Here is some of the poetry I have written as an English8 student.
This poem was produced for our grade's poetry slam.
Prejudice
Things are not always as they appear.
Jump Rope
That fun thing you did as a child,
The cute activity that seemed so mild,
That was only a start to hours of practice,
Hair so frizzy it feels like a cactus.
Jump rope is a stunning sport,
Just some would rather play on a court;
They say jump rope is child’s play,
They say, “No thank you, not today.”
Well I’m here to tell you those people aren’t right.
This sport involves pain that keeps you up at night;
Your muscles are sore, your whip marks bleed.
You barely have time to do homework or read.
Don’t even get me started on injuries.
We get so many, they don’t cause any misery;
Just wrap your ankle and keep going,
The world keeps spinning, the roosters keep crowing.
All that aside, it really is great.
You go to competitions and jump in parades.
Mick, toad, double under, donkey,
Don’t forget a kamikaze;
These are tricks that we do,
We like to jump rope, how about you?
Prejudice
Things are not always as they appear.
Jump Rope
That fun thing you did as a child,
The cute activity that seemed so mild,
That was only a start to hours of practice,
Hair so frizzy it feels like a cactus.
Jump rope is a stunning sport,
Just some would rather play on a court;
They say jump rope is child’s play,
They say, “No thank you, not today.”
Well I’m here to tell you those people aren’t right.
This sport involves pain that keeps you up at night;
Your muscles are sore, your whip marks bleed.
You barely have time to do homework or read.
Don’t even get me started on injuries.
We get so many, they don’t cause any misery;
Just wrap your ankle and keep going,
The world keeps spinning, the roosters keep crowing.
All that aside, it really is great.
You go to competitions and jump in parades.
Mick, toad, double under, donkey,
Don’t forget a kamikaze;
These are tricks that we do,
We like to jump rope, how about you?
This villanelle was produced with a fellow English8 student.
Jump, Jump, Jump
Jump, jump, jump
Into the neighbor’s yard
The bunny trips on the bump
He hits a stump
He is spotted by the dog guard
Jump, jump, jump
He zigzags around the dirt clump
Into the neighbor’s yard
This dog is a real chump
The bunny is too plump
In the fence, he is jarred
Jump, jump, jump
The dog gets up off his rump
Into the neighbor’s yard
The bunny helplessly slumps
He is a dead gump
The dog wished bunnies had lard
Jump, jump, jump
Into the neighbor’s yard
Jump, Jump, Jump
Jump, jump, jump
Into the neighbor’s yard
The bunny trips on the bump
He hits a stump
He is spotted by the dog guard
Jump, jump, jump
He zigzags around the dirt clump
Into the neighbor’s yard
This dog is a real chump
The bunny is too plump
In the fence, he is jarred
Jump, jump, jump
The dog gets up off his rump
Into the neighbor’s yard
The bunny helplessly slumps
He is a dead gump
The dog wished bunnies had lard
Jump, jump, jump
Into the neighbor’s yard
This poem was submitted for a poetry contest. The only guidelines were that it had to be twenty lines or fewer.
Weak Knees
As we grow old
We become like cheese
Cheese grows mold
We turn weak in the knees
Swiss, cheddar,
And provolone
Everyone’s race
Is their own
The only difference
Is cheese doesn’t think
It hasn’t been quarreling
Since it was pink
As we grow old
We become like cheese
But hopefully we won’t get thrown out
Into a bitter night’s breeze
Weak Knees
As we grow old
We become like cheese
Cheese grows mold
We turn weak in the knees
Swiss, cheddar,
And provolone
Everyone’s race
Is their own
The only difference
Is cheese doesn’t think
It hasn’t been quarreling
Since it was pink
As we grow old
We become like cheese
But hopefully we won’t get thrown out
Into a bitter night’s breeze
I submitted this poem for my district's literary contest.
Mean
You say you are great,
You say you are grand,
You say that the president
Has shaken your hand.
You act like the coolest,
You act like the roughest,
You think it is obvious
That you are the toughest.
But do you know
What you’ve done to my feelings?
You make me feel like
Stepped on banana peelings.
You call me small,
You call me weak,
Just because when you hit me,
I can’t get up off my feet.
Your accusations aren’t fair,
Your name-calling isn’t right,
In fact it makes me want to cry
All through the night.
I have decided,
After thinking it through,
That the only way to fix this
Is to speak with you.
I need to do it,
I have to come clean,
I must tell you
That you are mean.
Mean
You say you are great,
You say you are grand,
You say that the president
Has shaken your hand.
You act like the coolest,
You act like the roughest,
You think it is obvious
That you are the toughest.
But do you know
What you’ve done to my feelings?
You make me feel like
Stepped on banana peelings.
You call me small,
You call me weak,
Just because when you hit me,
I can’t get up off my feet.
Your accusations aren’t fair,
Your name-calling isn’t right,
In fact it makes me want to cry
All through the night.
I have decided,
After thinking it through,
That the only way to fix this
Is to speak with you.
I need to do it,
I have to come clean,
I must tell you
That you are mean.