About Hands on Stanzas

Hands on Stanzas, the educational outreach program of the Poetry Center of Chicago places professional, teaching Poets in residence at Chicago Public Schools across the city. Poets teach the reading, discussion, and writing of poetry to 3 classes over the course of 20 classroom visits, typically from October through April. Students improve their reading, writing, and public speaking skills, and participating teachers report improved motivation and academic confidence. You can contact Cassie Sparkman, Director of the Hands on Stanzas program, by phone: 312.629.1665 or by email: csparkman(at)poetrycenter.org for more information.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Poems about Senses: The Little Mute Boy by Federico Lorca

The students and I discussed the rest of our senses and about how we often take them for granted. I asked the students to write a poem as if they have lost one of their senses. How would they get through this world?

Daniel M
Grade 6

I lost my sight
All day and night
An old man that
Was blind found it
He sees everything
That I would have seen
And now I’m glad
He has it
The old man
Came to thank me
And I said
You’re welcome
But now my sight
Is missing
I feel like
I can’t do nothing
I can’t read my books
Or do all my homework
I think that I might
Go fishing

Juan R
Grade 6

Losing my vision…
Losing my vision
It’s so hard
To see
All I see is
Is black
And blank
Why am I the one
Who cannot see
I cannot see
My family
I cannot see
My friends

Fernando G
Grade 6

one day I was really sick
I couldn’t sniff
I couldn’t feel
I couldn’t even
Feel an eel
I couldn’t talk
I was like a hawk
Stalking its prey.
Slow and silent
I couldn’t tast
The mint
In the toothpaste
I couldn’t see
I was like a bat
With no sight

Carlos A
Grade 7

I lost my vision
I don’t know what to do
I have to count
On my ears to see
But maybe my vision
Went to someone
Who can’t see
Now my vision
Went away to someone
Who really needs it
Now they can see
The world
When I see myself
In my mind
In a dark room
Alone
Waiting for something
To happen

Jesse H
Grade 8

Goodbye sight!
I took you for granted
Now I’m blind
But it’s not so bad
Now you have gone
To another blind person
He can now see
The person he loves
Oh, I’m not mad
Now I can hear
Even greater
I have started
To hear nature
It tells me that
It is sad
It’s that people
Are using all her senses

Jasmine W
Grade 8

my sight has gone
and it’s never coming back
my sight has left
was it given to my cat?
I hear it meowing
More than ever
Expect I don’t understand
Where I am going
My cat guides me
Around the house
Cats walk softly
But I hear it very well
I miss seeing the beautiful ocean
And watching TV on the sofa
It’s kind of hard to get around
I wish my sight would just return
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