Young Poets

July 25, 2014

“The Tired Face of the Magician Rescues Untruths” by Stephanie LesterPosted by

Stephanie Lester (age 12)

THE TIRED FACE OF THE MAGICIAN RESCUES UNTRUTHS

With the threads
Of his footprints
He sets the darkness
As his wispy figure fades
Into his final act
The sounds of traffic burning
Their flickering headlights
His life’s ambitions

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

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__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Stephanie Lester: “I like to write poetry because it lets me write in my own language; it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but myself. What I imagine becomes reality on paper.”

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July 18, 2014

“The Pangolin’s Love Story” by Skylar KendallPosted by

Skylar Kendall (age 11)

THE PANGOLIN’S LOVE STORY

I fell in love at the farmer’s market
With the prettiest pangolin the world has seen.
Her scales were lovely, so plump and smooth.
They shined with a polished gleam, deep green.
 
I was knocked back by her elegance,
a blast of pure gorgeousness.
Her olive scales, her lovely sheen!
I had to befriend that miss.
 
My legs wiggled like jelly,
as I inched towards the beautiful girl.
My cheeks turned to a bright red,
and my heart fluttered and twirled.
 
I finally managed to say “Hello,”
And ask her, “What’s your name?”
I eagerly awaited her answer
But alas, no reply came.
 
I told her of my life in India
escaping famished trackers.
I escaped losing my scales for medicine
And being served with crackers.
 
I hid away upon a boat
To avoid those terrible straits.
I slipped into the cargo hold
To fend off those dreadful fates.
 
Within about a week,
I arrived at Fisk Mill Cove.
I rushed to the market to find some food,
And there I found my love.
 
Once I finished telling my story,
my girl just sat there like a rock.
She didn’t budge a single inch,
And she didn’t make a sound or talk.
 
“Mademoiselle, are you okay? 
Is everything alright? 
Maybe you’re hungry, 
so I’ll go get us a bite.”
 
I walked over to the nearest anthill 
and picked up some ants to munch. 
I laid them at the lady’s feet,
but she didn’t seem to want lunch.
 
I took a closer look at her, 
but I couldn’t find her eyes or tail. 
And then it dawned on me that green 
is not the normal color of our scales …
 
I fell in love for the first time—
but it was all a joke.
The love of my life turned out to be
a ripe globe artichoke.
 
I took the artichoke home, 
and I ate it with some chips.
That artichoke didn’t make a good girlfriend, 
but it sure made a good dip!

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Skylar Kendall: “I’m a musician, and writing songs is very similar to writing poetry. They both use rhythm and sound to create a certain feeling. Poetry is a way to express my thoughts, and to share a moment with anyone who reads my words. For this poem, I was trying to get people to think of pangolins, and make people laugh.”

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July 4, 2014

“Why Should We in Some Forgotten Corner” by Emma Faye JewellPosted by

Emma Faye Jewell (age 13)

WHY SHOULD WE IN SOME FORGOTTEN CORNER

erasure from “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan
we are
                  halfway to the 
galaxy
                                                                                           within 
          are                    worlds and
things                              beings                    civilizations
 
                    seashells                    corals   
Nature laboring for aeons
                    some hundred billion        galaxies  each with
                    a hundred billion stars
          In the face of
                                                      the Sun
                              Why should we                                        in some
forgotten corner
                                                            brimming over with life
                    do not yet know                              beginning our explora-
tions                                                            we are hard pressed
 
                                                   the only planet
                                                            utterly lost
          our journey                                                            on Earth
 
    sparse      obscure      unpretentious
                       seen                    in the
                                                            huge pinwheel of stars
 
                                                                                                    spiral
arms turning slowly                                                           Now
                                 we find ourselves falling
          an obscure
                    impression
    stars streaming by us     a vast array 
luminous stars
others
                   solitary

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Emma Faye Jewell: “I like to write poetry because I can express myself freely and rhythmically. Being a musician, the sound of poetry is something I love. I am also an avid reader, so this poem was interesting for me to write since I sampled from published text to create something unique and totally different from what was originally there.”

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June 27, 2014

“Famine” by Remington JanssenPosted by

Remington Janssen (age 9)

FAMINE

Famine sneaks from house to house,
Stealing essence
From sleeping bodies
Buried beneath heavy covers.
Creeping across snow covered fields
To feast on simple creatures
Pulsating in the cold.
Scarcity deprives abundance;
Pantries lack,
Fields want.
Hunger’s work is done.
It prowls and slinks away.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Remington Janssen: “When I first started writing poetry, I thought it was ‘different.’ I didn’t really like writing at all. My teacher, Matt, at the Nueva School, taught me that poems are the skeletons of story. You connect a pile of interesting bones together in a way that makes sense and moves fluidly. Now I enjoy creating ‘stories’ that stand out. ‘Famine’ was originally an assignment to create a winter holiday card to send to our families. I decided to change things up a bit.”

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June 20, 2014

“Frozen Shadows” by Jorel HillPosted by

Jorel Hill (age 15)

FROZEN SHADOWS

Why is a blade made? 
Is it to attack or defend?
Is it for fact or pretend?
Why, in a game, is a gun so fun?
Is it the noise or the damage?
Is it for toys or a bandage?
Why must war be full of gore?
Can it not be spoken?
Or do bones have to be broken?
Are we bound to die from an explosion or erosion? 
From age or rage?
From disease or overseas? 

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Jorel Hill: “I like creating poems because they are more fun than other types of writing. I can express emotion in clever ways and make rhymes chime.”

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June 13, 2014

“Blowing a Kiss to My Sister” by Courtlyn HelderPosted by

Courtlyn Helder (age 12)

BLOWING A KISS TO MY SISTER

My hand went up to my eyes
getting wide as I laid a soft kiss
on the palm of my hand.
I lowered my hand, forming a 90 degree angle,
and then supporting it on my bony chin
I watched my sister do the same,
revealing her beaming face.
As we blew our flower petal
kisses off our hands,
prepared to catch each other’s,
and gobble up the comfort wrapped within them,
the sting of wetness welled up in my eyes.
A dark storm cloud hovered over me,
giving me the unwanted worry of her safety
overseas in Uganda.
The loneliness of the cloud
gave me the thought
that this would be my last way to connect with her
for what would feel like the time it takes
to travel the whole world.

—from 2014 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Courtlyn Helder: “Writing has always been one of my strengths, so when I discovered poetry, I was opened up to a whole new world. I like this world because you write in a unique way. You get to use words to describe things in different and unusual ways.”

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