This week at Shoesmith students explored poetry about technology. Students were asked to discuss the positive and negative effects technology had on their lives. Most students agreed that technology has created faster ways to communicate with friends, relatives, and people from the world, through email, text, and social media. The downside of technology is that it can be addictive and dangerous. One student mentioned how hackers can send viruses and steal your personal information online. Another student explained how she was obsessed with games on her phone, which often distracted her while doing homework.
Together we read “Like Any Good American,” by Brynn Saito. In this poem the speaker’s life revolves around her TV. Not only does she give it her full attention, but also physical parts of herself: corneas, eardrums, and skin. Saito constructed her entire poem using enjambments, the running over of sentences from one poetic line to the next without punctuation. This allowed students to experience the erratic thoughts of the speaker, who disconnects herself from others. Saito also incorporated functional white space, the area around words or phrases that create pauses and rhythm. White spaces emphasized important ideas in Saito’s poem: “In return it gives me so may different sounds to fill the silence where the secrets of my life flash by like ad space for the coming season.” Although technology gives us exciting sounds and images, we must sacrifice our relationships and sense of privacy.
Inspired by Brynn Saito, students wrote poems reflecting on the influences of technology in their daily lives. Enjoy this week’s published poems. Also thank you to Trinity C. from Ms. Wesson’s class for providing the great tech themed artwork below.
Ms. Wesson’s 5th Grade
Group 1
Like Any Normal Person
Layla A.
My icloud storage still isn’t full
My brain feels flooded
but still dull
Tik Tok’s are to blame.
like any other seducing game
I give it my all like tickets
sold out to a basketball game.
scrolling through my emotions
My eyes in a haze
Texts overflow my brain calendar alerts
reminding me about important events
on it for too long started writing
punctuations on this non-punctuation
poem
Like Any Boy
Joshua G.
Walking with head phones
in my head waiting
to figure out the next song
Lil Keed will let out
My eyes gazing at light like
a skulking iphone II Pro Max
My fingers scroll through
My Spotify playlist
looking for song to play
and send through
My beats on Bluetooth
Sometimes on tik tok trying
to impress ladies
My headphones walking to my
backpack begging me to put
them on
Like Any Good Gamer
Noemi N.
a gamer has electronics
they play all day parents
tell us you’ve been
on there too long get off
Nintendo you create games
we gamers love and
want to play so you
can get money
for the gaming
system the controllers the
charger and the games
to play on there
then we get mad when
we can’t pass a level
because it is so hard
Ms. Wesson’s 5th Grade
Group 2
Like Any Good Decade
Lailah B.
My underdeveloped baby hands
So frantic to touch the new
ipod as the screen
blinks.
But I’ve given my life
to this decade Now this
old year goes by and the
new year rolls in and the
pages turn my
interests change I find
new apps and soon enough
I hit the big 1-1 and
I hope some trends come
back like Heelies
Tiktok
Yana D.
My fingers scroll through
videos of people dancing
My eyes look like a starving bear
hunting for more videos my phone
Look at me with a crazy
stare my phone
says are you ok
I am happy but sad because
I can’t do the dances my
hands move like monkeys in the
wild When I post videos I get
10 likes this makes me feel like
a Queen Lion but when I see
other people’s videos and they have
about 2 million I feel like
a sad doggie.
Like Any Good Technologist
Keith J.
My fast fingers swipe
though pictures
on a phone
I give it my eyes
I give it my ears
I give it my information
My deep secrets
It always gives me
that grim look
I always see a cyber
bully coming soon
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 1
Like Any Good Movie
Christina A.
My eyes glued to my TV
watching the
juicy parts
of the middle of the
story
Like any good movie
I am eating popcorn
or crying to the saddest
parts of the movie
Like any good movie
I am laughing
to the funniest people
doing funny things
the TV just so proud
of what it has done
Like any good movie
I am yelling
When I am mad
at the people who
get eaten by a monster
Like Any Good Shinobi
Cole B.
I put all of my vision into
the game not focusing
on anything else I hear
the chirping of birds and I don’t
care the door opens
and my mom comes in but I don’t
care
the sound of Kuna kills
the sound of any
voice or noises available
I smell food but I don’t
get up My brother is arguing
with my sis but I don’t
bother there’s a tornado
but I’m stuck in the game
Like Any Other User
NGone D.
With a click of a button
I can travel the world
With a click of a button
I can sell my soul to some
To some app I won’t
use
With a click of a button
I get into a hungry
website
full of fake
News
Like any other user
Right?
With a click of a button
I can watch someone’s vacation
With a click of a button
I can download useless apps
I procrastinate to delete
With a click of a button
I can find which Disney princess I am
With a click of a button
I can play an online game
knowing full well
they’re bots
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 2
Technology
Justin Beard
You suck people in to a never ending
void that they never
escape you steal and kill every
day you dis connect people from the
world your screen is like a blackhole
you entertain me every day
you let me connect
with all my friends you
make me smile when I am sad
You’re like a comedian with all your jokes
always laughing more and more
You tap on my screen every day
giving me viruses and making
me sick I try my best to
escape your finger is just
like a knife cutting me
putting me through so much pain just
to toss me out
Stuck On My Phone
Zoey B.
My phone is my Frenemy
never know if it’s good to be on my
phone stay up all night like I am a night
owl sometimes my sister could be telling
me to come do something but I am
glued to my phone like I am a piece
of tape I give my time to my phone
I stay on my phone staying silent
when I should be talking
Too much of my phone makes me have a
HEADACHE
being on my phone less makes it
beg for attention
The Catfish
Amir B.
They are on Snapchat Tinder Instagram Facebook
everywhere hiding their identity with pictures of
girls and boys on google
Friend requests to random people flirting with a 12 year old
asking for locations computers filled with terror as
the 50 year old man uses the computer to gather little girls
the old man smiling at the screen
when the old man gets home
from work the computer wishes he could hide with his eyes
shut but is awaken by reality the old man doing his hobby
pretending to be someone he is not
like a wolf in sheep’s clothing lurking in the screen trying not
to get caught preying on defenseless girls and boys like a mouse
trying to get the cheese the old man is always happy looking
for a new suspect to harass in a friendly evil way
the old man always has excuses not to facetime or let
his voice be heard through the microphone this makes the
old man feel
young
