‘where the dove still sings’ : Poems of Place

BY Timothy David Rey
/ 21 Jan 2025

Students wrote ‘Where I’m From’ poems investigating the real and fantastical in poetry.

Lesson Note: “What I like about this exercise is that it asks poets to look at what we think and think we see and then ask questions that lead us to answers we don’t expect or to questions that yield no answers. In writing a poem of place, we may want to say: I know this place. It’s mine. This place is new, but I can see it. Or, I knew this place; it was once mine. In truth, places change—sometimes nearly imperceptibly, sometimes dramatically—as do our memories and perceptions. “-KC Trommer, Poet’s House, 2019

Ms.Hernandez, 7th Grade

I Come From

by Niko W.

I come from the abyss, not knowing where to go

I come from happy time,s the best in my life

I come from broken dreams; they taught me

I come from my mom, who paid thousands to have me

I come from my dad, who taught me to be polite

I come from earth a nightmare and dream

I come from fea,r not letting it control me

I come from watching construction. It taught me patience

I come from the heart where everyone can be together.

I Come From

by Harrison C.

I come from the Green Bay Packers

I come from the Wisconson Badgers, Chicago Cubs,

and Bulls and Bucks.

I come from Chicago and Wisconson

going downtown, spending time with fam

I am from Fortnite, Madden, 2K, The Show

from beach vacations

From Florida, Texas, Georgia, Mexico,

and Italy.

Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade

I Am From Memories

by Adelaide S.

I am from memories

the sticky summer heat

knee shorts and fippy t-shirts

light up shoes

flashing as I

run

fast

down the street

talking to friends

I can’t wait to get older

its a flash

pash the leapfrog off for the night

the last block party

be home before dark

begging for more time

late drives, falling asleep in the car

I wake up at the turn of

the block

pretending to be asleep

Just to be carried in once more

Laughing on the old playground

sitting atop the monkey bars

fairy dust with chalk

don’t grow up too fast, they say

It comes much sooner than you think

I am from memories

Where the “big kids” are so cool

I can’t wait to be them, we say.

I Come From…

by Arturo L.

I come from the beautiful streets of Venezuela

I come from the music of the place

I am mind and body there

I am from the food

I come from the family

I come from the thoughts

I come from the trouble and the good moments

I come from the holidays

I come from all the Venezuala has as a person

Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade

Untitled

by Hannah P.

I come from bustling streets

full of color

that little shop right on the corner

Lively music performed every which way

and a booth where puppets play

I come from a playground

hidden in between two buildings

where the dove still sings

the place where people walk

and fear not what people talk

I Am From the Beach

by Maise M.

I am from the beach

my eyes are from the waves crashing on the gold ground

My smile is like the sun hitting the ocean just right

My hair is sand, so find it hisses through an hourglass

I am from the beach

My personality is as lighthearted as a skipping stone

My laugh is as full as a blooming rose of the coast

My love is as diverse as a lighthouse, circulating shore

I am from the beach

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