This week at Peterson we learned about ode poetry, when the poet gives praise and celebrates a person, place, or object. Together we read Marcus Jackson’s poem “Ode to Kool-Aid.” Jackson creates unique similes to describe this beloved sugary drink, “extra sugar whirlpooling to the pitcher-bottom like gypsum sand.” Students became tongue tied when they tried to read out loud Jackson’s lines of alliteration for Kool-Aid flavors, “Purplesaurus Rex, Roarin’ Rock-A-Red, Ice Blue Island Twist, Sharkleberry Finn.” We also discovered amazing things that Kool-Aid can do; it can be used as a hair dye and create colorful mustaches on top lips. Kool-Aid is not just an everyday drink but is a symbol of youth and innocence.
Inspired by Marcus Jackson, students wrote their own odes to celebrate the significant people, places, and objects in their lives. Enjoy this week’s published poems.
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 1
Ode to a Rose
Bu M.
Your petals are as red as my blood deep inside me.
I love the scent of your sweet, small, and fragile petal,
as it flies away like the wind sweeping a leaf across
the dancing grass.
I pick you up gently as if you’re a newborn baby.
I connect you and your friends to create a perfect
circle to fit like a crown on top of my head.
I fall backward, laughing with joy as a white rose
turns a bloody red. Is it blood or color?
Your veins slither around me like a snake.
I see the red light and I snap.
Ode to Mother Nature
Camila N.
You speak as quickly as a hummingbird
singing. You run as fast as a cheetah.
The safari snake surprisingly slides out
of nowhere.
The monkeys’ male chief swings
on the slippery vines.
The rocks glide gloriously like a precious
praying mantis.
The plants pleasantly bloom as spring
rises.
The red and pink pumas prance around
the grass.
The broken branches sway delicately
in the breeze, as if they were waves
on the sea.
Ode to Ramen Noodles
Adin S.
Soft, plain, and delicious in my mouth.
Yellow as the sun and long like a snake.
Only 99 cents cheaper than a lollipop.
You come in packs or cups.
You have so many flavors.
Chicken, beef, shrimp, hot
spicy and all so good. You
can be added with tabasco
sauce, sriracha sauce,
and dry green pepper.
I pour boiling hot water on you.
Slurping your noodles like
a Slurpee.
You only take 2 minutes to make,
faster than a cheetah running
a long distance.
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 2
Ode to my Parrot Daisy
Sobia P.
Daisy you shine bright and yellow like
a sunflower. Your voice is as squeaky
as my mom’s, when she is talking on
the phone.
You make so much noise in the night
that I can’t sleep, and I turn all red.
When I wake up, I’m on the floor
cold as snow.
But I go with the flow eating breakfast
with you, as I snore.
Ode to Wendy’s
Judah S.
Wendy’s you taste like heaven.
You’re as good as can be.
Your highway signs make my
mouth water.
Your spicy chicken sandwich as hot
as the sun. Wendy’s you are the greatest.
McDonalds your bad, Wendy’s you’re rad.
Subway you’re ok, but get out my way
when Wendy’s is around.
Wendy’s you deserve praise and should
be the new craze. You’re the star of my
childhood days.
Sweet, salty, sour flavors, Wendy’s you
have it all. Whenever I have you Wendy’s
I always have a ball.
Ode to Books
Tahreem S.
Your bright bindings make me smile.
As I open you, all bad feelings leave.
Your crisp pages feel like papery
thin seaweed.
Your words are as dark as a chalkboard.
When I unfold you, a waft of woody scent
enters my nose.
You are my companion on a rainy day.
After a long, lasting day, I like to relax
with you. Your challenging vocabulary
makes me think like a scientist.
I’m a fan of all your genres.
Each one like a whirlpool of emotions.
The accelerating action draws me into
you.
Oh, books how I enjoy you!
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 3
Ode to Poptarts
Saleh A.
Poptarts, I love your many flavors:
Oreo, strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon,
and birthday cake. You make me feel
hyper, like a sugar rush ready to happen.
I’m so eager to eat you, I’m like a dog
begging for treat.
Poptarts you are as gooey as jelly.
Your frosting is hard and crumbles
like a brick. But when I bite I into
you, your as soft as a pillow.
Poptarts, you make me happy as
an energetic cheetah.
Ode to Caruso the Nomascus Leucogenys
Nicholas E.
I’m enamored by your behavior,
I can’t deny.When you suck your
thumb you look just like a baby.
you act like a true Gibbon. Your
cheeks as white as winter snow.
Your resemblance, respect, and relationship
to homo sapiens is accurate. You swing like
a trapeze artist but better.
You help your species and the world.
You’ve fought against climate change.
But most importantly you don’t destroy,
you create.
You keep the balance.
So, don’t change.
Ode to Ms. Young
Youssef H.
Poetic, playful, and personable
as a celebrity. You’re a great teacher.
You are as sweet as Kool-Aid.
Your hair looks like a grizzly bear’s
fur, soft, smooth, and so straight.
You’re as smart as Albert Einstein.
By the way, everything here is
as truthful as a sincere owl.
