Pursuit of Poetry:
Ms. Baumgarten's 4th grade class

[On November 29, 2000, Ms. Baumgarten's 4th grade class at Jefferson Elementary School in Berkeley, California wrote this group poem. The class was preparing to visit The Oakland Museum's exhibit, "Secret World of the Forbidden City: Splendors from China's Imperial Palace."]

Also see the individual poems written by the students.

I Am—

I am the bright shooting star.
I am the graceful tiger running
in the wind and sun.

I am the fast cheetah.

I am the fast cheetah running
through the bright hills of the woods.

I am the fast cow who goes moo! moo!
I am hate like a broken heart.

I am the humming bird singing
when it feels happy that
its belly is full.
I swim, the hammerhead shark
when it's looking for food.

I am the cute panda that rode on a horse's back.
I'm the fierce bobcat.
I'm the fast horse.

I am the fast mountain lion running in the rain.
I am the smart, slick rabbit.

I am the clever mouse
who can spy on people.
I'm the funny, dumb clown.

I'm the sly fox or panther as
         I creep up behind my friend.
I tiptoe up
        so close                    she doesn't even know
                that I'm right behind her.
I pop up my head;              she runs like a mouse
as I tell her who I am.

I am the circus seal tap dancing.

I am the clever blue bird
building a nest for its young.

I am the fast thunderstorm that
throws a strike.
I am the clever rabbit.

I am the fast shark who swims
the whole Bay Area in
less than a minute.

I am the fast peregrine falcon when it flies.
I am the strange ox.

I am the dolphin who can
dive
to the bottom of the sea.

I am the sourest lemon
in the whole world.

I am the jaguar, artist of the jungle.

I draw as beautifully as the sky who
shapes its clouds
every single day.

I draw as beautifully as the forest
when the wind is
going through the trees.

I am the lovely pike rose.
I am my bad dog Coko.

I am the kind mother horse
feeding her babies.

I am the beautiful red petal flower
growing out of the soil.
Water me love me plant me then
I will grow to be your pride and joy.
I am the rich butter chocolate, creamy, smooth.

* * *

Students also wrote individual poems responding to four different assignments. One project was to emphasize contrast using simile and metaphor in a poem about "I Am. . .". Some students also wrote poems about the Museum Exhibit. Another assignment was to write a "translation" of a poem by Wang Wei using only the literal translation of the Chinese words to make a poem in English. Finally, some students wrote while listening to traditional Chinese music and did poems to the tune of "Morning in the Miao Mountains." See poems by: