuring submissions from each participating school, starting with fourth grade students from Avondale-Logandale Elementary School. Their poems highlight the tortoise, the donkey, and the cuckoo bird, and were all inspired by the representative movements in Saint-Saëns’ piece. The CSO will also be posting these poems on their “Sounds & Stories” blog.
“Tortoise” by Alejandro Arroyo
Oh little tortoise walking to the pond
meet animals which which you’d like to bond
Slow and clumsy like you always are
Do not worry, you are not that far
You make this noise: tap! tap! tap!
But you cannot flap
You finally meet with your friends
You dive with a big piece of plastic that bends
You seem to be happy
also so much laughing
“Donkey” by Zicharee Sago
Donkey, why are you
playing the piano?
Why are you
so energetic?
Is your favorite
hobby playing soccer?
You are so beautiful,
do you have many personalities?
You want to be somebody,
can you be many things?
Why are you artistic?
Why are you so funky?
Are you organized?
Why are you so adventurous in the woods?
“Cuckoo” by Zicharee Sago
Cuckoo, are you positive?
Cuckoo, is your favorite hobby
eating sandwiches and laying
on the couch?
Cuckoo, how are you so
beautifully fast? And why
are you so emotional?
Are you funny, happy, energetic?
Fast, confident?
Curious, friendly?
Loud but beautiful?
Heroic, and last but not least,
brave? And my favorite, patient.
“Donkey” by Jade Ocytko
Fast as fast we got to get a
delivery for you: mayo, ketchup, lettuce
with bacon, cheese, and hot sauce,
with apples and chocolate
with grain and wheat bread
a patty of oil mess, but
that’s what the Donkey loves
the mess of the mess.
“Cuckoo Crazy” by Brian Arellano
Cuckoo, cuckoo
what color
are you?
Yellow, white,
black or even
orange?
Oh cuckoo, cuckoo,
where do
you live?
Up top in the trees,
or at the scary
forest floor?
Oh cuckoo, cuckoo,
what are you?
Are you shy or
even crazy, or
hyper?
“Donkey” by Carlos F.
The donkey is making
a concert in the desert.
He does not want anyone
to hear his music.
The donkey is playing
piano crazy fast.
The donkey is so excited
he might break the piano.
The donkey needs to practice his
lines to keep himself together.
“The Tortoise” by Brianna G.
This little tortoise
love to dance by
beautiful blossom
trees because
it makes her
very calm and peaceful
She said she can
dance forever and ever
so she twirled and
she leapt, and she live
so happily in her
peaceful life
“Tortoise” by Maya Qahhaar
Small friend, walking along
the water, to The Big Rock
to catch a snooze in the sun
The Queen walks fast
and slow, so pretty,
make up and everything
She thinks of flowers
and butterflies, flowers
and butterflies with
so many colors
Her Grand Tortoise Castle
and her life in the castle
are purple: mixed with pink
and shine.
“Cuckoo” by Jasmine Aguirre
Cuckoo in the woods,
imagining a clock.
Singing cuckoo to
follow the clock.
When he sings
he is moving
his head goes
left and right
and he is walking
by himself.
“The Tortoise” by Christian Guaman
The tortoise was dancing,
and in the end it stopped
The place is a lake,
he is dancing back and forth
The tortoise was dancing,
and in the end it stopped
The place is a lake,
he is dancing back and forth
“Cuckoo Deep In The Woods” by Edwin Niola
I went to the deep woods
and I saw a beautiful bird
it wasn’t any bird, a cuckoo,
and I like it, so we made a
song and it went like this:
cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoooooo!
And I liked the cuckoo so I took
it to my home and we became
friends because I leave him
with no one but myself.
