By: Srujana Yalamanchili

“How to Save a Life”

The sound piercing my ear; in a indescribable way,

“Float On”

Lyrics making my heart jump like a jump rope,

“The Freshman”

Guitar solo taking the lead with it’s twang,

“She Has No Time”

Emotions poured into my head,

“For Blue Skies”

Life flashes before my eyes,

Mesmerizing beats, like a bongo drum,

My body swaying like a snake charmed by a snake charmer,

How can such a sound, affect a person’s life,

Such beauty filled inside every note,

Music is like an unfillable ocean,

All the sounds, lyrics, and genres never stop flowing,

Music is my best friend,

When a bad day storms through the door,

When a happy day shines through the window,

Music is my tour guide,

Helps travel and explore my world with me,

Just pop in the buds,

Open the playlist,

And let the music come in like a tornado,

A tornado full of feelings; lively, cheerful, “pick-me-up”,

Because that’s what music does, it helps you feel….

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By: Rebecca Cherian

—–

I noticed her leaving

knowing exactly where she’d be

I waited a few moments

and then went to see

I was right of course

as I spotted her,

Sitting under the emerald green tree

I watched as the golden sun smiled down on her,

And the bright blue sky embraced her

As the water in the lake sparkled

like the gleam in her eyes,

And the dandelions,

a glowing bed that hid all the flies

I tiptoed quietly as I approached her

Realizing how peaceful it seemed

I felt a sense of calm,

the outside world slipping from my palm

I fell into her eutopia,

A world of unimaginable serenity

She turned suddenly,

sensing my presence

But it was me who smiled and spoke first

“Hello sister”

—–

Reflection:

1. I chose to publish an emotion poem.
2. I liked the idea of a serene, peaceful environment and I liked how there were many different ways to describe this emotion.
3. The tone of my poem is serene. Word choices and phrases such as the lines in stanza three, express this tone.
4. The theme of this poem is that a calm environment can help you relax and forget about other problems for a bit. The last two stanzas specifically helped me identify this theme.
5. “As the water in the lake sparkled like the gleam in her eyes” is an example of a simile. This phrase can help the reader to better visualize the picture and also contributes to positive tone. “I watched as the golden sun smiled down on her” is an example of personification. This line can help the reader recognize the tone to be serene, or at least a tone close to serene.
6. I added emerald green to my description of the tree to add more sensory detail. I also changed a line in stanza three. The line used to be “And the dandelions that hid all the flies,” but I revised it to “And the dandelions, a glowing bed that hid all the flies,” making it not only more descriptive, but turning it into a metaphor as well.
7. I think writing this poem was somewhere in the middle because poetry is not something that comes easy to me, however considering that this was a free verse poem about an emotion, it wasn’t too difficult.
8. I think my poem turned out pretty neat, especially after I added more figurative language. I’m pretty satisfied with the final draft of my poem.

By: Justin Bailey

Pump Shotgun

Bam, like a punch straight from Thanos

230 damage to the head

You can even wield multiple at once

Like a two headed serpent

You can add it to your inventory from Tilted Towers

You can annihilate all players in Dusty Divot

Like it’s full of no skins

Bloom does not apply to this weapon

As accurate as a calculator

One shot a brick wall and destroy it

Jump from the sky making the horrifying sound of hop rocks

Like an angel flying down

20 elimination games

As easy as pie

Bring cowardice to other players

Like the devil himself

One players versus a team of four

Double pump will conquer all

Like the king of the land

Get the high ground and shoot down on players

Like a soaring eagle from above

Swooping down on the enemy

So they never see it coming

Just like a ninja

Pump shotgun

1. The type of poem that I published was an ode poem.

2. I chose this item to be the subject to be the focus of my ode becuase I play fortnite a lot and I use the pump shotgun every game I play and I know a lot about the pump. I have played about 1,850 games.

3. The tone of my ode is Praise.

4. The theme of this poem is that The pump shotgun is the best gun in Fortnite.

5. “Just like a ninja” This figurative language contributes to the tone and theme development because it tells how the pump is so good and you can come out of nowhere and surprise your enemies.

“As accurate as a calculator” This figurative language contributes to the development of the theme and tone because if the pump is the best gun in the game it has to be very accurate and help out a lot.

6. Revision #1: One revision I made in my poem is to change “fear” to the word “cowardice” so I can elevate my vocabulary.

Revision #2: Another revision I made in my poem was to change the word “eliminate” to “annihilate.”

7: It was very easy to right this poem as Fortnite is one of my favorite games and I play it all the time and I use the pump shotgun in every single game I have played. I have played about 1,800 games.

8: I am very satisfied with my final draft. This is because I know very much about this topic and the poem and description of it just came very easy for me and I felt this poem was a very well written poem.

By: Emily Luu

I walked

My boots clunking against the floor

Students rushing past me

Shoving and pushing from all angles

Fiddling my thumbs and

My breathing

Uneven

I finally reached my destination

My heart pounding out of my chest

I read the paper, searching for my name

My name jumped out at me

I yelped and gasped

And began to cry

I jumped up and down in disbelief

My smile was brighter than the sun

As happy tears pooled on my face

“I finally made it,”

I thought

—

1) The type of poem I wrote was a sensory detail poem.

2) I chose this event for the basis of my p0em because it highlights one of the best and most emotional moments of my eighth grade year.

3) The tone of my poem is ecstatic because throughout my poem is very excited, especially in the second stanza.

4) The theme of my poem is that hard work pays off.  This moment in my musical career was one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve ever accomplished, and it took a lot of dedication and hard work.

5) “I was fiddling my thumbs and breathing like an exhausted dog.” Is an example of a simile. This simile shows how I’ve very nervous and anxious to find out my soon to be great news.

“My name jumped out at me.” Is an example of personification. This statement shows how my name on the list was bolded and very noticeable.

6) One way I revised my poem was I changed nervously to anxiously. I substituted nervously because I felt that I needed a more specific word to explain how I was feeling in the moment.

Another way I revised my poem was that I changing “beating out of my chest” to “pounding out of my chest” So that the reader would feel the way I was feeling at the time.

7) The idea for the poem was quite easy for me to formulate, but finding more elevated language and adding figurative language was more of a challenge to me.

8) I am satisfied with my draft because it accurately represents my feelings during this important moment in my life.
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by Tim M

Fresh roasted beans

soaked in scalding water.

Passing off their character

to a dark mixture

Bitter,

yet pure.

Through the gate,

fragile and thin-

and into the mug.

Add sweets to taste,

the feeling is as warm as a hug.

Easy to make,

yet easy to fail.

It carries an intriguing history

and akin to music,

universally understood:

Americano,

Black,

Iced,

Frappe,

Cappuccino,

Each related.

But unique,

like humans.

1.) I chose to publish an ode.

2.) I wrote an ode to coffee because it is very helpful in keeping me awake during the day.

3.) The tone of my poem is appreciative.

4.) The theme of my poem is that coffee is as unique as ourselves.

5.) a. An example of figurative language in my poem is “passing off their character to a dark mixture.” The type of figurative language in this sentence is metaphor because the taste of coffee beans is being compared to the character of a person. This contributes to the theme because it relates to the idea that each person is mystery. b. Another example of figurative language are the lines “akin to music, universally understood.” This is also a metaphor because coffee is being compared to music, the latter being regarded as a universal language. This adds to the theme because it implies that coffee is prevalent across the globe.

6.) One revision I made to my poem is adding the line “fragile and thin” to visualize the coffee filter, which is referenced as a gate of sorts. Yet another revision to my poem is removing a line that read “only to be discarded.” This references the coffee beans that would be thrown out with the filter, but I chose to delete this line because it contradicts the tone of my poem.

7.) My poem was relatively easy to write because I frequently had ideas pop into my head, however I struggled to translate said ideas into text.

8.) I am satisfied with my final draft because it meets the requirements in the rubric for the assignment and because the message it conveys can be interpreted in multiple ways.

By: Sophia Thota

A sensation.

Overwhelming joy.

Leaving a spark on your tastebuds.

A bright color.

A message of bliss.

A youthful pleasure.

It’s the extroverted friend.

Plainly humerous.

Spontaneous.

Like a zealous child.

Bursting and fizzing.

A pop.

In the rays of sunlight.

Bathing under it’s power.

A statement so profound.

Found in a pepper

An orange.

Likely in a lemon

A unique feeling.

Unlike any other.

1. I published an Ode.
2. I chose “zestiness” as the subject of my Ode because I feel it’s a unique, but an underrated flavor that people don’t acknowledge as much.
3. The tone of my poem is “euphoric.”
4. The theme of my poem is describing the uncommon, yet unique flavor, which is “zestiness.”
5. Two examples of figurative language are, “It’s the extroverted friend,” and “Like a zealous child.” These two examples of figurative language contribute to my poem by enhancing a lot of enlightenment into it.
6. The first way I revised my poem is rephrasing “Youthful joy” to “A youthful pleasure.” Another way I revised my poem was rephrasing “It’s the spicy friend” to “It’s the extroverted friend.”
7. It was a little hard to write this poem because so many interpretations could be made to one flavor depending on how people approached it.
8. I am satisfied with my final draft because I used a lot of elevated vocabulary.

By: Rana Ghafoor

I was finally there.

My face lit up.

Skies as blue as the ocean.

The sun was smiling.

Whoosh.

The subtle wind blew against my skin,

giving me goosebumps.

I saw family and old friends.

Smiles and laughs filled the air.

Memories made and more to come,

when’s your home.

Reflection

1. I published an emotion poem.

2. I chose a joyful emotion because the background of my poem was a big change in my life that I was as still am happy about.

3. The tone of my poem is cheerful.

4. The theme of my poem is happy about feeling at home.

5. Figurative language I included in my poem:

a. An example of a simile is: “Skies as blue as the ocean”. This contributes top the theme of the poem because it is about being joyful and a good mood ususally comes from good weather (the sky being clear).

b. An exapmle of a personification is : “The sun was smiling”. This is also like the example of the simile – it relates to a good mood because of the good weather.

6.

1) After revising my poem on change I made was that I personified the scenery.

2) Another change I made was to the vocabulary. I replaced some words with more detailed ones.

7. This particular poem was not that difficult for me to write because it is based on something important to me.

8. The poem I wrote is not as great as I was hoping it would be, but compared to other poems I have written, it is not bad.

By: Hannah Khan

Women Equality

One day, Women will not walk out in fear

Not with their heads hung low, but their heads held up high.

One day, Women will be looked up to, and not shown as a prize to win and be tinkered with.

One day, Women will no longer walk in the shadows, but in the light.

They we be successful in everything,

Not just polishing pots and pans.

Women will finally be equal.

We will finally be able to do the same things as men.

We will not have to deal with the uncivil comments of catcallers as we walk down the street.

One day, girls around the globe will get the same wages as the opposite gender.

We will be taken seriously.

We will not have to change ourselves.

One day, men will realize how important we are,

as we change the course of history.

One day, We will feel stronger than ever before.

1. The poem type that I published was the Inspired by poem.
2. c. The source of my inspiration was the women’s march on Washington D.C.
3. The tone of my poem is hopeful and inspiring.
4. The theme of my poem is Women equality.
5. One example of figurative language is “One day, Women will be looked up to, and not shown as a prize to win and be tinkered with.” This  is a simile. This contributes to the tone and theme because we are saying that we should not be shown like that, we should be shown as human beings.
6. Another example of figurative language is “Not with their heads hung low, but their heads held up high.” This is an example of alliteration. This contributes to the tone and theme because it flows better as you read the poem.
7. One way I revised my poem was when I changed the word ” played” to “tinkered” because  I felt that it had a deeper meaning when I put the new word in. Another way I revised my poem was when I changed “cleaning” to ” polishing” because that way, it adds alliteration to the poem.
8. This poem was difficult for me at first because I was not sure what to write about, but once I had an idea, it was fairly easy.
9. I am extremely satisfied with the final draft because I did not no how capable I was at writing a decent poem.