Odes

One consistently popular poetic form among students is the ode. They are drawn to its exalted style, used to celebrate everyday things otherwise taken for granted. We read Pablo Neruda's "Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market" and discussed how he describes the tuna, as well as how he feels about it. Students were then given the choice of writing either an ode to something they love, or an anti-ode to something they hate. There were so many excellent responses, it was difficult to choose, but here is a representative selection.

Ms. Jones, 3^rd grade

Ode to Chocolate

Allison C.

Among the table

sat a bar

of chocolate

melting in

the hot sun

my eyes glazed

down at the

chocolate as if

my eyes were

glued to the chocolate

bar

Ode to Books

Jennifer H.

Books are cool

and good to read.

They are good

to take out

when you're bored.

Some books are

big, some books

are small.

My head

is full of

books to read.

They make you

smart.

Anti-Ode to Tests

Aleena I.

Oh test how you

bother me with your

hard questions. You

make me cry when

my grades go low.

You knock me off

the honor roll!

Anti-Ode to Homework

Zohaib S.

Homework! Homework! Noooo...

Homework! I don't like

homework. The homework comes

from teacher mind!

My mind gots wild. 2+52, 3+1, 300.

Wwwooo. My mind hurts.

Ode to My Dog

Jerry T.

Among all the pets

I picked you.

For when I came

to your cage

you looked at me

with your beady

black eyes.

You tilted your

head, and

licked my hand.

As I looked

at the other

dogs, you

stood on your

hind legs, and

looked at me.

From that point

on I couldn't

resist you and

that's when I

knew, that I

needed you.

Ode to Candy

Eric W.

I like candy it

is sweet, it has

sugar, it smells good,

every kid likes candy,

it is great, it

gets you very hyper,

no one hates it,

no one can resist

it, it's the most

wonderful thing in

the world, it gives

you cavities, you have

to go to the dentist,

it tastes different

flavors.

Ms. Goode, 5^th grade

Ode to Guitar Hero

Georel A.

Those about to rock,

we salute you,

press those tiny frets,

green, yellow, red,

blue, orange,

keep strumming,

hold the fret,

whammy, use the whammy.

If you have all

games,

more than 100 songs

of rock, metal, and jazz.

Rock with your friend,

let him/her cooperate,

be filled with spirit,

you're going to fail,

activate it,

tilt your guitar up,

STAR POWER!

Ode to Ms. Goode

Dragos B.

Ms. Goode is a

great teacher

she is realistic.

When she means

it she means it.

She is nice but

when you get on

her nerves she

does not kid around.

Some people think

she is mean but many

think she is very, very

nice.

She has very many

nice, nice ideas!!

Ode to Summer

Sang H.

All summer

so much heat

green seas

all around

blue skies

high above

the summer cruise

is sailing

So relaxed

in a good

mood

the king of

seasons

the hot

sand at

the beach

the cool

water in

the lake

Summer is the

greatest

Ode to Nice Teachers

Keyla J.

Nice teachers

are funny. They

are fun too. Ms. Goode

is a nice teacher. Ms. Thomas

is funny and fun. I'll never

have a not funny teacher.

Ode to the Books in the World

Aimee P.

Pages rustling,

beckoning.

Casting a spell,

you are trapped.

Struggling to get out,

you lose the battle.

Dragons and knights fight,

a girl,

losing her parents to...

Death.

The pages whisper and...

you listen.

Horror, death, love.

All in the books.

Stop...

and listen.

The books are whispering,

beckoning.

Ode to My Small Necklace

Cristina T.

The beautiful necklace

I have never worn.

It just sits in

the last solitary box.

I don't

know why I have

never worn it.

The solitary box

has its key.

I just

want to find the

key, and stick it

in. then I'll see

the blue sapphire

and stare at it.

That sparkly

dazzling beautiful

necklace, that

I would wear.

But I really

don't care!

Mr. Sandlass, 4^th grade

Anti-Ode to Spinach

George L.

Spinach not cool

Spinach smells like my

dad's gym socks

My mom makes me

eat it

It's all leaf

It's very green

It's disgusting

Ode to My Family

Kaelin M.

My family I love

because they

will not

hurt me and I

can trust them with

my secrets. When

I am sad they

warm my heart,

they also make

me feel good.

Instead of making

me feel bad they

will encourage

me.

Ode to My Sammy Sosa Bobblehead

Sam S.

Sammy Sosa bobblehead,

just sitting by yourself,

bored,

having headaches,

always feeling blue,

and never getting attention.

But when I go

to bed,

you are probably

always very happy.

Sammy Sosa,

you are my

favorite baseball player.

Conversation Poems

Denis Johnson's poem, "Traveling" features two characters talking in a barbershop about a third person who is not there; a fourth character sits quietly and listens to their conversation. Inspired by the poem, students were asked to write their own "talking" poems.

Ms. Goode, 5^th grade

The Haircut

Vivian C.

Sitting alone, no one to

talk to. Eating my sandwich.

While eating hearing a suspicious

conversation about “the haircut.”

Elizabeth complaining about her

haircut to Anabell. “I hate my

haircut.”

“It looks fine,” said Anabell.

Sigh. “My hair

is sooo short I can't

even tie it. I hate that

barber, she cut five inches

off my hair. It used

to be twelve inches, and

now. What should I

do?” said Elizabeth.

“You should leave it

alone and ignore what

people say about it, OK?”

“Well, OK, I should

ignore them. Well

thanks.”

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Camila M.

Hi! I say to my friend

Jackie. Hi! How are you?

says Jackie. I'm good, you?

Fine. So what place

did you get? I ask

her. 2^nd is what she

says. I'm in a dim

lighted room with a

bunch of gymnastics

equipment. OMG! Are

you serious? I am

so amazed, that is

no fair, I won 6^th!

Eeerrgg! Didn't you

roll off the mat?

Yes, but Matt slipped

and still got 1^st place.

Oh well! And we walk

away laughing.

The Conversation

Aimee P.

I plop down on the bench with my tray,

filled with smelly, hard, mushy, lumpy who-knows-whats.

Surrounded by slurping, chomping, chewing, crunching,

I lift my spork.

I move my who-knows-whats around and finally,

I chew and I listen.

“Guess what?” says someone.

“OMG!! Guess what I heard?” says another.

“What?!” says a third.

Filled with curiosity,

I listen harder and harder.

“Did you hear about *whisper* and *whisper*?”

“Really? *giggle* Wow!!” says an excited voice.

RING!!!!!

I will never know who whisper and whisper

are.

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Haris S.

I was sitting by the captain's chair that day, bored,

I saw same old outer space through the windows when I heard the captain scream.

He ran from the bridge and grabbed the radio. “Houston, we have a horrible problem!”

“What is it, Johnny?” came a man's voice.

“We ran out of Chinese food!” the captain cried.

“Nooo! The horror! I know how you feel, buddy, we'll send up a Chinese food tank.”

“What a bunch of weenies,” I muttered.

In four minutes the tank crashed into our ship and captain stopped sucking his thumb.

“The Chinese food is here!” The captain ran to it like a long lost son.

Then I heard a grinding sound, oh boy.

“Captain, come on,” I shouted. “No way, I'm not done with the eggrolls.”

“What's more important, your life or your eggrolls?” “Why, eggrolls!”

“Oh, for cryin' out loud!” I grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him to the

shuttle. “Nooo, they have no tacos in there!” he shouted.

“Oh, shut up,” I said.

And I grabbed an eggroll.

Mr. Sandlass, 4^th grade

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Kayla H.

Frog: Hello Toad!

Toad: Hi Frog!

Frog: Want to go to the swamp?

Toad: I would love to.

walk...walk...walk...

Frog: Yay we're here!

Toad: Let's go swimming!

splash...splash...splash

Frog: Let's get out of the water.

Toad: OK.

drip...drop...drip...drip

Frog: That was the best!

Toad: I know.

A Drinking Talk

Khang N.

“Let's have some refreshments,” said

a man on a sofa. “Yeah,” said the

other man. A big waiter came out

with tea and peas and with

two napkins shaped like T and P. “Wooo,” said

the man on the sofa, looking at the

napkins. “T and P.” “Yeah, delicious peas

and sweet peas,” said the other man.

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Minh N.

Where did you get your snake? said Stephen.

I got it at Petsmart, said Minh. Why didn't

you get me one? said Stephen. I thought you

said you were allergic, said Minh. And why can't

you rent one yourself? said Minh. Because I don't

know how to get one, said Stephen. Fine I'll get

you one. Sigh, said Minh.

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Diana P.

Nancy was standing at a restaurant

at Yum Yum. She was having an order.

Someone came behind her. It was

a woman. The woman said, “Excuse me?” Nancy

did not move. She told her, “I'm making

an order. Do you understand?”

The woman said, “I'm sorry, I have to eat.”

The sky was gray and starting to

rain. “Hey sit with me, let's talk,” said

the woman. Nancy sat with

her and became friends until

the rain stopped.

Ms. Jones, 3^rd grade

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Samir A.

“Hey, where did you get that

engine?” said the car. “I got it from the

repair shop,” said the truck. “Hey, I need

to get one like yours because mine

is really junky,” said the car. “I'll

tell you where and you can drive

there,” said the truck. And the

car did.

Untitled (Conversation Poem)

Racquel K.

hey, pencil hey, pen where

you goin to candy land oh can

I come ahhh sure if you want I just

said I want to come! Oh you did.

Yeah I did OK come. On everything

there is candy pen said so I

can eat all of it said pen not

all of it said pencil ohhh that's

good you're fatter than before oh we

have to leave OK bye, bye wait

pen said. But pencil didn't listen

why do you leave meeee!

Pencil vs. Pen

David L.

One day a pencil and a pen were

walking down a block.

They never knew how to talk.

So one day they found themselves

on a bay. So first the pen

started to say

“Pens do not need to be sharpened”

so the pencil said, “Well I can be

erased.” So the pen and pencil fought

for the whole century.

Jam and Peanut Butter

Andrew M.

“Hey, Jam is better than Peanut

Butter,” said Jam. “No it isn't.

Peanut Butter is better than Jam,”

said Peanut Butter.

“No it isn't.”

“Yes it is.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Hey, I want a Peanut Butter and

Jam sandwich,” said a boy.

“He likes both of us,” said Jam and

Peanut Butter.

Jungle

Divya P.

The rain was getting heavier.

The lion was getting hungrier and hungrier.

Lion said, “I'm hungrier than ever.” Then

on the other side of the jungle the

zebra was so fat. He said, “I'm going

to go for a jog.” At the middle of

the jungle there was a party.

The lion and the zebra met.

The lion said, “I am going to eat

you up.” The zebra said, “No way.”

And the zebra was never seen

again.

Conversation

Angela Y.

“Can you come over to my house today?”

Allison asked me. “Sure,” I answered. “Let's go!”

“What should we do first?” Allison asked.

“Homework, so then we will have more

time to play!” I answered again.

“Let's work now,” said Allison.

“We are done!” we said.

“LET'S PLAY!” we yelled.

Room Poems

This week, students read Weldon Kees' "Robinson." They were asked to describe things in and outside of Robinson's room, as well as how the poem made them feel. They were then asked to write their own room poems.

Ms. Goode, 5^th grade

The Staircase

Rhys B.

The staircase in the basement is unknown.

Only my cat knows. So dark, so lonely,

so secretive.

Everything he takes there is never

seen again. “Toys,” homework, dead bugs,

who knows what? All I know is

it's a secret? But then again

that's my cat to know

and me to find out.

The Room

Teksong E.

The room is dull,

The room is what used to be,

The room is nobody.

The closet is nothing,

The closet has no clothes,

The closet doesn't have anything.

The room is dark,

The room is a gray world,

The room used to have life.

My Room

Edina H.

Every time I walk into it the

yellow wall surrounds me.

The mess stings my eyes.

My sister enters into it when I

wasn't watching.

There is my desk with marker

scribbles on it, my computer is

turned on with her picture on it.

My TV is on Barney and my

bed is all messy.

My rocking chair has papers on it,

and my drawers are all open.

That's how my room looks when

my sister goes in it.

Class Room

Chanel M.

Books. Tests. All every day.

Sitting, writing all the same

day, writing on the board

day after day.

Getting paper cuts, getting

hurt by sitting on the

chair. Getting arm cramps

every single day.

The Room

Brenda Q.

The room is silent

when everyone leaves.

The batteries of the clock

die.

The television is broken.

The phone exploded.

The dog jumped out the

window.

The toys are gone.

The bed is hideous.

The painting is black and white.

The room is just broke.

The house should be on an extreme,

extreme makeover.

The Imaginary Room

Marti R.

By the hallway on

the wall, an imaginary door.

She opens it, green chairs,

a purple bed, a window

with rain and sun, a dresser

the color of the

world, with

blue spots on the walls,

and red stripes on the

floor, a crackling noise

to be heard, a tank

with fish, small, with orange

feathers, she walks out,

and still seen, looking

Room 119

Cristina T.

The fragile desks that lose their screws.

The blue chairs that squiggle and move. The board

erased and smudged, written with words you

can't even read. The computer with all the

information you need. The walls so blue and

yellow. Our teacher's desk, so brown and mellow.

The pencils on the floor, makes the

teachers expect more. The classroom rules

so hard to listen to. The classroom still

expects more from you.

My Imaginary Room

Saleh Y.

The room is so quiet

I'm not there where am I?

This is not my room.

This is not my room.

This place is dirty, my

place is clean. There are

socks everywhere, the

clothes everywhere, the

bed is messy and I wake

up. It is my room.

My Room

Stephanie Z.

The night so dark

see nothing at all.

It's all pitch black

there's nothing to

see it's all so

bad. You can't see

your sister, you

can't see the closet

it's all pitch black.

When you wake up in the morning

light it's all so bright you see

my sister sleeping

in her bed. You

can see all the

things it looks amazing.

Mr. Sandlass, 4^th grade

Room

Sargon D.

Max comes in his room. It has a

china with old plates and old glasses. It

has a chandelier with 1,000 lights.

His room is dark blue. It matches

his eyes. He has a family

picture. A nice carpet and a fur rug.

A cozy fireplace and an enormous

bed. It is a nice and 70-90 foot

room.

The Room

Elena D.

Everything is colorful, the

bed, walls, and pictures. It is

messy like it has been

destroyed but it was not it

was only lived in by three

kids.

Room

Danyel H.

Colorful pictures upon the walls.

Scary skeletons falling on the floor.

Brown desks that are not very strong.

Old books, the pages falling off.

Works all around.

The Class Room

Kayla H.

Full room quiet class.

12 girls 21 boys 33 students

all together. Lots of books so

little paper. Sink in the back,

board in the front. That's what is

in the class room.

Bedroom

Muneeb Q.

In the bedroom there's a closet

and there's a bed, the bed is soft.

Like an angle flying above the sky.

There's lots of clothes in the sky.

Untitled (Room Poem)

Calvin T.

The room is silent with no one there

beds and chairs feel so unused

clocks still ring for no one but

themselves

Ms. Jones, 3^rd grade

Untitled (Room Poem)

Michelle A.

My room has a bunk bed,

a lamp, two closets, a computer,

a radio, two beanbags, two shelves,

a TV, and my Barbie place.

I usually stay in my

room with my hamster but

my hamster is in the living

room. He is because it is too

hot in my room. I share my

room with my brother. I do

because our place to live

has only two rooms. I live

in a basement.

The Room

Griffin B.

I'm surrounded by them but they're

Not alive, they are stuffed, they

Can't hurt me, they are stuffed,

How can they? They are stuffed.

They are my teddy bears.

My Room

Aleena I.

My room is bright orange. There are

colorful clothes all around. My bed

is pushed to the side. It's a bunk bed.

My sister is in there too, she is throwing

a fit as usual. There are two shelves

pushed against another wall. One is

mine. I wish I could move.