Two Poems Inspired by A Master

After reading Fahrenheit 451 by the great Ray Bradbury, eighth grade students drafted stories or poems inspired by the symbols in their reading.  Here are two poems.  Appropriately, one is about books, and the other one is about a river, an image introduced at the end of the novel to aid the protagonist in his escape.

For rough drafts, they are substantive and solid.  Suggest revisions in your comments!

Poem 1, Untitled

perfectly yellowed,
dusted with history,
printed in stiff, official ink,
stone to stone,
clock to clock,
books are timeless
with powerful plots

these pieces of literature
dictatorships in disguise,
bombs on a timer,
counting down,
till knowledge explodes
causing confrontation,
opposing views

books are power
held in your hands,
fed to the fire
when causing pain,
good or evil
left in the eyes
of the beholder

Madeline T., eighth grade


The River

Slow, steady, and graceful,
it takes away the fears,
the pain, the destruction,
of a long lost soul.
It provides a new chance
to those of the broken
like old abandoned towns,
rebuilt into a city of hope.

No longer shall the expressionless faces linger,
no longer shall blank, dull bodies live.
New life is brought with every sway
of each stroke of the river's tides.

Follow the river
dear friends of mine,
stay true and open,
and always kind.
You'll find your way
of hope and peace.
Follow that riverbend,
and don't ever stray.

Emily J., eighth grade

sketch by Julia B., eighth grade