A Poem Using Prompts from Children's Poems

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my fingers tap                       my pencil floats…..I have confidence (p. 129, Naomi, grade 4) 

i have confidence

my words will                       let my words mean something to others (p. 107, Sean, gr 4)                    

mean something

to someone.

perhaps that’s what              that’s what I want to believe (p. 127, Ruby, grade 6)

i want to believe.

perhaps it is a mere

mirage, creating a 

waterfall of words                   a waterfall with words (p. 111, Morgan, grade 4)

the teacher                             but the teacher says (p. 121, Isabelle, grade 4)

my inner teacher says 

my waterfall

is not a waterfall at all

merely a cascade of circumstances

paths chosen, thwarted 

seldom straight

you walked into my heart         if you walked into my heart (p. 125, Mike, grade 4)

i was as a child 

reborn, rechanneled, reassigned        a star child to be reborn (p. 119, Boy, grade 4)

to go on with my life as if                    go on with your life (p. 122, Lea, grade 5)

you will always 

be here, there

that’s what i want to believe.    that’s what I want to believe (P. 127, Ruby, grade 6)

by Joan Connor 11/02/2021

The above italicized quotes are from Expressive Writing, edited by Kathleen Adams. Chapter 7 by Perie Longo, Poetry and Emotional Intelligence, speaks of children and their insightful use of poetics to express themselves.