Day Seven / 5.18, 5.19

Today we started with a nature walk. We observed nature, we talked poetry, then we read some nature poems. Then, back in class, we created a poem of our own. After that we worked on poetry or our Vocab 15 Packet. Finally, we talked about John Steinbeck for a minute, and read the poem by Robert Burns, where Steinbeck got his title. Sixth period's poem is pasted below. First period is below that...


Lifeguards

I can’t walk with shoes on the sand.
I throw them off and swing them over my shoulder.
My bare feet are scorched by the sand, and
the sand feels like it’s exfoliating my toes.

The lifeguard is hot.
I develop a plan. I’m going to fake drowning.
I enter the shallow water, and I feel myself sink
as the waves rise and sweep the sand from underneath my feet.
This, is not the plan.

Children are screaming all around.
Seagulls cry out for food.
The waves crash like cymbals.

The jellyfish stings like an aquatic, oversized bee.

I faked drowning so the hot lifeguard would save me.
He carries me, as I’m crying, to his stand.
And I am happy.

A Day in the Life of a Park

The dirt on the ground gives life to the grass.
I see grass and leaves blowing in the wind.
Trees stand tall like pillars.

The mixed smell of fresh cut grass and rubber,
Brings joy to children on a summer day.
There is a rustle and bustle of rabbits;
a squirrel scurries up the tree.

Three children are crying,
They want to go home,
They have scraped their knees.
They begged their moms, “Please, please, please.”

Creaking of the swings,
And the batting of wings.
Joggers are running with barking dogs.

When I go to the park, I experience all these things.
The cycles of life, the dark and the light,
the day and the night.