In “The Republic of Poetry,” poet Martín Espada describes a kind of poetry utopia. That made me interested in what my students would include in their own utopias: what constitutes paradise for you?
Room 322
The City of Joy
Lysa A.
The city of Joy,
people with smiles
walking down the beach
and playing in the sand
The city of Joy
with a blue sky
and a bright sun
and very green
grass
The city of Joy,
talking on sidelwalks,
taking pictures with
each other by the
flowers
The city of Joy,
hearing the trains
and cars pass by
while looking at the
white fluffy clouds
The city of Joy,
having skyscrapers
that touch the white
clouds
The city of Joy,
everybody happy
without any
fights
The Moving Island
Stuart PVB
Up in the clouds
is where you will find
the moving island
on this island
there is a volcano
that’s full of gifts
it erupts every year
there is also a town
full of very happy bright people
there is a big pond full of fish
that you may swim in
next to that is city hall
but what it really is
is where we go to sing
play dance and socialize
the island never gets boring
because every week it changes
the pond might be here
or the town may be here
it is always changing
and don’t worry, you can
go back down to Earth
whenever you like
Paradise of Peace
Chelsy R.
Mangos, plums and many fruits you can have going
to the nation of Paradise
In my house, my floor is soft like those soft
couches I find in the furniture store
My door is decorated by fruits and flowers
There is fast Wi-Fi in my Paradise
Go to the beach to relax, every day it will
be warm and at night you’ll see stars
and the shiny blue sky sometimes
It will never be dark as much, you will always
have light
You can visit or stay and you’ll see
starfishes all over!
It’s my paradise where you can have peace and
no harms! Visit soon!
Room 320
Bryan’s Awesome Town
Bryan S.
In this town, cable companies
would not charge extra fees.
In this town, school would start at
12:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.
Students would get no homework
or bad grades.
In this town everyon
who has good conduct
would get what they want
and be very happy.
In this town the air
would be clean because
of a machine that cleans the
air when someone is smoking.
In this town every machine
would be powered by solar
energy and factories would
run on natural fuel.
In My World
Matilda A.
In my world everyone will
be safe and the parents wouldn’t
be worried that their
child passed their curfew
or got kidnapped
The bad people will be in their
own island called “The Island
of Shame,” so that they can
do whatever they want over
there
Every Christmas Day everyone
would be gifted with $200
per person and everything would
be almost free
In My Little Perfect World
Samatha N.
In my little perfect world,
there would only be music that has a good meaning to it.
In my world people will all have mansions that have a screen for music
that can play in all the house.
In my little perfect world,
no Talibans are allowed to try to destroy.
We would have a security scanner that you go through and it tells us
if you’re good, trying to make a difference, or trying to destroy.
In my little perfect world,
we would have free food every weekend.
The food would only cost one dollar.
We would have the best cook in the world.
The students could have face time with the teachers at home.
Everyone would have their own teacher to learn.
Everyone would have laptops for free if they’re in school.
We would have summer for two seasons and spring the others,
we would also have our own minions.
Room 314
Field of Pride
Mauricio C.
For Chicago
in the Field of Pride,
seats full of TRUE FANS
watching every game
every day.
In a world where baseballs
are our flying birds. Footballs
instead of tree branches. So
watch above, below or
side to side.
Step on the field to a
roaring crowd as you
get ready:
tying your shoes,
cleaning off that last sweat drop
and trying to clutch
exactly like Kobe Bryant
trying to get the last
play,
last sack,
last catch,
last strike.
The winners get the trophy,
no one cheats, no one lies.
If you cheat, you’re thrown
out for life.
Losers suffer a great defeat
but everyone wins at the
end of the game.
Music everywhere, filling all life!
The Island of Cherrydale Palms
Megan G.
Welcome to the Island of Cherrydale where the air smells
like chocolate. You can only enter if you like fashion designing and if you like
The Muppets and you like drawing sketches. You also have to like candy and shrimp.
Once you enter you see a line of restaurants where they sell
tacos, and where you can go to a restaurant and they give
you free tacos and free money
