Pursuit of Poetry:
Ms. Toczynski's Class
[On December 11, 2000, Ms. Toczynski's 7th grade class at
Wood Middle School in Alameda, California wrote this group poem, playing
with metaphor and simile. 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, after their visit to the exhibit.]
I am—
I am the graceful cat that sings to the moon.
I am the mighty waterfall that can never be stopped.
I am the bright thousand suns that erupt
in one supernova.
I am the beautiful rose that blooms in the spring.
I am the creative and talented waterfall
that screams water.
I am the crazy monkey that swings from a tree and
cratches its armpits and
eats a banana
I am the fast cheetah that is light as a feather.
I'm the skinny skeleton that has only skinny bones.
I am the quiet snake behind you
ready to strike.
I am the smart fox that fools dogs.
I am the quiet lion about to pounce.
I am the fast tiger that captures its prey.
I am the hard to find cheetah that pounces in the tall grass.
I am the calm tiger that is sleeping under an African sun.
I am the mean tiger that eats people and fights.
I am the tall mountain that reaches to the moon.
I am the butterfly that shows his color as
it flies so gracefully.
I am the sweet honey that the bees make.
I am the smart monkey that's climbing a tree limb.
I am the smart wild turkey that runs through the forest.
I am the nice baby kitten when it is first born.
I am the smart lemming that jumps off the cliff.
I am the gorgeous night lights of San Francisco.
I am the fast cheetah running for its prey.
I am as good at snowboarding as a bird flying.
I am as much a daredevil as Evil Kneivill. I try and
do stuff that is
hard,
stupid,
funny, and daring.
I do this in the sun and
in the mud and
off jumps as big as the sky.
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