How to Write a Poem
1/ 4 cup of no erasing and letting your poetry live,
3 / 4 cup of no giving up, and always staying positive,
Use only a pinch of knowlege and smarts
Add 2 heaping tablespoons of following your heart.
Stir in 1 cup of the freshest ideas you can find.
Then make sure you have lots of paper that’s lined.
Add 1 cup of determination and be able to hope for the best.
Sprinkle 1 / 4 cup of knowing when to rest.
Make sure to edit and revise,
And to change some words so they soar and fly.
Slice it up into pieces for dinner,
And your poetry will be a winner.
— Lily Horowitch, 13, Bethesda
Butterflies
Did you know
butterflies taste with their feet?
We hope they wash
before they eat.
— Veronica Noel, 6,
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Why Can’t We Have a Little Snow?
The weather this year has been very strange
Some say it’s because of climate change
Is that the reason?
I don’t know
Why can’t we have a little snow?
Instead of chilly air we have sun
A little dusting would be fun
Instead of snow days Spring plants grow
Why can’t we have a little snow?
— Kat Plaza, 9, McLean
Gravity
Every time I fall
I wish gravity wasn’t there at all.
Or when I spill my drink I feel
I wish that gravity wasn’t real.
I would love to pause gravity
before I ditch my bike and skin my knee.
No gravity would be nice
if you were about to fall on the ice.
When my little brother was annoying me,
I would flip the switch off gravity,
and escape to a cloud to get away.
He wouldn’t pester me that day.
Without gravity I would fly
over the rainbow across the sky.
But if gravity wasn’t there
cars would float up in the air.
Houses, garbage, trucks and boats —
everything would start to float!
Cats would scratch and dogs would bark
as they drifted high above the park.
Flying knives, a stove, a bus —
it would be quite dangerous!
Swimming wouldn’t be so cool
when the water sailed out of the pool.
My soccer team would never score a goal,
since without gravity, a ball wouldn’t roll.
I guess I’ll have to learn to live with gravity,
because gravity helps me be me.
— Maria Love, 8, Fairhaven, Maryland
Here walking slowly,
In the light of my spirit,
I am very strong
— Lindsay Brandow, 10, Burke
In the dark of Night
One thing Shines Bright
In your Heart
A Dream
— Teresa Knestout, 10, Silver Spring
Seasons
Carefree days of dappled sunlight,
give way to crisp and cool fall morns,
which yield to harsh and lifeless winters,
but spring must have its say,
and the light cannot be swayed,
and once again the sun will rise,
and winter will hide its cold, bleak eyes
— Zachary Stevenson, 12, Purcellville
Names are not just names. Names have round faces, frizzy hair, toothpick legs. They have soul mates, children, sisters. Names have first kisses at neighborhood parks, impossible dreams, favorite books with creased pages. Insecurities and bad memories, guilt and joy. Favorite foods, hiding places. They have wardrobes filled with clothes from only one store and jobs they hate that were only taken to pay for college. They have memories of Christmases long ago and lessons learned the hard way. Names have smiles that can brighten days. Best friends that annoy them when they care too much. They have stories. Names have hope and love sandwiched between the spaces of their letters.
— Emily Knell, 13, Vandergrift, Pennsylvania
Art will tell you
The painful process
Of digging into
Nightmares
Where images of the
Horrors
Of memory
Is drained
A small
But intriguing show
Of a woman
Who suddenly lost
Most of her
Past
Confused and unable
To halt
The memory
Illness
— Rebecca Lorente, 13, University Park
Button
I live inside a basket
Or a box or else a bag,
I figure I’ll be wanted soon
And sewed onto a tag.
Though I must compete with Velcro,
I must debate with snaps,
I’m sure you’ll see I work the best
Oh please agree, or else you’ll find
Your clothing’s got some gaps!
Oh I’d love to be so cozy
In a sweater nice and warm,
And will you look what I just found …
I think your clothing’s torn!
— Sophie Nelson, 10, Vienna
Pained
Sitting . . .
in pain
hurt . . .
in the heart
So breakable
So fragile
No glue
can fix me
For I am sitting . . .
while ex-friends
are running
Playing
without me
— Adam Schrier, 11, Potomac
Days are like jewels
but no matter how hard you try to hold on to them
there is always a hole in your pocket
— Eleanor Hawkes, 12,
Greenwood, Virginia
Runaway Dog
Oh-no!
Out of the unlocked cage
Outside the light blue room
Down the carpeted stairs
Between the narrow chairs
Under the long table
Past the slightly open door
Around the old oak tree
Across the clear blue lake
Through the jagged rocks
Up the tall rocks
Off the pointed rocks
Into the thick woods
After the quick squirrel, and then,
Out of the woods
On the rocks
Down the rocks
Through the rocks
Across the lake
Around the tree
Through the door
Onto the table
On top of the chairs
Up the stairs
Inside the room
Into the arms of a young boy, who says,
“You are the most wonderful dog in the whole world!”
— Judah Guggenheim, 10, Silver Spring
Thin Ice
The skin on my body covers up my bones
The socks on my feet cover up my toes
The snow on the trees covers up the branches
The grass on the ground covers up the dirt
The words people use cover up empty things
people are scared to think
The gift you buy is covering up the things you’ve done
The moon covers up the stars
— Demarco Tucker, 11, Washington
Earthquake
Sit sit
Shake shake
It’s an earthquake
— Abriana Medina, 7, Washington