By: Lauren Wilson

Hundreds of lives taken from children at a place they are supposed to feel safe

Their parents despair like a thousand bullets to the heart

Feelings that shouldn’t be felt but are

Letting this happen we are ruining our future

A problem that is getting bigger and bigger but not better

Lost and confused we try to find our way to the light

We search for something to patch up our hearts but nothing works

My heart is sorrowful and cries for the families that are grieving

Our future is in danger and we need to start fixing it

We are letting these pure souls go

Begging for them to be saved but doing nothing ourselves

It is time to stop the number of lives taken from going up

It is time to take action

1. I chose to do an inspired poem.
2. The source of my inspiration was the recent problem with school shootings.
3. The tone of my poem hopeful.
4. The theme of my poem is it’s time to take action and prevent school shootings.
5. A. “Their parents sorrows like a thousand bullets to the heart”

1. The type of figurative language is simile
2. This figurative language contributes to the theme development by explaining how the parents feel about losing their children and why it is important to take action.

1. “ My heart is sorrowful and cries for the families that are grieving”
2. The type of figurative is personification.
3. This figurative language contributes to the theme development by explaining how I feel about this issue and another reason why it is important to take action.

6. One revision I made was I changed the word “sad” to the word “sorrowful”.

Another revision I made was I changed the word “sorrow” to the word “despair”.

7.  It was easy to write this poem because I felt strongly about this subject and had a lot to say about it.  
8. I am very satisfied with my final draft because I think it has a lot of emotion.

By: Emma Comerford

I wear clothes my parents approve

Not worried what they’ll say,

Just worried about you

You sit and judge me like a show dog

Dressed to cover my shoulders

Because we are solving the problem for you

My shoulders might offend you

Possibly because mine look better than yours

Or just because you have the power of a king

To tell me to cover my shoulders

But I’ve seen you

Go ahead,

Hide behind your rules like a toddler to its mother’s leg

Maybe we expose you

Just like my clothes expose my shoulders

1. I published an Inspired by poem
2. The source of my inspiration was the women objectification, a lot of teachers assume that girls wear these off the shoulder tops, crop tops, or tank tops because we want to impress guys. That isn’t true, we wear it because it is hot outside
3. The tone of my poem is mostly agitated
4. The theme of my poem is Enough is Enough
5. “Hide behind your rules like a toddler to its mothers legs” This is a simile, and it contributes to the tone by saying that they know what they are doing is a bit over the top but they don’t want to come out and admit it.
6. “You sit and judge me like a show dog” This is another simile and it contributes to the tone of the poem by making the school seem like they are picking on us for everything
7. It was pretty easy to write this poem because it is a topic I feel very strongly about
8. I am very satisfied with my final draft because it explains and portrays the school board exactly the way I was hoping

By: Logan Boddie

Tall standing trees dancing in the breeze

The sun peaking through its bright green leaves making shadow puppets on the grass

Joyful solitude

Waking up naturally to birds singing at your window

With the energy to start the new day

Reading a book without distractions and the ability to become part of it

Sleeping in tranquility

Peace calms the weak-hearted like a mother

Peace is like an eternal hug

Peace is a sunset beach on a clear day

With no one else but you

1. I published an emotion poem.
2. I chose this emotion because I think that people overlook it because they’re so busy pursuing something else and don’t realise how powerful it can be.
3. The tone of my poem is peaceful.
4. The theme of my poem is that peace is all around us, we just need to stop to enjoy it.
5. One example of figurative language in my poem is “Tall standing trees dancing in the breeze” which is a personification. I chose this line of figurative language because when it it really nice outside, kinda hot with a cool breeze, the trees sway in a relaxing motion and relaxation is related to peace. Another example of figurative language from my poem is “peace calms the weak-hearted like a mother” which is a simile. I chose this figurative language because when someone suddenly feels peaceful, one could describe it as a wave that washes over them. I would describe the way a mother makes you feel as a wave of peace, also.
6. The first revision I made was that I added the line “the sun peaking through its bright green leave ps making shadow puppets on the grass” to add more detail. The second revision I made was that I changed “trees rustling in the breeze” to “trees dancing in the breeze” to add a personification.
7. It was easy to write this poem because peace is so abundant that it isn’t hard to understand what it feels like which is why it was easy to make others understand what peace feels like.
8. I am very satisfied with the final draft of this poem because I think that I have conveyed successfully what peace is to the reader with the help of figurative language which is a win in my book.

By: Kaitlinh Nguyen

Every Friday you lure me,

Like a candy to a child.

You bring my bitter mood

Up like Christmas morning.

Programmed like a computer,

My automatic fingers dial and call the pizza bakery.

Tik tok,

Tik tok,

I watch the clock,

Waiting for my treasure.

The door rings.

Familiar smells invade my home,

And you arrive.

I guard you like a soldier,

Incase an intruder tries to steal.

My prized possession.

Like a missing piece of a puzzle

I take a slice of you,

Scrumptious,

Soft,

Succulent,

Pizza.

Yummy bits of cheese and bread

Invade my taste buds

And I welcome you with open arms.

Distracted by the tv,

I reach for another slice of you,

But unlike my stomach,

The box is empty.

Like a child finished with their candy,

I still craved more of you.

1. I published an ode poem.
2. I chose to write about pizza because in my family we frequently order pizza and pizza is one of my favorite foods.
3.  The tone of my poem is, appreciative.
4. The theme of my poem is that pizza is enjoyable and appetizing.
5. “Every Friday you lure me, like a candy to a child.”, this figurative language is a simile, and it helps the reader relate to how a child fells about candy. This shows how the pizza is appetizing. “Like a child finished with their candy, I still craved more of you.”, this is another example of a simile, and it helps the reader understand how enjoyable the pizza was.
6. I changed the word good to scrumptious, because it was a more descriptive word. I also added another simile to the end of my poem. I added ” Like a child finished with their candy, I still craved more of you.”
7. This poem was not difficult to write because there are a lot of senses associated with pizza. It was easy to describe the smell and taste.
8. I am satisfied with my final draft, I revised and edited it, and got a peer reviewer to go over my final draft.

I glance over the rows of seats

And below the glaring lights

Is a restless crowd.

As my hands fly back

And forth across the keys while the others frantically

Bow back and forth,

The minute movements of shuffling feet

And squeaking strings

And ruffling sheet music,

Are all under the watchful eye

Of the conductor.

In the midst of the melodies,

A stumble occurs.

The crowd doesn’t notice

But the perceptive ears of the musicians

Catch all falters.

Yet still we push forward.

As the show comes to its close,

And the players slow to a stop,

Rising out of the looming silence

Like a phoenix from the ashes,

Is a thunderous applause.

1. I published a sensory detail poem.

      2b. It was full of many vivid details that I could describe with a chronological order.

3. The tone of my poem is nervous.                                                                         
4. Theme of my poem is that even though people make mistakes, if you take them in stride, you can turn them into something wonderful.
5. “Rising out of the looming silence, like a phoenix from the ashes, is a thunderous applause” is a simile which i used to contribute to the change in tone towards the end from nervousness to triumph.

          “others frantically Bow back and forth” is an example of imagery. The figurative language contribute to the development of nervousness by expressing it in the musicians.

6. Revision #1: I changed the “roaring applause” to “thunderous applause” to help communicate the magnitude and extremity of the sound.

          Revision #2: I added “in the midst of the melodies” to add both alliteration and to help transition from one point in the story to another.

7. It was easy for me to write this poem because i have both a big vocabulary and remember a lot of the details of that concert.
8. I’m pretty happy with the final draft because it tells a story with multiple parts, has lots of sensory detail, and fulfills the requirements for my type of poem.

by Max Muldoon

My Hopes

I hope for a day when all have food

I hope for a day when everyone greets each other with an affable mood

I hope for a day when birds always sing

I hope for a day when a husband and wife are united for eternity by a golden ring

I hope for a day when friends are always true

To friends oldest and ever so new

I hope for a day when the country is one

Like a synchronized orchestra that plays to the beat of a drum

I hope for a day when everyone’s the same

Like a photograph of honeycomb encompassed in a frame

I hope that no one will ever shy away

To the challenges they face with their friends day by day

Poem Reflection

1. I published an inspired by poem.
2. My source of inspiration for this poem was my hopes for a better future.
3. My desired tone for my poem was a hopeful tone.
4. The theme to my poem is that unity and love is the foundation to a successful future.
5. Two examples of figurative language used in my poem are,”I hope for a day when the country is one, like a synchronized orchestra that plays to the beat of a drum”(simile) and,” A husband and wife united for eternity by a golden ring.”(hyperbole)  Both of these quotes from my poem contribute to the overall theme of unity and love because they describe working together in unison.  These quotes also support the overall hopeful tone because unifying the country will bring about peace and love and so will being married for eternity represent how, as a couple, you are one, committed and hopeful for your future, which is what my poem is about.
6. One example of a revision I made was to add my last two lines of the poem, “I hope that no one will ever shy away, to the challenges they face with their friends day by day,” to  reinforce the theme of love and unity. Another example of a revision I made was that I took out,”And no one will ever be the source of blame” and replaced it with,” Like a photograph of honeycomb encompassed in a frame.”  I did this to add figurative language and draw likeness between a honeycomb and comparing the same views and likeness in the world.
7. It was fairly easy for me to write this poem because I was inspired by my own hopes and dreams.  All I had to do was think about my own optimisms and changes I wished to see for the future and write about them in a poem.
8. I am very satisfied with my final draft because I exceeded all expectations listed in the rubric. I think it has good flow and I even was able to make it rhyme!

By: Jason Taylor

Seeing the towering mountain of steel and hard labor

We walked the year long que to the ride

My stomach tightening as we came closer to the front of the line

The cart finally came a stop

The sweat collected on the handle from the previous riders

Sitting in those semi-warm seats from previous roller coaster goers

Listening to the bright red handles clicking in place

The countdown clock slowly ticking down

The faces of my terrified friends all around me

The concerned voices of my friends exclaiming that we made a mistake

The whistle of the wind in my ears as we approached the climax of the hill

The sudden temperature change at the top of the hill

As we fell at rapid speeds straight for the lake

Screams coming from all around

At the end the rush I felt

Exclaiming to go again and again

Reflection questions

1. I decided to publish a sensory detail poem.
2. b. I chose this event as the basis for my poem because it happened recently and I remember it vividly.
3. The tone of my poem is anxious.
4. The theme of my poem is don’t be afraid to face your fears.
5. One example of  figurative language in my poem is “towering mountain of steel and hard labor” The type of figurative language  is metaphor. This figurative language contributes to the tone and theme development because it refers to the roller coaster as a mountain which gives an anxious feel. Another example of figurative language in my poem is “Walked the year long Que.” The type of figurative language is metaphor. This figurative language contributes to the tone and theme development because it tells the reader that I am not looking forward to the ride because it is referred to as taking a year long.
6.  One way I revised my poem is I changed fast to rapid. I made this change because fast is a pretty basic word so I used better vocabulary.  Another way I revised my poem is I changed large hill to towering mountain. I made this revision because it better adds to the tone of the poem.
7. It was pretty easy to write this poem, because it happened recently and I knew what I was going to write before I started.
8. I am very satisfied with my draft, since this was my best poem I wrote and I feel like I captured the tone well.