"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn," as famous 18th century English poet Thomas Gray once wrote.Turns out that Skinner students know quite a bit about writing breathing, burning poems – 24 6th grade poets will have their poems exploring personification published in A Celebration of Poets published by Creative Communication. These students are in the running for the competition's "Top Ten" awards.
"We would like to congratulate you and your teaching efforts," wrote assistant editor Shannon Hernandez to Skinner language arts teacher Jessica Goebel. "Clearly your students have a great talent for writing poetry but the teacher is the one who helps bring that talent to the surface."
Consider this poem, written by 6th grader Avery Ahern:
The Rainstorm
A steady drum roll I hear
as your army chases the horizon
throwing a gray blanket over the world.
When you approach,
you unleash the fury of your crackling whip
and shower me in a thousand wet kisses,
which I return to you with a kiss of my own.
A welcome gift.
A goodbye present.
For soon you move on,
sharing your show with others
while the frightened sun curiously peeks out
from behind your gray clouds
boldly casting golden rays of light through the fading raindrops
creating a beautiful display of vivid colors;
peace
after your thrilling performance
We are so proud of Avery and all the Skinner poets – and are grateful for outstanding Skinner teachers like Ms. Goebel! Stay tuned for more information about our poets and the contest. For more information, please visit www.poeticpower.com.
