Poems about Others: Roethke's My Papa's Waltz

Since we concentrated on ourselves for the first poem, I wanted to have the students look outside themselves and focus on someone else. I wanted them to think about the more unusual quirks and details of a person that sets them apart of others, that makes them special to the poet.


Love
Cashmere G
Grade 3

I love my dad
When he gently
Pulls the blanket
over me at night
and kisses me
on the forehead
and I love him
I wouldn’t want
To let him go
And I’d cry
If he left.

I love my mom
And I love
When she sings to me
And she always smiles
When I come through the door
My mom is so nice
And we play games together


My Family
Veronica M
Grade 3

My sister uses
A lot of make-up
She knows she is
Too little for make-up
I think when she grows up
She is going to be
A supermodel
She likes to wear
Beautiful things
But I am so different
I like to wear pants
And not fancy things
Like my sister
That’s why everyone
Is different
She’s 5
But to me
She’s 15
When she goes to my room
She makes a mess
And my mom thinks
It was me
And I get mad
But when she’s asleep
She’s like a little angel
And I love her so much.


Ivan G
Grade 3

My brother likes
To play video games
He hits
And when he cries
The tells my mom
That I hit him
Then I get in trouble
He likes to take stuff
Then when I buy new toys
He takes it
Then breaks it
His favorite shirt
Is a Shrek shirt
He likes to eat junk food
Too much
And he eats fruit
And when I don’t
Let him play with my toys
He cries.

Nick
Grade 6

My mom
She old
Gray haired
She don’t have no
Rhythm or beat
She thinks she all that
She can’t dance
She think she fly


Nancy G
Grade 6

My brother’s phone
Goes off every time
Because he talks a lot

I call my brother
He’s on the phone
I need help on my homework
He’s on the phone
I tell him to do his chores
He’s on the phone
It’s time to eat
He’s on the phone

He talks and talks
Time goes by
When he says a word
He talks and talks
I feel it never ends
He talks and talks
He has so much to say
He talks and talks
Because he’s talking
To his girlfriend


My cousin
Mario C
Grade 6

He is tall
He takes me to the mall
His mom is short
His computer’s on the porch
He is cool but
He acts like a fool
One year has passed
And he still doesn’t
Drink beer
He has a Mohawk
But is afraid of hawks
He likes driving
But never diving


My sister
Mirella R
Grade 6

My sister is a nice girl
She has light brown hair
Her name is Jennifer
I call her Jenny
She likes to go shopping
Jenny is 18 years old
And she works
In a retirement home
Whenever she gets home
We go to the movies
She is a great dancer
She will dance to anything
She likes playing volleyball
Jenny likes to talk a lot
She especially talks about
Haunted houses in October
Now she is planning
To take me to different
Haunted houses
Jenny’s great
She always buys me stuff
But sometimes she thinks
I’m taller than her
And she gets mad
When we get mad
We don’t talk to each other
But then we get
Happy with each other.


My Sister
Kimberly T
Grade 7

My sister is mean
My mom tells me to clean
And sometimes eat
Icky beans
My sister is short
In the night she snores
All day long after school
She walks
And talks
My sister is lazy
And sometimes crazy
My sister tells me she’s bizzy
Turning and turning
And just getting dizzy
My sister likes watching Tyra
But I think it’s boring
When I look at her
She’s already snoring
My sister likes watching T.V.
Her favorite thing
To watch is crime
And I tell her
To look at the time
I tell her I’m going to go
And she tells me
Don’t leave me alone


My Mom
Jessica Y
Grade 7

My mom is nice
She hates little mice

She tells me not to fight
And to turn off the lights

She loves pink
And hates to think

She tells me to be good in class
And not to brake a glass

She washes dishes in the sink
And likes to hear people sing

She likes to wear a dress
She reads the sign that says “press”

She likes to dance
With my uncle Lance.


ODD
Raquel S
Grade 8

The smell on your shirt
Is so odd John
The way you talk
Is so odd John
The way you look
Is so odd John
What isn’t so odd
About you John?
The way you talk to me
The way you explain things to me
The way you make me feel
But at the end
I guess I’m odd
Because I’m the one
Saying what is
Or isn’t
Odd about you.


Korina A
Grade 8

The smell of your clothes
Makes me fall in love
The sweetness in your heart
Makes me wonder inside
The smell of your breath
Makes me think of sweet cake
Your lips bright red
Remind me of big red apples
On a summer tree
Your thoughts and feelings
Expressed to me
Make me feel special
In a certain way
Your heart
And my heart
Make the world
A better place


My Brother
Xavier Cruz
Grade 8

He likes to sing
He likes to dance
He likes to wear pants

Pants in the summer
Pants in the fall
He likes to play basketball


My Grandpa
Lance P
Grade 8

My grandpa is the man
Who helped raise me
He also helped
take care of me
I loved him like a father
but I already had one
He was getting robbed
and had to use his gun
He used to be rich
And had a candy store
He said he would keep it
That he swore
It’s like he’s near
Not too far
Till the day he died
In the front seat
Of my cousins car
Everyone was very sad
But he will always be
My Grandad


Miguel A
Grade 8

My stepfather
I and him
We are more than friends
We trust in each other
He loves me like a son
And I love him like a father
When I have a problem
He helps me
When he has a problem
I help a lot
And I love my stepfather
Because when my mother
Is in the hospital
Or at the doctor
My stepfather
He brings me to
And picks me up

And when we go home
He cooks me something to eat

One time he tell me
He live for his son
And for me
That is why
I love my stepfather
That is why
I appreciate
Him everything

Introduction Poems

For the first day, I thought it would be appropriate to have the students tell me a little about themselves. Just telling your name doesn’t give much information about a person. To really get to know someone, we need to know more. What they like, what they think, how they feel about certain things, about their family, what kinds of things they do when know one is looking, etc.

We read William Carlos Williams poem Danse Russe. We discussed what (and how) we learn about Williams’s personality? About his family? Williams uses poetry to reveal a private (maybe embarrassing-like getting caught singing in front of the bathroom mirror) moment. It is a moment when he feels the most free, the most “himself.”

The students were asked to write a poem dedicated to them. I asked them to reveal something about your position in their family, their desires, their dreams.


Ivan G.
Grade 3

I hate cleaning the house
Because it’s boring
and takes all day
I don’t feel along with my brothers

I like to play videogames
Because they’re cool
And they’re awesome.
I like summer

I like to take showers
When I get out
I like to write on the mirror


Veronica M.
Grade 3

When I get in the shower I sing
When I’m ready to pick my clothes
I like to wear all pink
But not everyday
And when I’m ready
I dance funny when nobody is looking
When it’s time to eat
I spill my milk
And said it was my sister
But my mom knows
And I get mad and hit my pillow
In the night
When everyone is sleeping
I go to the kitchen
I eat chocolate all night
The next day my mom said
“Do you want to eat?”
I said no because
I ate a lot all night


Mirella Royna
Grade 6

I like kids and babys
Because I admire
Seeing how they grow
I like seeing their first steps
I like how they talk for the first time
I like kids because with kids and babys
I don’t feel alone.
I actually feel happy.
There are some things I don’t like
About kids
Because they cry
And if they don’t get what they want
They get mad
Kids can make me feel protected
I am really sensible when it comes to kids
I have a baby brother
That makes me laugh all the time
These are the reasons I like kids
And baby’s
I like them to eat Mexican food
So they can get used to Mexican culture
I’m shy to read out loud
I don’t know, I’m just shy

My Blue Sky
Ruth Casillas
Grade 7

In the night
I wake up
Think if it’s spring
Waiting for march 8 again
To feel like I am big
My eyes are brown
My skin is light
Mixed all and make
Light brown
I love my friends
I love my family
But most of all me
I like to run
But sometimes I get so shy
I’m bigger than my sister
But sometimes I feel like
My sky is gray
But really my sky
Is always blue
Because I have you

By someone special

Jesse Hurtado
Grade 8

A boy hat has no boundaries
A boy that has no limits
A boy who is frightened
By spiders who are calm
I am someone who’s big
I am someone who’s nice
Other people only see me
By my physical size
Others see me by what’s inside
I am boy who loves animals
Yet I am the kind
Of person that stores
Everything inside

13
Raquel Saucedo
Grade 8

My name is Raquel
I am picky
I’m only 13
People say I have an attitude
People say I can be a real pain
I’m only 13
People judge me
People don’t like me
I’m only 13
Yes, I’m picky
Yes, I have an attitude
Yes, I can be a real pain
Yes, people judge me
Yes, people dislike me
Yes, but I’m only 13