Poem Examples

Garbage structure and rhythm, but
by Valerie Worth does not rhyme at the end of

each line.
The stained, Extension
Sour-scented Identify all the "jewel" words
Bucket tips out
in the poem (e.g., gold, ivory,
Hammered-gold
Orange rind garnet, pearl). What other
"jewelry" can the children
Eggshell ivory, imagine out of garbage? If
Garnet coffee- you're creative-- gather cast
Grounds, pearl off "trash" that you can
Wand of bared transform into brooches or
Chicken bone:
necklaces with the children.
Worked back soon
To still more
Curious jewelry
Of chemical
And molecule.
from All the Small Poems and

Fourteen More
(Sunburst Books, 1996)
Ode to Family Photographs

by Gary Soto
Introduction
Poetry can provide This is the pond, and these
information, too. Consider this are my feet.
poetic description of the This is the rooster, and this is
usually unpoetic topic of more of my feet.
garbage. It has a strong
Each of us is laughing hard.
Mama was never good at Can you see? I have candy in
pictures. my mouth.
This is a statue of a famous From Neighborhood Odes;

general who lost an arm, Harcourt, 1992
And this is me with my head
cut off.
Introduction
This is a trash can chained to The traditions and support of
a gate, the family are very important
This is my father with his eyes elements in Hispanic literature
half-closed. for children. Enjoy Gary Soto's
humorous reflections on the
This is a photograph of my art of taking family pictures
sister here.
And a giraffe looking over her
shoulder.
This is our car's front bumper.

This is a bird with a pretzel in
its beak.
This is my brother Pedro
standing on one leg on a rock,
With a smear of chocolate on
his face.
Mama sneezed when she

looked If I Were In Charge of the
Behind the camera: the
World
snapshots are blurry, by Judith Viorst
The angles dizzy as a spin on
a merry-go-round. If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
But we had fun when Mama Monday mornings,
picked up the camera. Allergy shots, and also
How can I tell? Sara Steinberg.
have wanted to change, if you
If I were in charge of the world could have?
There'd be brighter night
lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty-eight Extension
inches lower. Of course this poem begs for
children to write their own
If I were in charge of the world poems listing things they'd
You wouldn't have lonely. want to change if they were in
You wouldn't have clean.
charge of the world. Also in
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister." repeated read alouds, children
You wouldn't even have can join in on the repeated
sisters. phrase, "If I were in charge of
the world." Write the phrase
If I were in charge of the world on the board or on a strip of
A chocolate sundae with paper to use as a visual cue,
whipped cream and nuts especially for non-readers or
would be a vegetable. ESL students.
All 007 movies would be G.
And a person who sometimes
forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to
flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.
Harriet Tubman
from: If I Were In Charge of by Eloise Greenfield
the World,
Macmillan, 1981 Harriet Tubman didn't take no
stuff
Introduction Wasn't scared of nothing
Most children fantasize about neither
what they would do if they Didn't come in this world to be
were "in charge of the world." no slave
Think back about when you And wasn't going to stay one
were a child. What would YOU either
Harper and Row, 1978
"Farewell!" she sang to her
friends one night Introduction
She was mighty sad to leave Poetry can provide a vivid
'em picture of the past. Award-
But she ran away that dark, winning poet Eloise Greenfield
hot night creates a wonderful portrait of
Ran looking for her freedom Harriet Tubman in this
biographical poem.
She ran to the woods and she
ran through the woods
With the slave catcher right
behind her
And she kept on going till she
got to the North
Where those mean men
couldn't find her
Nineteen times she went back

South
To get three hundred others
She ran for her freedom
nineteen times
To save black sisters and
brothers
Why Nobody Pets the Lion
Harriet Tubman didn't take no at the Zoo
stuff BY JOHN CIARDI
Wasn't scared of nothing
neither The morning that the world
Didn't come in this world to be began
no slave The Lion growled a growl at
And didn't stay one either Man.
And didn't stay one either
And I suspect the Lion might
from Honey, I Love and Other (If hed been closer) have
Love Poems; tried a bite.
Reason for the Pelican
I think thats as it ought to be (Philadelphia:
And not as it was taught to Lippincott, 1959). Used by
me. permission of the Ciardi
Family Publishing Trust.
I think the Lion has a right
To growl a growl and bite a Source: The Reason for the
bite. Pelican (Lippincott, 1955)
And if the Lion bothered
Adam,
He should have growled right
back at im.
The way to treat a Lion right

Is growl for growl and bite for
bite.
True, the Lion is better fit

For biting than for being bit.
But if you look him in the eye

Youll find the Lions rather
shy.
He really wants someone to

pet him.
The trouble is: his teeth wont
let him.
Dreams
He has a heart of gold by Langston Hughes
beneath
But the Lion just cant trust Hold fast to dreams
his teeth. For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
John Ciardi, "Why Nobody Pets That cannot fly.
the Lion in the Zoo" from The
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
From the Dreamkeeper and

other poems.
Knoph, 1932/1994
Extension
Children could interpret this
beautiful poem artistically by
drawing an illustration for it or
by choosing or composing
music to accompany it.
If you stood with your feet in the earth

Up to your ankles in grass
And your arms had leaves running over them
And every once in awhile one of your leafy fingers
Was nudged by a bird flying past,
If the skin that covers you from top to tip
Wasn't skin at all, but bark
And you never moved your feet from their place
In the earth
But stood rooted in one spot come
Rain
Wind
Snow
Sleet
Thaw
Spring
Summer
Winter
Fall
Blight
Bug
Day
Dark
Then you would be me:
A tree.
by Karla Kuskin from Any Me I Want to Be;

Harper & Row, 1972
Introduction
A concrete or shape poem has the words of the poem arranged in
the shape of the object it describes. Children seem to enjoy this
poem form quite a bit.

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Garbage structure and rhythm, but

by Valerie Worth does not rhyme at the end of

from All the Small Poems and

Ode to Family Photographs

This is a statue of a famous From Neighborhood Odes;

This is our car's front bumper.

Mama sneezed when she

Nineteen times she went back

The way to treat a Lion right

True, the Lion is better fit

But if you look him in the eye

He really wants someone to

From the Dreamkeeper and

If you stood with your feet in the earth

by Karla Kuskin from Any Me I Want to Be;

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