This week’s poem looks nothing like any the students at Volta have seen so far. “Living in Numbers” by Claire Lee is a list of seemingly unrelated (or even random) items recorded over two consecutive days. Its language is plain and informational, though the poet does include a simile (“Number of times I’ve woken up after oversleeping and sprung out of bed like a ninja”) and hyperbole (“Number of times I’ve wanted to bawl my eyes out,” “Number of times I’ve laughed so hard my sides would bruise”). We talked about the differences in totals, pluses as well as minuses, and wondered how those numbers could change in just a single day? Also, if any of the items could explain those changes? For such a seemingly straightforward poem, there’s actually a lot of possibilities to be explored, things that reveal the speaker’s personality without saying anything directly.
I told the class this was an example of a list poem and that they would write their own. As one essay defines the form, “It’s not enough for things to just be listed. They must have a relation to each other, tell a story or offer commentary.”
Ms. Yim, 4th Grade
Untitled
Lorelei A.
Number of times I’ve
woken up after
oversleeping and jumped
out of bed.
I had a cat I
lost her then
I found her
in the basement
she was in the closet
in the basement.
Number of friends
on Facebook: 744 real: 9
Places
Maria E.
I would go to Hawaii
I would go to Paris
I’d go to my home country
I’d go all around the world
I’d go to sleep
List of Places I’ve Visited
Emma M.
Mexico ♥
Ohio for 1 day
Iowa
California for Disney
De la Cruz
The Heart of Mexico
Guatemala for a little bit
USA
Indiana
Joliet
Michigan
Mississippi to see the river
Volta
Pet Store
Things I Hate
Gabriel P.
School
Homework
Dad jokes
COVID-19
Tests
List of Times I Felt Emotion
Jiya P.
Number of times I’ve
felt embarrassed, 100-300
too many times
to count
Number of times
I’ve cried
3,658
Number of times
I’ve felt joy 699
Number of times I’ve
flicked my pencil
out of being bored
7,653
Places I Will Never Go
Maylen R.
I will never go to Jupiter.
I will never go to Pluto
because it is extinct.
I will never go to Mars.
I will never go to Saturn.
