Ode to the Beach

By: Madison Buchanan

You are the reason there are so many smiles in the world.

Feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on my skin

Hearing the waves crash like an angry storm

Stepping on the sand, and feeling it tickle your toes

The season of jubilation and smiles

Hearing the ice cream truck from miles away

Smelling the salty water greet you from far away

You are the idea of absolute bliss

That feeling of the sun’s kiss

As the sunsets, beauty shows far beyond what the eye can see

Seeing the children build sandcastles as high as Mount Everest

You are my knight in shining armour

When I sit on the cotton like sand enveloping me,

the feeling of comfort overwhelms me

Seeing the birds fly high in the sky

Like a baseball soaring into the stands on a hot summer day.

Looking up at the sky and seeing far beyond

Like the future, only stunning

That feeling that the clouds are smiling at you

When you feel as if the sun is watching over you

Seeing the surfers on the waves as if they are one with the ocean

You are the reason there are so many smiles in the world.

Reflection:

1. The type of poem I published was an ode.
2. I chose the beach as the subject of my ode because it is my favorite place to go and it is a really comfortable place to be. I believe that it is so beautiful.
3. The tone of my poem is comfort and happiness because when I am at the beach I feel safe and at ease.
4. The theme of my poem is being comfortable with your surroundings and to spend time where you are happy.
5. One example of figurative language in my poem is “seeing the birds fly high in the sky like a baseball soaring into the stands on a hot summer day.This piece of figurative language is a simile. This relates to the tone and theme of my poem because it contributes to the feeling of comfort with surroundings and knowing what makes you happy where you are. I enjoy baseball and the beach and the analogy makes sense. Another example of figurative language from my poem is “hearing the waves crash like an angry storm.” This is a simile. To me, the sound of the waves is very relaxing. The waves are always crashing against the sand and the sound can be very soothing and comforting.
6. One way I revised my poem is by adding my last line “You are the reason there are so many smiles in the world” and also as the first line of my poem to add repetition and a more poem like sound. Another way I revised my poem was by adding the line “Smelling the salty water greet you from far away” to add more to my poem and make the reader feel like they are at the beach.
7. This poem was easy to write once I figured out the topic I was going to write about. It was difficult for me to think of an idea to write about but once I thought of a topic it was very easy to write the poem. The imagery was very easy to write but I had some trouble coming up with enough figurative language.
8. I am very proud of my final draft of my poem because poetry has been something that I can struggle with, mainly because it is difficult for me to think of a topic.

By: Aleena

The cold metal doors closed on my leg

Sweat dripping down my face

My leg was trapped

My ears pounding with my heartbeat

I screamed for help, but no one heard

Bystander’s voices faded away as I went into shock

Elbows scraped and burned  from falling

My calf squeezed shut in between the doors

My family was running to me faster than the speed of  lightning

Pounding their firsts on the doors, to get anyone’s attention

Engines started to roar, it was about to start

Finally the doors freed my legs like a free prisoner

RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

1. I published a Sensory poem
2. I chose the even of my poem because it happened to me in real life, which made it easy to write about.
3. The tone of my poem is negative
4. The theme of my poem is stay safe
5. One example of figurative language is “my ears pounding with my heartbeat” another example is “my family was running to me faster than the speed of lightning”
6. The type of figurative language used above was hyperbole
7. This figurative language contributes to the poem because it helps the reader realize this is a very scary and anxious moment
8. Two specific ways I revised this poem was by adding the word cold to “the cold metal doors” the explanation for doing that was because adding the word cold helps the reader understand that this is very frightening. Another wash I revised the poem was by adding the word squeezed in “my calf was squeezed shut in between the doors” I did this to help the reader know that I was stuck and there was nothing I could do about it.
9. It was easy to write this poem because it was an experience I had in real life so I was familiar with it.
10. I am satisfied with my final draft because I put hard work into it and I think it is good.

By Alexis Mendel

Another yelp of thunder

boomed from above

like God scolding us for being

so mischievous

The radio gurgled one song

after the other

making us scream along

to inaudible lyrics

Dancing Queen

Blared in rhythm

As the rain pitter-pattered on the windows

and danced along our skin

The world was crying

but we were laughing

Fresh rain swam through our bodies

and the wet grass tickled our feet

Water splashed our feet

drenching us with cold water

Cloudy skies hovered above

taking the spotlight away  from us

But the thunder howled cheers

And the lightning applauded  in joy

A tirade struck the joy

And the lightning licked the sky

Making us squeal,

Running towards shelter

Towels of warmth

Wrapped around us

As  an ABBA’s CD

Played their songs on replay

The tirade continued

But our smiles

Were glued onto our

Shining faces

Reflection Questions

1. The poem type that I published was my sense poem.

     2b. I chose this event for my poem because I feel that this story shows the truth behind the quote, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” (Vivian Greene). This event does give this quote a literal meaning, but it shows that life isn’t about all the needs you have to complete of the wants people would like for you to complete. Life is about making all the mistakes you don’t want to make and breaking all the rules that are meant to be broken, it’s about learning to dance in the rain. It can also be interpreted by it meaning to stat as yound and childish for as long as possible.

   3. The tone of my poem is childish and playful.

   4. The theme of my poem is to be young and/or childish for as long as possible.

   5a. The first type of figurative language quote is “But the thunder howled cheers, and the lightning applauded  in joy.” The second one is “But our smiles were glued onto ours shining faces.”

   5b. The first type of figurative language I used was personification because I said the thunder howled cheers and the lightning applauded in joy. The second one is a metaphor because I am saying that our smiles were stuck on our faces like glue being stuck to paper. It could also be considered a hyperbole because I am being dramatic at saying that our faces were stuck with smiles on them.

   5c. This figurative language contributes to the tone and the theme because “the thunder howled cheers” and “the lightning applauded in joy” gives a childish feeling because it seems like they are imagining it. “But our smiles were glued onto our faces” makes the poem seem playful because they are still giddy even though they had been just yelled at.

   6a. Two example of a revision I made was that I changed “yelling” into “scolding” when writing “God was scolding us for being mischievous.” The second one is that I changed “clapped’ into “applauded” for when writing “the lightning applauded in joy.”

   6b. I chose to revise those words because they emphasize on the sound that the action that happened. Instead of God just yelling at them, he scolded them for being so childlike. Instead of the lightning just clapping, it applauded the kids, almost as if it erupted in joy.

   7. When thinking of this poem, it came to mind very quickly. It wasn’t hard to think of all the sensory details or figurative language because this story means so much to me. The story is just one of the few that my cousins and I share so the meaning to me is very deep and personal.

   8. I am very satisfied with my final draft because I have worked hard to keep this memory strong and all the details make it seem like it comes to life whenever I read it. The poem seems like it happened yesterday and the music that was in this poem is all of my childhood.

By: Ahlahnis Perry

I too am human

We walk the same grounds every day

Breathe the same air every night

I may look different

But i’m no alien

I’m unique

And i deserve to be acknowledged

When i come from behind my mask

Everyone will see

That i’m too human

1. I did a inspired by poem.
2. The source of my information was the book and movie wonder because i really like the concept of both.
3. The tone of my poem is passionate.
4. The theme of my poem is that no matter what you look like you shouldn’t be treated differently.
5. One example of figurative language in my poem is “when i come from behind my mask everyone will see” and this is an idiom. This contributes to the tone and theme of my poem by showing that the character is passionate about how he thinks he should be viewed. The second figurative language is “ we walk the same grounds” this means that they are equal.
6. To revise my poem i changed “I am” to “I’m” because it made my poem flow better and I changed “special” to “unique”.
7. It was very easy for me to write this poem because it is based off a movie and book that i can connect to.
8. I am pretty satisfied with my final poem because i think it is pretty good and inspiring .

By:Adam Jeong

I walk,

I walk into your towering trees

like the blades of grass

to a bumblebee

I see,

I see your deers staring at me,

they are quiet like a sleeping mouse.

I hear,

I hear the chirping of your cricket they like

Your own personal warriors

In the night,

your moonlight fills me with delight.

Your flowers smile at me

like a ray of hope.

your shade engulfs me as if it were my predator.
it traps me in a metal box.

I cannot escape,

I can only lay quiet

in peace and neutrality

As if I were the

Embodiment of tranquility.

1. The type of poem I chose to write was an ode.
2. I chose the subject nature because I love the wilderness.
3. The tone of my poem was peaceful.
4. The theme of my poem was nature is beautiful