Maybe We’re Metaphors

BY Fullamusu Bangura
/ 16 Apr 2024

Hello again, dear reader! Last week, Grissom’s 6-8th grade students turned into cosmic metaphor explorers. This lesson was inspired by Joy Young and began with a quick question: what’s something you wish you could transform into? After some entertaining responses, students read Alien by Maya Marie Washington. We discussed some metaphors and onomatopoeia we noticed, then students got to write their own poems. Check out a few of them below:

6th Grade

I Am Batman

by Tony P.

I’m Batman, I must save gotham

to the bottom.

I’m a panther, I stay stealthy

to be healthy.

I’m a dinosaur, I’m large

and distinct.

I’m a beaver, I’m fast to get

right past.

Water

by Elizabeth P.

I am an ocean

I’m big and bold

Shimmers and shines

As long as vines

I am a lake even

if I’m madmade

I’m not easy to fade

I’m strong and hold

life

I’m a pond

I disappear over time

But leave a mark like a fine

I’m a raindrop

Small not heard

Moving fast across

the glass like a bass

Tip

Tap

On the window

Trying to be let in

I’m water

I’m needed

I’m important

I Won’t Be Ignored

by Rosaline H.

I am a misfit, I hear the drop of rain going clow, drop.

I am a misfit, I never glow. like a star in my moonlight is clast, blast.

I am a misfit, coming out of my words is like flowy, slowly.

I am a misfit, I need to be heard not ignored, blocked, or quiet!

Things I Like

by Christopher

I am a soccer player

While I dribble with my feet with what I can see

I am a spirit

When I fly around and go inside a sad person

and telling them to become the person and keep

working, never give up

and let your body become a feather.

I am an artist when I give my hand a

fluid motion and imagination.

I am a bird when I fly up in the calming sky

singing quietly.

7th Grade

Butterfly and Dolphin

by Yisel M.

I am a butterfly

I like flowers

tall like a tower,

Wham, whir

I am a butterfly,

I fly high to the sky

up high

vroom, boom

I am a dolphin

I swim

Move my limbs

splish, splash

I am a dolphin

I am noisy and loud

can be found

squeak, squeak

My Life

by Payton W.

I am a king, I have a ring

I say lots of things, bling, shing

I am a dog, I like to play ball.

I come when my dad calls me

Ruff, Grr

I am a brick wall like saving pucks

like the Mighty Duck goalie ping

I am a skyscraper

I am tall and very big, ping

What Could I Be?

by Alejandro M.

I am a star

Tiny but large and in charge

Bling, Bling

I am the sun

shining and blooming but also gleaming

sizzle, sizzle

I am a goal, bigger than them all but fragile like a dog

creak, bong

I am an engine

loud and proud but not allowed

vroom and neying.

Sun

by Ariah M.

I am a sun,

I light up bright that

can blur your sight. Sizzle.

A rose bright, red, but no sun, dead.

Oops.

A garden, beauty but not

beauty without sun.

I Am A Tree

by Brazile P.

I am a tree

full of life and everyday I grow

but even when I get cut down I’m still gonna flow (cut noise)

In the wind I’m flowing everyday I’m growing

Sitting around but never letting anything but the wind

pass me by

People sometimes use me to symbolize peace

and being free

which is all I wanna be.

I’m a tree.

This Is Me

by Aaron A.

I am fly

I am a bird

Whenever I tweet

I am always heard

I am fierce

Just like a lion

When you hear my roar

You know I’m not lying

The numbers get high

I am a clock

They eventually multiply

I go tick tock

Lastly I am a tree

I grow and grow

until I get cut down

xck xck

and I am free

8th Grade

Shooting Star

by Adellen M.

I am a shooting star

soaring through the night sky

people watching me fly by

Whoosh

As I wander through the sky

I see my friends twinkling by

sparkling within the universe

I make a mark to know my worth.

Painting the sky with such grace

I come out leaving a memorable trace

I am a shooting star.

I Am A Billionaire

by Fabrizio G.

I am a billionaire, I am super rich

And my name is Mitch

I have a bunch of cars

And I just bought Mars

I just went to the mall

Cha-Ching!

Roses

by Yuvia F.

I am a bouquet of roses

I was brought to someone who only wanted some fun

but instead, I ended up bringing him some happiness, laughter, and joy

While my friends were telling me to run

We made memories the both of us enjoyed

I still fear that one day I’ll get thrown away

that somehow my red petals turn brown like the mud

I hope that he’ll still stay

But if not, he’ll know that he was loved

because I am myself

I make one’s heart go fast like

“duu duu duu duu”

Even to the heart that he has himself.

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TESTIMONIALS

“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.