Thursday, October 29, 2020

an ode to my first seventh grade class

Last year, on the back of a test, I had my seventh graders write down what animal they were most like and why. Some of their answers (below) were rather poetic and inspired the following ode I mostly wrote last year, but just finished now.


Elsie is a quiet dragon

aching to explode.

A poet in the corner

striking fear into her foes.


Ariela is a trusty horse,

a steady, loyal friend.

Lydia- a soaring hawk,

it's shoulder painted red.


Nathan is an eagle,

flying wild with energy.

Sean, a sleepy, sassy sloth

hanging in a crecopia tree.


Sarah is a cashmere lop

with silky, white-blonde hair.

She lives inside a music box

and dances on the air.


Nora is a wild horse,

a beauty running free-

but never straying far from home,

loyal in liberty.


The first Luke's a quick-witted wolf,

creatively leading his pack.

He howls along to a distant song-

ideas echo back.


The second Luke's an eagle-

to spot him in the sky is rare.

Smart and well-protected,

he flies fearless through the air.


Wendy is a koala,

sleeping soundly in a faraway tree.

Lexi- a six-foot teddy bear

stuffed full with personality.


Noah is a tiger,

kind yet tough and down-to-earth.

Mercedes- a sweet baby alicorn,

full of mystery and mischief.


Jackson is a falcon,

with an eye for detail and beauty.

Declan is a monkey,

swinging sincere from tree to tree.


Portia is a monkey too,

but quite a different kind.

Something's hidden, something dark

is tangled in the vines.


I end with another lonely dragon

wandering through the school.

Ariel, red and filled with fire,

deep in her cave of shining jewels.


The original responses

W: I would be a koala, because they get to sleep up to 20 hours a day.

E: I would choose a dragon so my enemies would run away.

L: Wolf/African wild dog, because family and friends are my strengths and weakness, I swim well and like it, I am quick (witted and walking), man’s best friend, and loyal to friends.

N:  Animal- tiger. Why- fierce and fab, strong, tough.

A: I would be a horse because I feel I am steady and loyal.

N: I would be a wild horse because they are so free and can run very fast and they are very pretty.

S: A cashmere lop (rabbit) because they are very fast and insanely fluffy.

L: A red-shouldered hawk so I could fly.

M: A baby alicorn because I am often very sleepy, like to play, and I am pretty good at getting in trouble.

L: An eagle. First of all because I could fly (duh) and second of all eagles are a protected species so I wouldn’t have to worry about being hunted.

A: I would either be a dragon or a dog because I am a hoarder of stuff and because I am a follower.

L: A six foot tall stuffed bear.

D: A monkey because I’m funny and sometimes annoying.

P: I would be a monkey because they are crazy and put on masks like me.

J: I would be a peregrine falcon because they are super fast. I would also be a mockingbird so I could mock Sean.

S: I would be a sloth because I would get to live in trees and sleep a lot.

N: I want to be eagle because I really want to fly and eagle has great skills for hunting.

1 comment: