kaykat242

POETRY PROJECT KATHIE WU

MENTOR POEM #1

MOTHER TO SON
Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So, boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps. 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard. Don't you fall now— For I'se still goin', honey, I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair


 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * LINES 2&20 || Metaphor || Life hasn't been easy for this person and it was never perfect. ||
 * LINES 2,9,18 || Slang || Nothing is perfect (life), not perfect english. ||

MY MIRROR POEM

Poetry Well Mrs Laesser, I'll tell you. Writing this poem hasn't been easy. I've been thinking and writing and comparing and revising rough drafts. And though I am not a big fan of poems, I am pushing through and getting it done. For I am still writing, and writing this poem has not been an easy task.

MENTOR POEM #2

KNOXVILLE, TENESSEE by NIKKI GIOVANNI

I always like summer Best you can eat fresh corn From daddy's garden And okra And greens And cabbage And lots of Barbeque And buttermilk And homemade ice-cream At the church picnic And listen to Gospel music Outside At the church Homecoming And go to the mountains with Your grandmother And go barefooted And be warm All the time Not only when you go to bed And sleep

was thinking about how she loved summer so much ||
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Lines 1-17 || Imagery || She was at the Church picnic while she was writing this poem and she
 * Whole Poem || Format || She wanted to list all the great things that she loved so much about summer. ||

MIRROR POEM

At the store

Today I went to the store. You can buy fruits and vegetables and poultry and fish and lots of dairy and canned foods and boxed foods and flowers and sample some food in the store. When you get everything you need you check out and take everything home and make a nice meal.

MENTOR POEM #3

HUG 'O WAR

SHEL SLIVERSTEIN

I will not play at tug o' war. I'd rather play at hug o' war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, And everyone grins, And everyone cuddles, And everyone wins.

wanted to make the poem fun and interesting. || tug of war & hugging to represent that. || MIRROR POEM
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Whole Poem || Rhyme || The author wrote his poems mostly for kids and
 * Whole Poem || Metaphor || The author chose niceness over meanness and used

NO SCHOOL

I will not go to school I'd rather stay at home or go to the pool Where everyone gets muddy instead of having to study, Where everyone has fun and plays in the sun, where everyone laughs and everyone screams Where everyone jumps and everyone plays. Where everyone yells and eveyone smells.

MENTOR POEM #4

A MINOR BIRD ROBERT FROST

I have wished a bird would fly away, And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me. The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song.

into the poem || to write a poem about it. ||
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Whole Poem || Rhyme || to make the poem more interesting and to engage the reader
 * Lines 1-3 || Imagery || He saw a bird that was annoying him outside his house and decided

MIRROR POEM

I have tried to tell people how to fly, and all they do is try try try;

Have snapped my fingers to work my magic When all that happens is something tragic.

The blame should be all on me. For I had tied them to a tree.

I shouldn't have made them try to fly, All that happened was that I made them cry.

MENTOR POEM #5

HOW TO EAT A POEM EVE MERRIAM

Don't be polite. Bite in. Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that may run down your chin. It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are. You do not need a knife or fork or spoon or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core or stem or rind or pit or seed or skin to throw away

it is supposed to, and you don't have to follow any rules. || nuisances of fruits or other types of food. ||
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Whole Poem || Moral || You can decipher a poem anyway you want, it doesn't have to be what
 * Lines 8-13 || Repetition || The author wanted to make the point more clear. And listed all of the

MIRROR POEM

How to eat a person

Don't listen to your consience.. Bite it. Pick up a limb and lick the blood that may flow down the person's arm. It is nice and juicy now, the meat. You should get a knife and a fork and cut it up like beef. It tastes like beef. When you're done eating take the body away to a dumpster or the sea or the forest or a scary, secluded cabin where nobody will find it.

(p.s. I was watching a tv show and it had like a murder case about a cannibal and the body was in a scary cabin and the cannibal guy said people tasted like beef... and that is why i wrote this poem about that...because now that I look at it it sounds kind of creepy..)

MENTOR POEM #6

CYNTHIA IN THE SNOW GWENDOLYN BROOKS

It SHUSHES It hushes The loudness in the road. It flitter-twitters ,And laughs away from me. It laughs a lovely Whiteness, And whitely whirs away, To be Some otherwhere, Still white as milk or shirts, So beautiful it hurts.

on her work || that exact color ||
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Line 1 || Ontomatopoeia || She was yelling at someone to be quiet so she could concentrate
 * Line 11 || Simile || She was drinking milk and realized that the snow or something was

MIRROR POEM

THE FREE SPRITED CHILD

It screams It dreams Imagination in the sky It jumps up and down and screams in delight. It screams a lovely F note which gently fades away. To become someone smart and succesful so wonderful it hurts.

MENTOR POEM #7 "Hey Dog"

That's how you call your boys. Hey Dog. You want to hoop? Then you and your dogs are throwing the ball around and talking about girls and ballplayers and stuff you're gonna have one day A red car some slamming kicks a shearling coat a pocket full of money a pretty girl a satellite dish and cable on and on and your dogs two college degrees, straight A straight up a phat deal with the Lakers no, the Knicks, no, the Nets were growing up and decided to put the dreams to life. || basketball outside. || MIRROR POEM HEY, ILLY Hey, Illy, no, not Lili, no, not Lilianne, Illy. my Illy. hey iIly, pull me along. let me eat all of your food go name your goldfish. name it puffy or fluffy or Pan the Man. name it coat hook or phonebook or name it Illy. Hey, Illy.
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Lines 7-12 || Imagery || It was the writer's fantasy when they
 * Lines 3-4 || Imagery || The author was looking outside and saw some kids playing

MENTOR POEM #8

HOMEWORK, OH HOMEWORK JACK PRELUTSKY

Homework! Oh, Homework! I hate you! You stink! I wish I could wash you away in the sink, if only a bomb would explode you to bits. Homework! Oh, homework! You're giving me fits. I'd rather take baths with a man-eating shark, or wrestle a lion alone in the dark, eat spinach and liver, pet ten porcupines, than tackle the homework, my teacher assigns. Homework! Oh, homework! you're last on my list, I simple can't see why you even exist, if you just disappeared it would tickle me pink. Homework! Oh, homework! I hate you! You stink!

he hated his homework. || interesting than simply, it would make me happy. ||
 * LOOK || LABEL || DECIDE ||
 * Lines 3-5, 8-11, 16-18 || Hyperbole || He wanted to emphasize how much
 * Line 18 || Idiom || It provides more variety, and sounds more

MIRROR POEM

TV, oh TV!

TV! Oh, TV! I love you, you rock! I wish I could spend all day watching you, It's like an angel brought you from heaven. TV, Oh TV! you're giving me joy, I'd rather watch you than eat a 10 course gourmet dinner, than go to the most popular sold-out concert, than meet the president in person, than go on a $5,000,000 shopping spree. TV, Oh TV!