Happy Summer!

I hope everyone is having an awesome first few days of summer and finding lots of time for whatever creative endeavors suit their fancy. Here are some poems that I made yesterday out of a newspaper that seemed to be screaming "I am a poem! I am a poem! Please cover me in black ink!"

Feel free to post anything you've been working on and happy summer!

Summer Writing

It's summer time! Well...in two days it will be. But summer means that you have lots of free time (unless you're like me and want to do a million and one things instead of lazing around in the sun and going swimming), and lots of free time means plenty of time to write! So let inspiration run wild, and the words fall to the paper as if from a spring in your fingers, or in your pencil. Don't be afraid of exposing your thoughts, because there is a second identity within you, and it is called Anonymous. Just write and shout to the world that these are your words, the words of a human, just like them. Let them know that you exist and are very much alive. If your words are out there, people will see, and people will listen. So write about what is meaningful to you, write about the things you like, write about everything and anything that you want, and people will see.

JUST!!!

write....

Identity...Controversial?

Everyone in the world has something about them that is unique solely to them.

IDENTITY. What is it? Showing who you are....It is YOU. You can’t be you if you are lacking your identity...IDENTITY IS EVERYTHING.

How does one debate identity? Can one debate identity?

It is religion, beliefs, thoughts, actions. Very much is it ACTIONS. BUT HOW.....? How....what? HOW WHAT? How can I answer my questions when I don’t know what the questions are?!?!

identity....controversial? What can be
controversial about identity?
Some could make it controversial. Pretty easily too. But perhaps not I.

“You need to be more controversial....to make it good.”
WHY? Why does it HAVE to be controversial?
Identity. What about it? It’s important....ok. It’s who you are....fine. But what is it? How does one write a paragraph about it, how does one develop a thesis about it?

Forget “one” -- how do I?

People want things. What do they want? I don’t know. Things. Lots of things.
These things people want help to shape their identity, whether they intend for it or not.

Here’s an idea: “Identity is a false proposition to make people think that they are unique, something intended for the sole purpose of making people feel good about themselves.”

. . . But it’s not my idea. What’s this about a “personal theory?” How can it be a personal theory if it’s not my idea...?

But I could make it work . . . right? I could argue it. . .

Then again, I don’t agree with it. “You don’t have to agree with it to like it.”
Ok. But what if I don’t like it?

Could I argue in favor of something that I don’t even like,
let alone agree with?



Probably not.

“Do you have something that works?”
“Yup.” Pfft. You’re kidding, right?

ARTiculation

I hope a lot of people went to the slam poetry assembly by ARTiculation this past week because they were, to put it as simply as possible, AWESOME!!!! It was a very powerful and exciting evening. If you didn't go, or if you did and want to hear more, I'd encourage you to visit their website: articulationworld.com. They have some great videos of a few of of the pieces they did and a free download of the poem I Teach if you sign up for their mailing list.

While the group was here, Mr. Bean's dot 4 English class was lucky enough to partake in an hour and a half of poetry wonderfulness which resulted in a plethora of poems that are definitely worth sharing. If you were in that class, please email me your poem. There are no excuses and you can't hide them because I know they're out there, already written and just waiting to be read. Thanks and Happy Poeting! (Also, check out the poems in the comments)

I Dream by Rose Gill

I dream of laying in a patch of lemon thyme,
The sweet smell filling my nostrils,
Lulling me into a drowsy state.

I dream of laying under a blue sky,
Of sunlight pouring over every inch of visible skin,
Of being filled with the delicious warmth of light.

I dream of a swim in a river,
Of the river stones beneath my feet,
Round and smooth and covered in moss.

I dream of the garden,
Of the oranges and silvers and reds,
Of green vines and purple and white petals.

I dream of walking through a forest,
Over moss and grass and dirt;
Of the forest floor under my bare feet.

I dream of pushing fingers into fresh, clean dirt,
Forming a hole into which must go young roots,
Feeling the cool moist earth.

I dream of red tomatoes straight off the vine,
Of wonderfully orange carrots, fresh out of the ground,
Of peas - sugar and snap and snow, crisp and green.

I wake, opening my eyes to grey clouds,
Frozen, partially white, partially brown earth,
Cold rain spilling from the sky.

I dreamt of summer...

- Rose Gill

National Poetry Month!

Happy National Poetry Everyone! As you may or may not know, April is national poetry month and we are CELEBRATING! There's a box in the library where you can put your poems, artwork or other writing. What will happen to this box you may ask? Well, it will be put into a Gould newspaper! Anything that's posted on this blog will also go in so every writer at Gould can be published. I am very excited.

I am also excited about Thursday on which there will be THREE ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. First, April 14 is national poem in your pocket day. What this means is that everyone will be encouraged to put a poem in their pocket and over the course of the day they can trade and share that poem. Second, on Thursday the biggest library taboo will be broken and we'll have eat-your-lunch-and-write-in-the-library-day. Hopefully this will be an every Thursday event for the rest of the month. And the last way to celebrate poetry this Thursday is a van will be headed to hear Charles Simic at PSU. I've read some of his poems and I think the night will be great! Talk to Ms. Cooper if you're interested.

Of course you don't have to wait until Thursday to start the celebration. Write a poem today! Write a poem right now. Drop everything and get started.

And then post it here of course. And tell your friends too.
HAPPY NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Let Your Heart Run by Margaret Cameron

Life’s a trail and the courts come undone,
But remember, this test has just begun.
Follow your heart and chase what you believe,
You can’t be proved wrong if you say what you see.

So, let your heart run,
And set yourself free,
Shed all the weights that,
Hold you back.
Oh and determination is all the food that your body needs,
So set your goals high,
And aspire to succeed.

Soul is a forceful light in our lives,
We can’t un-see the dreams we glimpse,
So, with wings sprouting from my back,
I will take flight.
Like a lightning strike,
It’s a sudden energy,
An ambition that takes over.

Listen to your heart,
It’s pounding like a drum,
A signal shouting that your times just begun,
Welcome to life,
We’re all about living.

When night seems to long,
And the road to steep,
The day far to dark,
Take a breath and remember,
That you can find it within yourself,
Your heart speaks, so listen,
Stronger than your words,
Blind ambition, unfiltered joy, bursting with dreams.

So let yourself fly,
And taste freedom’s sky.
Set yourself free and you’ll see,
You can become all you want to be.
But find that love within you,
The dreams and beauty you forgot you had.
Let your heart run,
And you’ll see,
That the real journey of life has just begun.
Your heart will lead you to what you become.