Imagism, Minimalism, Objectivism, Haiku

This week, we read three poems by 18th century Japanese poet and painter, Yosa Buson: "Coolness," "Early Summer Rain," and "Sparrow Singing." Then we looked at William Carlos Williams' classic minimalist poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow." Students were asked what these four poems had in common, and in what ways were they different? Some were familiar with haiku, but instead of sticking with the traditional haiku syllabic formula, students were encouraged to write poems that created a simple, but evocative image in the mind of the reader, in three lines with no more than five words per line.

There were many terrific responses to this idea -- here's a selection.


Ms. Jones, 3rd grade

The Forest
Devlin H.

The forest –
knocked down for the house
of the future village.

Wind
Jennifer H.

the wind pushes
the paper where
did the wind come from?

The Rock
Racquel K.

The rock
knows nothing
it has no brain

Toys
Andrew M.

Toys –
they're playing
in stillness

Bird Singing
Asala M.

the bird singing
peep peep peep twee twee
the cool bird singing

The Skateboarder
Alex P.

the skateboarder
the skateboarder
went down the hill

The Wind
Jerry T.

The wind blows
it takes the river
with it.

The Zoo
Eric W.

At the zoo I see
a panda, a panda
that is eating bamboo.

School
Angela Y.

School –
it's always a long day
at school. Yawn.

Ms. Goode, 5th grade

Dog
MaryLou B.

Dog sitting on a
log silent, quiet
cricket, cricket, cricket

The Wolf
Alex B.

Woooooo!
The howl of the wolf
bouncing off the hill tops.

Waves Crashing
Sang H.

Crashing wave
hurting the beach
sand.

Hail
Keyla J.

hail –
hard little
hail falling

Caves
Brandy K.

it's dark in there
sounds echo loud
louder it gets

Lonely Life
Luis L.

Lonely life –
moves along, everything
never noticed

Nature
Long L.

Animals on
the African
plains.

Flower
Camila M.

swish! I hear the trees,
a popping from flowers
the day is blue, happy

Sand
Sharon M.

Sand –
in tiny pieces
they know everything.

Apple
Yusra M.

red,
nasty,
healthy, that's why it's nasty.

Not Named Poem #3
Aimee P.

Friends.
Fragile and sweet.
Forever here or gone.

Ugly Pink Folder
Brenda Q.

Ugly pink folder –
papers fall out
and hit the floor.

Paw Prints in the Snow
Marti R.

The breath of
the wintry wolf –
paw prints witnessing...

Dog Groomer
Cristina T.

Dog groomer –
hair falling, comb in hand,
panting on his stool crying.

Stupid Owl!
Ruben V.

I wake up
and I hear
the stupid owl.

Nature
Stephanie Z.

Wind blowing
thunder booming,
lightning shocking.

Mr. Sandlass, 4th grade

Floor Scrape
Madison B.

Nobody helps it
Nobody notices it
Nobody thinks about it

Yoda's Popcorn
Stephen D.

Buttery and purple,
no one eats it
except Yoda.

Summer Waterfall
Danyel H.

Summer waterfall
fresh and relaxing air
colorful fish at the bottom

The Road
Klea K.

The road was silent.
Yet never crossed a path.
Road still silent.

The Still Tree
Cindy L.

The still tree
will not move for anything
only wind, will move him.

Dog and Snow
Khang N.

snow's falling all day
into the dog's
sloppy face

Singing Bird
Milad Q.

The bird sings its soft
voice its voice is as
soft as a leaf falling

Attacking the Hoop
Toni S.

The hoop is the target
of many players.
The hoop is the bullseye.

Rain
Yara S.

Rain, I see you everyday
you drop like money
I want to catch you.

Black Bear
Sam S.

The black bear –
sitting alone
by the waterfall

The Word Happy
Darius V.

The word Happy
brings joy, it also
beats anger.