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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Masks
By: Emily MacDonald
Day after day camouflaged in cosmetics
Trying to feel beautiful and aesthetic
Wanting to fit in
And feel comfortable in their skin
Hiding behind the faces they wear
Hoping that people won’t stop to stare
Am I not good enough the way I am?
This is the question so many ask
Challenged with trying to take off their masks
Alone with no one by their side
Forced with having to decide
For the mask we wear
Is harder to bare
Then no mask at all
Lost in the Forest
By Benjamin Doucet
It was late at night.
The stars shined bright in the pitch black sky,
the frogs croaked next to the endless river.
My brother and I had an Idea.
We decided to scare my sister and my dad who were trailing behind.
We were heading up a hill that was as steep as a sharp mountain.
If you fell on the hill, you would roll down to the freezing cold water at the .
We were trying to get on the trail of the forest before my sister and dad did.
I’ve been to this forest a million times.
At first I thought I knew where we were.
After analyzing the area, I realized I was clueless to where I was.
We tried to retrace your steps, but we just got lost even more.
There were trees surrounding me on the hill.
As my heart started to beat faster, the trees looked terrifying.
I told my brother that this area didn’t feel right,
and he started to realize that too.
A few lengthy minutes went by.
My heart started to beat as fast as a race car at full speed.
I started to shiver as the wind picked up in the cold.
At this time my dad and sister were probably almost home thinking we were in the house.
We eventually got out of the deep, dark forest at the top of the hill.
We saw a neighborhood.
We both thought it was a different area of our neighborhood.
We started to sprint the direction that we thought are house was.
As we were in the road and I looked down.
I saw a smooth, black road.
The roads in our neighborhood were more rocky and lighter.
That’s when I realized we were in the wrong neighborhood,
and he realized too.
Neither of us had any source of communication on us.
We wandered in the neighborhood and out the neighborhood trying to find our neighborhood.
It has been an hour since we were in the woods.
It I felt like we were going in circles.
I was starting to lose hope.
Deep down, I was terrified but I didn’t want to show that in front of my brother.
We started to pay attention to the street signs on the roads.
One of them looked familiar.
We just kept on following that street.
It started to feel like I took Lidocaine because my legs were so numb after running for an hour.
After following the street for the longest 15 minutes in my life we found our neighborhood.
Adrenaline just rushed through my body and I started to sprint to my house.
I will never forget this moment.
- I published a sensory poem.
- I chose this event as the basis of my poem because it happened recently and It had a lot of sensory details in the event.
- The tone is fearful
- The theme of the poem is don’t give up and keep trying no matter how bad the situation is.
- 1) “My heart started to beat as fast as a race car at full speed.” This figurative language is a simile. This helps with the tone development because I was scared at that moment and this helped with the theme development because at that moment showed that I had nervous but I had to keep tying.
2) “It started to feel like I took Lidocaine because my legs were so numb after running for an hour.” This is an example of a simile. This contributes to the development of the tone because I was so scared that couldn’t stop running so when I eventually stopped, my legs were numb. This helped develop the theme because it showed not to give up and stop, and to keep on going no matter what.
- A. Revision #1: I changed “scared” to “terrified.”
- Explanation: I wanted to emphasize more that I was in fear.
- Revision #2: I changed “I got excited” to “Adrenaline rushed through my body.”
- Explanation: I wanted to be more descriptive about that single moment.
- For the most part, the poem was easy to write because this was a true story that happened to me recently.
- I am pretty satisfied with my final draft because I edited and revised a lot of the poem to make it better.
Summer
Summer
By: Nicholas Chang
When the final bell rings the sun will shine brighter
When the final bell rings the grass will look greener
Summer time is here and school is let out
All the kids will be free like flying bees
So much to do and so much to see
Like a sailor waiting for an ocean breeze
The trees grow faster and the flowers bloom brighter
The sun shines warmer with its glistering rays
As they peak through the tree tops after a summer rain
The ocean waves are calmer and the dolphins jump higher
All is better when summer is here
Reflection:
1- I published a nature/environment poem
2- I chose this environment because it’s my favorite part of year and I have the most fun during summer. I feel this because students can have a break from school and just have the whole day to do whatever they want like sports and hangout with friends.
3- I felt that it was a little difficult for me to write this poem because I haven’t had much experience writing poetry. However, at the same time I am writing about something I enjoy and take passion in which causes it to be a little bit easier.
4-The tone of my poem is excited and gleeful and the mood of my poem is peaceful.
5-The theme of my poem is everyone should have freedom.
6 a-“All the kids will be free like flying bees” ,”Like a sailor sailing through an ocean breeze”
b- Both of my quotes are similes because they are comparing two things with the words like or as.
c-My first quote contributes to the tone because it expresses how kids can’t wait for summer which relates to excitement. This quote also contributes to theme development by saying how the kids will be free which is related to freedom. My second quote contributes to the tone because it also shows signs of waiting by the sailor waiting for an ocean breeze. My second quote contributes to the theme because the sailor is sailing the ocean which shows signs of freedom.
7-Two ways I revised this poem was making the line “All the kids will be free like flying bees”, I originally had this line as “all the kids will flood out like a dandelion being blown” I made this change because the new line is much more concise and I think it sounds better. Another edit I made was adding the last line “All is better when summer is here” I think this line brings the poem all together and adds an actual ending than just have the line “The ocean waves are calmer and the dolphins jump higher”.
8-I am very satisfied with my final draft because I have worked very hard on this poem and it is something I like and care about. I also feel I can relate to the poem and hope other readers can too.
The Walk Off
By: Peter Hoenig
Down 7-3
The bases loaded
The bat handle greasy
The crowd silent
Butterflies in my stomach
The pitchers eyes beamed at me
Then the pitch
CRACK!
The ball shot into the air like a rocket
The other team in shock
I blazed around the bases
Gleaming at the crowd
The team with me on their back
Excitement all the way around
We won
- I published a sensory detail poem.
- I chose this event as the basis for my poem because it was an amazing moment in my life and I remembered every moment of it.
- The tone of my poem is victorious. Some lines that support this are “Excitement all the way around”,”We won”, and “The team with me on their back”. These support the tone because they have vocab that happens when you win such as excitement and the team carrying me on their backs.
- The theme of my poem is Every chance you don’t take is a missed opportunity. It is this because if I were to have told my coach to not put me in and that I was scared I would’ve never had one of the greatest moments of my life but I decided to take the chance.
- One piece of figurative language was, “CRACK!”, which is an onomatopoeia. This contributes to the development of the theme and tone because it is the first part where the reader realizes that I actually came through and succeeded in the chance I took. The second figurative language I chose was a hyperbole in “The ball shot into the air like a rocket” and I chose this to really show that I crushed the ball and it was going a long way.
- One revision that I made was changing joy to excitement in the second to last line. I did this because I felt like joy didn’t really fit my poem and excitement was a better fit. My second revision was I switched the order of “The crowd silent” and “Butterflies in my stomach”. I did this because it seemed more right when I went over reading it.
- It was pretty easy to write this poem because I remember this moment very vividly and could write about it easily.
- I am pretty satisfied with this final draft because it is pretty much the first poem I have written and I think I did a decent job.
Capitals vs. Lightning Game 7
By: Lisa Vu
It has been 20 years
Since we went to the Stanley Cup finals
Excitement was in the air
The game was endless
Fans screaming their heads off for the Capitals
We never gave up
We lost but we kept on going
It was so close yet so far
But the last game changed everything
We have another chance to win
And take home the cup
Work hard
Play hard
And never give up
1. I publish a Inspired by poem.
2. My source of inspiration was the Capitals game because they’re going to the Stanley Cup finals.
3. The tone of my poem is hopeful.
4. The theme of my poem is never give up.
5. “The game was endless” hyperbole, I put this figurative language in my poem to show how the game was nerve wracking and how it felt like it wasn’t gonna end.
“Fans screaming their heads off for the Capitals” hyperbole, I put this figurative language in my poem becasue it shows how excited and mad the game made the fans feel.
6. Revision 1: I changed “we work hard” to “work hard” because I think it sounds better.
Revision 2: I added “the” in between “but” and “last” because I think it would sound better.
7. It was easy to write this poem because I was really inspired by how hard the Capitals worked to get to where they are now.
8. I am very satisfied with my poem because I worked really hard on it and it’s about one of my favorite things, which is hockey.
Ode to the Pitohui
Bright orange feathers like the sun
Piercing red eyes
A silent warhorn, Warning the whole forest of its presence
Minute but deadly like a dart frog
It is the pitohui
Razor sharp beak and claws like samurai swords
Dangerous
Coat of brilliant orange feathers
Fatal
Ruby eyes like crimson flames of the abyss
Terrifying
Every beast and every being in the forest
Acknowledging the pitohui
The greenery and flowers part
Like the royal guard
The tigers and black bears bow
Like faithful generals
The sun shines down like a spotlight
In the spotlight
You ruffle your powerful wings
Your bold and beautiful colors, glistering in the sun
Like a star
Elegant and magnificent yet you are
The most lethal and poisonous bird known to man
The pitohui
Reflection
- I published an ode.
- I choose the Pitohui out of sheer luck. When I was looking for a random inspiration I came across an article about the Pitohui. I thought writing about a poisonous bird would be interesting so I wrote an ode.
- The tone of my poem is glorious.
- The theme of my poem is that the Pitohui should be respected and feared.
- Razor sharp beak and claws like samurai swords is a simile. This line shows that the Pitohui is dangerous, showing exactly why the bird should be feared. The tigers and black bears bow is an example of personification and alliteration. This line adds to the theme by showing respect to the Pitohui.
- I changed beautiful to elegant and magnificent because i wanted to use more advanced words to describe the bird and I had already used beautiful. I also added a line that says like the royal guard to emphasize the power of the bird.
- It was difficult to find an inspiration because I had no idea what to write about but after I decided that I was writing about the Pitohui it was easy.
- I think my final draft came out better than I thought it would. At first I thought I would have hard time adding figurative language, but I didn’t have much trouble coming up with lines for my ode.
You Don’t Know
By: Ritwik Rangu
Boom
Bang
Don’t tell me you know how I feel
Unless you have seen your best friend ooze blood
Heard ear piercing gunshots
Don’t tell me that they are free
I am not the man I used to be
Why did it happen to us
What did we do to deserve this
Friends and teachers you will be remembered
You will be in my heart forever
Please don’t forget about this
So don’t tell me you know how I feel
The Sea
By: Ojas Kathayat
A salty smell tickles my nose
I open my eyes as wide as the moon
I’m standing on the vast sea
Time is Frozen still and the water Twinkles like diamonds, without a hint of disturbance
Mesmerizing; controlling my every move
I’m having the time of my life as I sprint on the endless blue we call the sea
I lay down, staring at the vast sky, my back is towards the deep, dark sea
But, I’m having second thoughts on how exciting this is as I feel something is amiss
A bad feeling stirs deep within my heart
Suddenly, I hear it
*boom*
A chill as intense as a hail storm crawls down my spine
*boom*
I hear it again
Out the corner of my eyes, I see it
A bleak shadow that makes one’s blood turn cold with a glance stretches across the horizon
The wind blows stronger as moments pass
Clouds that could make a person faint by a single glimpse are starting to stain the sky, eventually unfolding as far as one can see
The Waves are now dancing like crazed humans
The sea that once was as serene as the fading sun is now as violent as a erupting volcano
As the dark expanse engulfs me within it arms,
I slowly lose consciousness
An Ode To The Sun
An Ode To The Sun
by:Danny Rutler
The Sun,
A fiery ball in the sky
You go to sleep in the night
You wake up with your morning shine
You are like a king sitting on his shrine
Like a giant light bulb,
You are so proud
Bringing light through the clouds
During the day you bring me joy
Like a child with a brand new toy
The love is like parents hugging a newborn baby
You let the animals come out to play
You rule the sky like Michael Jordan in the NBA
Your reflection on the open ocean
You care for me like you drank a love potion
For you give me the greatest love
You wake me up like a morning dove
When the clouds block your golden glow
You shine right through
And…
Put on a show
The Sun.
Reflection
- My poem was an Ode.
- I chose to write an ode about the sun because it is the most beautiful thing in the sky. Without the sun there would be no light and I feel we should be appreciative for that.
- The tone of my poem is very loving and appreciative.
- The theme is that we should take care of the sun and that we should appreciate it.
- “Like a child with a brand new toy.” This is a simile and it helps explain how much the sun fills me with joy. “You go to sleep in the night.” This is personification because the sun can’t actually go to sleep. It explains how the sun sets and the moon comes out in the night.
- One revision I did was change Lebron James to Michael Jordan. I did this because I really wanted to emphasize how the sun rules the sky. Another example is when I changed you glow right through to you shine right through because I used glow on the line before and I felt like it didn’t flow very well on the readers tongue.
- This poem was fairly easy to write because I have a large appreciation of the sun.
- I’m very satisfied with my final draft because I worked hard and I had a purpose behind writing it.