Wednesday, November 30, 2016

November's End

The leaves may have fallen, but the poetry has not!  Enjoy two poems and two works of art to finish off the last days of fall.  Afterwards, bake yourself a pie with our monthly recipe link.

We Cry the Tears


We cry the tears that shield the certainty

Drowning in their own bouquet of sorrow,

To hide our terror-stricken lips and eyes,

The answer to our helpless cries

And heart with so little love.


When does this cover-up end,

Lives forming and falling down this twisted path?

Yes, we can see the looming future,

But still we cry the tears.


Blinking and prying back these clear water scars,

To hide the regret that stains the skin,

We whimper but the water is too deep,

Our self is quickly changing, drowning

But somehow a new day comes and so do we.

We cry the tears.

By Sarah R., Grade 8

artwork by Sophia M., Grade 8



Eyes see but are blind.

Ears hear but don’t listen.
We sit in the present, there but not living.
We talk but without purpose.
We smile, but it’s fake.
We laugh but without emotion.
We eat but don’t taste.
We say thank you and please but don’t realize what it means.
We breathe the air trees give us but continue to extinguish woods,
For development, for homes, for a Wawa gas station.                                                                   
We marvel at animals but continue to chase them towards extinction.
We warn future generations about the warming world but close our eyes to our contribution to the greenhouse effect.
We say sorry but without remorse.
We urge people to think world peace but continue to declare war in our small lives.
We say "don’t bully," but we say wounding words with intent to feel good about ourselves,
Whether to friends, foe, or family.
We say be thankful for what you have, but we take everything for granted.
We humans are peculiar, from how we continue to learn so much, experiment with and defy the basic laws of nature.
We explore things only known to the creator, looking into space and genetically modifying curiosity to expand with our consequence.
We are scientists, doctors, teachers, engineers, and musicians.
But we are also betrayers, ignorant, stubborn, thankless, and thoughtless.
We need to heed our own advice, learn from our mistakes, trust each other the way we would like to be treated, laugh truly, smile genuinely, see the world as it is, listen to others with your heart, be truthfully sorry, and live the life that is meant for you, not the fake one some choose to live.


by Samantha P., Grade 8

artwork by Nick S., Grade 8


Our monthly recipe is for Apple Crumble Pie.  Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. Sarah,
    I appreciate your use of repetition to add rhythm and to convey the constancy of the tears. The tone you create with your word choices and images (bouquet of sorrow, regret that stains the skin) is powerful; though, I like the optimistic finale. :) ~ Ms. A

    Sam,
    I'm a fan of your use of repetition also. It, too, creates a rhythm along with the structure of your lines--alternating between long and short. The contrasts-and-contradictions you weave (laugh, but no emotion; eat but don't taste; breathe air from trees yet extinguish woods) drive home your point beautifully. You've penned a poem that argues for a better world. :) ~ Ms. A

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