I turn meat in a pan
and watch the sides brown.
I light a candle
and sit down.
I observe my abode
and think tender thoughts,
wooden spoons, welcome homes,
winter boots, metal pots.
I cut up some carrots
and make up the bed,
set the table for two,
picture you in my head.
Calm, content
to watch and wait,
to feel the warm glow
of candlelight.
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.
The sun kissed my face and my shoulders with light,
leaving cookie dough spots on my skin, ice cream white.
The wind tossed my hair, like the sea, into waves
leaving stormy swirls only a sailor could brave.
The sky filled my eyes with a curious blue,
leaving calm pools of color for you to walk through.
So step into me slowly, swim into the sea.
Hold my face, like the sun, in your hands tenderly.
Then sweeter and bolder, both splashing and still,
we'll find beauty in the colors, the blending of wills.
