Young Poets

August 28, 2014

“In the Woods” by Ian Jasper OsbornPosted by

Ian Jasper Osborn (age 4)

IN THE WOODS

I’m in the woods
I’m blending in
If I were in the woods 
I’d totally blend in
If something was chasing me
I could just run in my shoes
They’re super-fast runners
Maybe like a fox
Brown and white in the back
And white on the tail
It feels good because I 
Could just blend into a tree
I would find a brown tree
And stand very still
Ready for anything under the sky!

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

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Why do you like to write poetry?

Ian Jasper Osborn: “I like to write poetry because I can say anything that comes to my mind.”

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August 22, 2014

“Twine: A Prayer” by Chloe OrtizPosted by

Chloe Ortiz (age 14)

TWINE: A PRAYER

God is a rope.
Long and thick,
it pulls us out of the water.
The roughness burns our skin.
We continue to climb, the waves
are still splashing. Our hands are red
and we shout to God. 
We feel his leniency, strong and continuous.
Then, with a flick of his wrist,
we are flung back into the sea.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Chloe Ortiz: “I like to write poetry because when I read a good poem, it makes me feel good and I smile. I would like to make other people feel good too.”

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August 21, 2014

“Confiding with a Hen” by Chloe OrtizPosted by

Chloe Ortiz (age 14)

CONFIDING WITH A HEN

I tell her 
the rye truth.
We sit in the morning,
dew the soil staining.
She cocks her head, 
I can tell she is listening.
Her small eyes 
fill with tilled earth. 
When I leave,
she pecks the ground,
searching.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Chloe Ortiz: “I like to write poetry because when I read a good poem, it makes me feel good and I smile. I would like to make other people feel good too.”

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August 15, 2014

“Cat Love” by Natalie Belle NealPosted by

Natalie Belle Neal (age 9)

CAT LOVE

Lick. Lick. 
My cat’s tongue is like sandpaper. 
It’s a nice sensation. 
It feels like a warm kiss. 
If my cat could talk I’d say, kissy, and he’d say, okay. 
Then I’d ask, do you love me, and he’d answer, love is not divided. 
It goes on forever. 
I love you.
Lick. Lick.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Natalie Belle Neal: “I like to write poetry because it helps me express my feelings better than saying it. Poetry helps me tell people about what I like. For example, my poem ‘Cat Love’ helped me explain that I love cats.”

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August 14, 2014

“Haiku” by Bree, Liya & Anya MiksovskyPosted by

Bree, Liya & Anya Miksovsky (ages 5, 9, 11)

HAIKU

A bundle of sticks
warm in the cold.
Nest.
—Liya
 
 
Water gurgling, water splashing
rushing towards me and flowing away
as if it can’t stand to sit still
—Liya
 
 
You know it’s true
because I said it.
Write that down.
—Bree
 
 
a yellow orangey leaf 
falls in front of me and joins
a pile on the ground
—Liya
 
 
pictures of bells
at midnight you can almost
hear their lovely sound
—Liya and Bree
 
 
a tiny depressing little ember
in the back of the fireplace
suddenly roars into life
—Anya
 
Liya and Bree
fight over a closet but then
I get to sleep there ha ha
—Anya
 
 
Grandma meditates
while Liya and Bree screech
in their falling tent
—Anya

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

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August 8, 2014

“A Journey to Heaven” by Madeline McEwenPosted by

Madeline McEwen (age 11)

A JOURNEY TO HEAVEN

Across the meadows
Over the deserts
Through the oceans
Onto the clouds
Under the trees
Beyond the valleys
Over the mountains
Past the cities
Towards my father 
Towards his love
Towards the heaven that lies above

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

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Why do you like to write poetry?

Madeline McEwen: “Every emotion, every feeling I have can be expressed with a word. But poetry isn’t just words muddled in a sentence. It gives us beauty even when the world seems ugly. That is why I love it so much.”

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August 1, 2014

“Summer” by Graham LinthorstPosted by

Graham Linthorst (age 9)

SUMMER

Summer is like eating cotton candy.
 
Summer eats candy apples,
it drinks lemonade.
 
It is friends with spring, winter, and fall.
 
Practically perfect summer
walks along slow, salty, smooth sand of beach.
 
Summer is a month of joy,
a month of everything you could ever think of.
 
The trees blow through the wind.
The trees shiver.
Leaves blow in the wind.
Suddenly leaves start to fall.
They fall deep, 
from high to low,
slow or fast to the ground.
 
I hear the waves crashing and rolling.
They are high, medium or low.
Sometimes they are slow,
and sometimes they are fast.
 
I see children getting knocked off their boards
by the crashing waves.
 
I guarantee this is going to be
the best summer ever.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

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Why do you like to write poetry?

Graham Linthorst: “It feels good to write. It makes me imagine better.”

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