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Poetry Friday is with Catherine at Reading to the Core
Happy Birthday, Billy Collins! His 76th birthday was on March 22nd.
I introduced my students to the poetry of Billy Collins with this poem, The Trouble with Poetry. The poem gives good advice about writing poems.
“The trouble with poetry is…
it encourages the writing of more poetry…
the longing to steal,
to break into the poems of others
with a flashlight and a ski mask.”
I asked my students to steal a line and write their own poem.
The trouble with reading poetry is
that it’s so fun to read you can’t stop.The trouble with poetry is
that you are to sit in the dark room
and wait for a flame of idea to pop up.The trouble with poetry is
that Mrs. Simon makes us look for
what the poem means which is super hard.The trouble with poetry is
thinking about ideas which is like hitting
yourself in the head with a rock.The trouble with poetry is
that sometimes people steal ideas
and don’t give credit.The trouble with poetry is
that you think your idea is bad
when it is really good.The trouble with poetry is
that you can have a writer’s block.The trouble with poetry is
that you have to read it out loud to find mistakes.by Andrew, 4th grade
Poetry Fills Me With Joy
Making me Float Above The Clouds
Like A Hot Air Balloon Soaring Above
After Being Filled With Hot Air
Like A Plane Being Filled With Fuel
And Taking Off
Like The First Letter Of Each Of These Words
Trying To Soar Off of The Screen
poetry fills me with sorrow
making me sink below the ground
like a balloon being popped
and crashing in the sea
like a plane crashing and burning
like the letters of this poem
trying to sink off the screen
By Kaiden, 6th grade
Billy Collins sarcastically expresses the feeling I get when I read poetry, and the reason I read poetry with my students. Poetry breeds more poetry. And I can’t think of anything better that a poem might do. Thanks, Billy Collins, for encouraging my students to steal a line and try their own hands at writing poems.
“ And how will it ever end?
unless the day finally arrives
when we have compared everything in the world
to everything else in the world,
and there is nothing left to do
but quietly close our notebooks
and sit with our hands folded on our desks.”
Reflections on the Teche 