Every week I am delighted to visit The Poem Farm. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater posts a poem and a student writing activity. A few weeks ago, I borrowed this post, The Real Me, and wrote I am poems with my students.
My students loved the activity. Many of them chose to post their poems on our kidblog site. I invited Amy to write comments. You should have heard them reading aloud their personalized comments; the pride in their voices made my heart sing. Amy has a talent for connecting to kids and finding just the right words to say. Thanks, Amy.
I wrote alongside my students. I put together my favorite lines to create this poem:
I am a lionness
set in the stars,
that drumbeat
around a warm campfire.I am a longing look
from a silent child,
a melody strummed
on his guitar.I am a secret
Margaret Simon, after Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
scratched on a yellow sticky note.
Don’t tell anyone
who I am.
Reflections on the Teche 