Joshua

14/02/2011 FINAL THOUGHTS: My final thoughts about poetry is that it can be quite interesting as well as quite boring. I like some poems and I don't like others. Poems can be a way to express your feelings through words. When I got up on stage, I wasn't nervous at all because i knew my poem well and what to say. I also enjoyed doing that because I like to perform. I also love to write poems. I like it because you can write about absolutely anything at all. I really enjoyed our unit poetry. I wish we could have another chance to perform on stage again in front of the younger kids. We should do a thing like this after every topic. Now, after all the time spent on poetry, I think that it can be really interesting and relevant to our everyday life and habits. I now like to read poetry as I enjoy it very much. I also most of all love to write poems. I just love it so much because it can be about anything.

4 January 2011, Writing poetry: Poetry is commonly used worldwide by poets, authors and sometimes illustrators to help them get inspired on what to do. I personally do not enjoy some types of poetry, or to be more specific, I don't enjoy reading about poetry topics that have nothing to do with me. However, if it is an interesting, I might enjoy it because it might have something in it that is relevant to my everyday life or even my hobbies. I think I am somewhere in the middle of the line chart, this makes me in between 'hate it' and 'love it'. For me I am in the middle because poetry may sometimes inspire me to keep on pushing myself to achieve my goals. It may also inspire me when asked to write a novel or story of some sort for a school task. In conclusion, I think that poetry can be interesting, thrilling, exciting and it may also be inspiring, but it may also be really boring when not written well. Poetry is an 'ok' topic for me to learn on. Who knows? I might even be an author, poet or even an illustrator when I grow up, so who knows whether I am going to use poetry later on in my life?

Reading poetry: Poetry may be tricky to write, but it may also be confusing to understand. Some times I might be persuaded to try to understand the story behind the poem, but that involves reading the poem itself many times. Reading poetry can also be a tongue twister for many people. I for one, do enjoy reading poetry, I also enjoy trying to solve the 'moral' or 'story'. I like trying to solve it because it is like a challenge to me. I like reading poems because it inspires me and makes me want to read more, so what I am saying is that it is like an addiction. After a while, the 'addiction' wears off and then most people think it is boring. So do I. Overall, I think poetry is 'ok'.

6 January 2011

Writing Poetry: Well, from last time, I haven't written anything about poems or even a poem yet, so I would have to say that my opinion about writing poems is still the same as last time.

Reading poetry: I have started to enjoy reading poems because some of them have meanings that somewhat appeal to me. Poems are also quite an inspiration to me to actually make me want to do something like homework or other things like that. I am looking forward to reading more and more poems. I would like to read more and more poems because I think they are nice and can be enjoyed by most people.

10 January 2011

Writing Poetry: So far I haven't written any poetry so I am going to have to say that I have to have the same opinion as before.

Reading Poetry: Today Ms Abena let us listen to a poem called 'Limbo'. This poem is about the Africans getting sold as slaves to the Europeans and foreigners. I think this poem is quite emotional. I think it is emotional because it is cruel how people can kidnap other human beings to sell and make money. However since I have read many different kinds of poems over the last week or so, my view of poetry has changed from 'ok' to interesting and 'I want more'. Poems are nice to read because some have a vivid description of something like maybe a season such as 'winter' or even a sport like football. I will like to read poems every chance I get.


 * __1. Rap:__**

NOT ON EMPTY, NOT ON FULL

I'm not on empty. I'm not on full. I'm not stuck in a rut. I'm in a lull. I'm not going forward. I'm not going back. But my wheels aren't spinning. I'm waiting for a track that attracts me a track that pulls me to follow it so life can be full. -Elsa

I think this poem is about a woman or a man that is just at a point in life when you don't know what to do next. This also tells me that she is waiting for something interesting to come across her so she can follow it and continue her life. Overall this poem can be meaningful for people that don't think that they are worth living.

This rap was by Wes Magee

I think this rap has an absolutely clean meaning right from the start and that is that it is about bones. This rap/song/poem was obviously made to teach kids about bones and cartilage. The way Magee made this poem is that it actually makes learning sound fun to kids. This will help them want to learn. This song is mostly repeated in the first two lines of one paragraph, but other than that, the rest is completely different.

__**2. Limerick:**__

Just a tip on how to write limericks:

How to write a limerick:
The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 8 or 9). The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 5 or 6). Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."

Old man of Kilkenny

"There was an Old Man of Kilkenny, Who never had more than a penny; He spent all that money, In onions and honey, That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny."

This poem was by Edward Lear

I think that this poem can be a tongue-twister if you repeat it many times repeatedly. This poem is clearly about an old man that is poor because he spent all his money on onions and honey. The moral of the story is that you should never go around just spending all that money of yours on you own desires.

Explosive Tale There was a volcano called Dot- once on maps just a miniscule spot. But, I'm hungry' Dot grumbled as her insides rumbled. 'And whats more, I'm feeling quite hot!' -Judith Nicholls

I got this poem from a book called :'The works'. This limerick called 'Explosive Tale' is about a small volcano who is ready to erupt anytime. I can tell that it is about to erupt by the phrase : ' as her insides rumbled. And whats more, I'm feeling quite hot!'. This obviously states that eruption is about to begin.


 * __3. Humorous:__**

I think that I shall never see a tax form plain enough for me.

A form that I can understand without a lawyer near at hand

To guide this poor benighted me so I won't owe a penalty.

A form that I will not detest or take as more than an awful jest.

A form with pages that I can read and fill out easily with some speed

Such forms weren't made for fools like me nor even God who made a tree.

This poem is written by Anonymous

I particularly like this poem because I couldn't agree more with the author about tax forms. I mean, who wants complicated and messed up pieces of paper arriving in our mailbox tomorrow? Obviously, this poem was made by a guy who doesn't like tax forms. This author also says that even god who made a tree might not understand how to read a tax form. He also made me think that whenever he got a tax form, he had to consult his lawyer to help him read it. Overall, this poem is very funny and political.

Phobia of feet

feet are creepy feet are freaky feet are smelly and as big as my belly feet are hairy feet are scary feet are green there the worst things I've ever SEEN!

Poem by Victoria Robinson  Poem Source: [|Phobia Of Feet, Funny Poems] []

I personally like this poem because it is funny and it relates to most of people's life by some way or another. This poem is clearly about a person that is totally afraid of feet because they are smelly, big, hairy and freaky. However, I don't think that it is such a good poem because it only describes what they are scared of and that the author never gave us a sort of history to why she hates feet.


 * __Haiku:__**

November 16
Frost this morning and a cold wind, scatters leaves like broken promises

Poem by Charles De Lint

This poem is about winter and how it is like. When the author says cold wind, it makes me think of fall, especially when he says scatters leaves like... This poem is meaningful to me because I have personally experienced this before.

Football

Like medieval knights Armor clad, in fields battle To reap victory

Poem by Udiah I like this poem very much because it describes the true meaning of football. I like this poem because it links to me, it links to me because I play football and enjoy it very much. I like how the author wrote: 'to reap victory'. I like it because he makes it feel like it is a real battle to win.

__**Sonnet poems:**__

How to write a sonnet

The sonnet form is old and full of dust And yet I want to learn to write one well. To learn new forms and grow is quite a must, But I will learn it quickly, I can tell.

And so I sit, today, with pen in hand, Composing three new quatrains with a rhyme. The rhythm flows like wind at my command. The A-B-A-B form consumes my time.

But I’m not done until there’s fourteen lines. One ending couplet, after three quatrains. I’ve tried to write this new form several times. The effort’s huge; I have to rack my brain.

But I persist, my fourteen lines now done. I wrote my poem; my sonnet work is won.

//by Denise Rodgers//

This poem is obviously for people like us who are just starting to get interested in poems. This is for us because it teaches us through a poem how to write a sonnet poem. I like this poem because it explains so in depth that we can actually write a sonnet while reading this poem. It uses some form of comedy in this poem to hook the reader.

 By Paul McCann
 * |||||| **Red Blushed And All Cut Up **
 * |||||| **Red Blushed And All Cut Up **
 * |||||| **Red Blushed And All Cut Up **

 Talking to myself there  Someone had overheard.  I was lost for a word.  There was nothing to share.  Embarrassed I was there.  Left awkward and absurd.  A broken wingless bird.  With nowhere to fly there.  Caught red faced there was I. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Didn't want to be seen. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> I just wanted to die. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> I just wanted to scream. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> I'm so terribly shy. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Lost for words it would seem.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> This poem is obviously about a man or woman who is caught doing something embarrasing in public and just doesn't know what on earth to do. I can tell that it is the message because of these words: <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Someone had overheard. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> I was lost for a word. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> There was nothing to share. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Embarrassed I was there. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Left awkward and absurd. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> A broken wingless bird. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> With nowhere to fly there. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Caught red faced there was I. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,sans-serif,sans-serif; text-align: center;">This is the evidence and clues that led me straight face to face with the message.

Ballad:

The Gothic Ballad By Ankoku Gekido

I walk carelessly down the dark road My heavy black boots constantly clicking Clicking on the cold cement My long black and velvet Trench coat Billowing in the slight breeze My Chest slightly rising under my tight corset My chains on my pants jingling together As I walk down this Moon lit road Staring up at the midnight moon This is the ballad The ballad of the lost Of the silent warriors Of the people you pass by and call freaks Of the people Who will save your soul For our souls are pure Our souls sing this ballad The ballad of the night The ballad of the pure hearts

Straight away, I can tell that this poem is about a man that is into all this goth. WE can tell that he is wearing black boots and a velvet trench coat. He is walking carelessly down the dark road. We can tell from the previous sentence that he is very depressed that he can walk carelessly. || **The Mermaid** **by** **Unknown author** Oh the ocean waves may roll, And the stormy winds may blow, While we poor sailors go skipping aloft And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below And the land lubbers lay down below.

This poem talks about the ocean and how it's weather may be, and how sailors get lost at sea. On the last two lines, I do not really get the concept of land lubbers for I do not know what they mean. I think they mean humans, because humans are the main inhabitants of the earth, therefore, we are called land lubbers. I for one, do not understand why we lie down below. I have yet to find that out.

__**Cinquain**__ DINOSAURS by Cindy Barden


 * Dinosaurs**
 * Lived once,**
 * Long ago, but**
 * Only dust and dreams**
 * Remain**

I like this poem because it talks about dinosaurs and how they went extinct. I like how cinquain poems are made that he first line is one word, the second has two words and so on. I also like this poem because of how it states: 'Only dust and dreams remain.' The word that appeals to me is dreams for it makes me think, dinosaurs did not have dreams.

Crusaders by Megan

**Knights** **Armour ,shields** **Fighting, charging, slaughtering** **Worried, delighted, brave, fearsome** **Crusaders**

**I like this poem because it talks about fighting and what emotions knights, warriors and crusaders have and feel. This poem actually looks at battle from both a person and warrior's point of view. I also like the way they ended the poem by just listing one type of warrior in the past. I like that very much.**

Calligram Poems

By Shelly L Paul

I like this poem very much and I chose it because oh how effective it's shape was to the poem. I also like how it talks about emotions such as love reflecting off the diamond on her hand. This poem is very emotional.



This poem is about flowers. I like this poem because it is a fun way to teach children about biology. This poem is beautifully crafted into a simple flower. Overall I think this poem is very nice and interesting.

Religion I am more an ancient Grecian than a Christian As they say it, in accents of exclusion and Brimstone. What kind of fool do I take myself for, Forcing first one side and then the other Between my double-praying lips and expecting Not to choke? They don't ask the Questions to my answers, they add or subtract As their hearts dictate what will happen when The beats stop. Frank words Are the enemy of long thick walls, and More now would cause mental lockjaw. What do they say about me when two seats are empty? What if infinite universes lie above and below, A pair for every thought ever formed in every head? We are great because we think we are But believing is not in thought-- The verbal lance is still sticking out, and in as Well, and I don't want him in hell either-- But my mind is racing, not rationalizing And the pain is radiating from My heart.

This poem is nice, I like it because it gives an in depth definition about religion. This poem says that I am more grecian than christian, this sentence gives the audience a piece of mind about what religion the author is. I had to read the poem through quite many times before i got the real message. This poem can be tricky.

Running through a field of clover, Stop to pick a daffodil I play he loves me, loves me not, The daffy lies, it says he does not love me! Well, what use a daffy When Jimmy gives me roses? -- Flora Launa

This poem talks about how a girl is running through a field of clovers. She picks an odd flower from the ground and she plays he loves me and he loves me not. This poem is about a girl who likes this boy and is convinced that he likes her back. I wonder why she picks a daffodil and not a clover.

Free choice: Allegory poems

Tonight I thought I shook off a roach. Swore I felt it approach. Imagined it crawling down my throat. My Dad came out from the den and asked What’s Wrong? I said, Nothing, I’m fine when I still felt bits of dead roach nesting in my spine. That’s Divine.

I feel the Holy Spirit in me tonight. Jesus Christ! I must have done right! Don’t come near me, I’m contaminated, clearly. Oh, God, need me! So that the sky doesn’t turn black every time I look up to seek your advice. My chips are stacked, I’ve got them wracked. Roll the dice six six six every time. On my Dime. I think I may have crossed the line. Maybe I’m sick. Maybe I’m not hip to this.

Maybe I just need to settle down. Take a breath. Take a pill. Sit real still. Stare until I become comatose blare my music so loud that my eyes become brazen and I can’t hear what you’re saying.

Do roaches bite? I wonder at night. As I hide beneath the covers that used to shield us from one another. Protect us from the evils in this world, bring no harm to little girls. Now they just cover up old condoms and dirty food crumbs.

Numb. Numb. Numb. Can’t move. Limbs feel numb, limbs feel wrung, limbs feel slung, stammering and slurring like grandma after her stroke.

This is a joke. The world’s a joke. We’re a joke.

Then why aren’t we laughing? Why aren’t we guffawing until our paws fall off, our mittens become smitten and we cough up our dirty lungs with joy.

Oh boy, here I go again. If this is a joke why aren’t we laughing? Why aren’t we guffawing until our paws fall off, our mittens become smitten and we cough up our dirty lungs with joy.

-Sarah E Ribar

This poem is just a bunch of random events put together. These events are meant by the author to flow smoothly throughout the poem. I like this poem because it has no meaning behind it, it is just a bunch of random things as I said before. This author made the poem sound as if she is scared of cockroaches crawling down you throat.

Kindergarten Catastrophe

Kindergarten talent contest - Always difficult to choose the best. Nervous were all the contestants, parents and judges. Yells, pushes and nudges! Excitement and anticipation! Winner's name brought the briefest celebration. Expansive kindergartener grabbed the microphone to proclaim another the best - Stunning everyone with his interrupting protest - Totally shocking were the actions of little Kanye West!

-Hubert Wilson

This poem is about a school talent show. The judges were having a hard time picking the best. Although it is in kindergarten, there was already yells, punches and nudges. I like the ending of this poem because I find it really funny when they say: 'Totally shocking were the actions of little Kanye West.' I found that really funny. Overall, this poem can be read by anyone aged 4-100.

Caesar: I personally like the emperor Caesar. Oh how wonderfully he ruled, Although he sometimes fooled. But no problem, Look how Rome turned out? GOOD

No gravity: What would we be? No walking on floors, But up walls, And no bouncing of balls, No water may be contained, For there is no gravity.

Colours: How wonderful they are, What would we be without it? No scenery, No arguments over which color is best, Too long without colors, and a shadow will start to cast, UPON US.

media type="file" key="English.m4a" width="300" height="50"

Poetry, Something like a rubrix cube, Turn Turn Turn you have to rotate it and turn it, to find out what it really means. For some, It takes time For others, It is instantly clear, Rubrix Cube SOLVED

The football match

The football match, fans from all over the country gather at one place, the stadium thud thud is the sound when a striker kicks the ball beep beep beep... That was the half time whistle. Slurp, The sound of the players drinking is amusing in a way. Beep Back to the second half of the game. With Chelsea 0 and Liverpool 1, All we have to do now is wait... Tik tok tik tok GOAL!!!! Tooooooooot Game over.

-Joshua Tan

Now, after all the time spent on poetry, I think that it can be really interesting and relevant to our everyday life and habits. I now like to read poetry as I enjoy it very much. I also most of all love to write poems. I just love it so much because it can be about anything, from a stone to Japan. I feel that I have achieved all the LI of this unit. I am looking forward to the performance after CNY. I want to build on my poetry in the future by reading and writing more poems.