After stepping into the world of metaphor, we got the chance to explore it a bit more in Week 3 at Washington with persona and personification! We’ll spend a lot of time in our own heads this year, so I want to make the opportunity to step into another pair of shoes for a different perspective. The world has so many dimensions, and we can get a fuller understanding of it by trying to look at it from different directions! We got some help from two poets today:
First up is the inimitable Denice Frohman, a Women of the World Poetry Slam champion and community stalwart in Philly and New York City! We watched her poem titled “Borders,” looking at the life of a young immigrant girl that has to navigate xenophobia in a new country:
Next up is the ever-cool Sam Mercer, who turns into The Hulk and smashes a few eggs while he tries to make an omelette “In a Too Small Kitchen:”
This time around, we embodied another and used persona & personification to write poems from the perspective of someone or something else. As always, I’m blown away by the expansiveness of where the mind can go in these poems! Enjoy some poems from Week Three of poetry classes at George Washington Elementary:
Group 1:
Tarantula
By Tristan V.
Big, big spider just spinning a web
So why destroy it? I fell and landed on my head!
Crawling around in your house
Bigger than a mouse
Then a 12 year old girl saw me and screamed
I tried to sun away, but she almost killed me!
Long 8 legs, just running up a wall
Got onto the ceiling, but then I just fall
I landed in some food
Tasted it, and it was really good!
The person screamed then passed out on the floor
My work is done here, so I walk out the door!
The Sun
By Andrea G.
For as long as ever,
I’ve been around.
I’m here from January to December,
I’m easily found.
I see the world all the time,
I’m the reason everyone is alive.
I’m found in the sky,
And in the morning, I arrive.
A Bird
By Mia P.
Today, I was shooed away!
But I just wanted to give my opinion on
The humans’ conversation.
They must have thought I was asking for food.
The humans think I’m annoying
And pesty.
But I’m just trying to live my life.
It is a beautiful one after all.
I watch from the clouds.
Flying through the sky, always lurking.
IF they saw what I saw while I flew around town,
They wouldn’t take this world for granted.
Watching the seasons change and
Watching the little girl grow up from
The bird house by her window.
If only the humans knew what
My life was like.
Group 2:
A Butterfly
By Marisa S.
Being a butterfly
Wild and free
Flying away
As the kids chase me down
Hearing the wind
As it pushes me through
Laid on a beautiful flower
I’m gentle and free
Rose
By Italia M.
I am a rose.
I see when people walk by.
I see when people walk into the flower shop.
I taste the water that makes me look pretty to buy.
I feel when someone picks me up to see me.
I feel happy when
I feel someone pick me up and buys me.
I know I am pretty and good enough to the person who bought me.
I know when
I die, I will be happy.
A Mask
By Ava H.
I filter the air when I’m on a face
When a person puts me on, I see
Everything
When the person talks when I’m on,
I smell and hear mostly everything,
Which — I wish I didn’t smell everything!!
When the person gets in their car
They yank me off and throw me
Saying, “how annoying!”
But I protect, so I don’t know what
They are talking about, I keep them
From getting sick!
I’m a mask, for gosh sake!!
Group 3:
A Shark
By Justin G.
Another good swim today..
I just hate that it’s Monday.
Maybe I should go to the bay..
There are a lot of prey!
A BTS Member
By Jasmine R.
2 years without hearing fans chant,
Yet we made it to this day when
Things were changing a little;
Light’s on, full crowd, and music on.
We sing, and cherish this moment.
One of us tries to memorize each face,
Confetti everywhere, and love everywhere.
7 boys from South Korea,
Spreading the word of love.
Life of a Cat
By Abigail M.
I can run, jump, sense, and sleep all day
I will attack if you’re close
I won’t hesitate to bite
I can sense you from a mile away
We can play whenever you want
I can spot you in the dark
So hesitate to come near me.
