Today we had the pleasure of having Susanna Sonnenberg, Otis's mama, lead us through our poetry workshop. With Ted's class we discussed the William Carlos Williams' poem, "This is Just to Say." After talking about the careful, precise word choice and the power of the language, the children were asked to respond to Williams' note. Their responses were nothing short of brilliant. Below is the original poem that the class discussed and responded to.
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
-William Carlos Williams
Dear William,
I'm sad
but
I forgive you
I wasn't saving them for
breakfast
but for dinner
thank you
for tell me
that was
a
very
kind letter
They were
purple
you
know
juicy
ripe
delicious
yum
they were
good
by Ella
Dear William,
If you ate
my sweet plums
then I get to
eat your
tangy strawberries
and
your refreshing
lemonade.
Oh
and you better
not
be eating more
of my yummy snacks,
and keep your grubby hands
out of my
kitchen.
by Gracie
Thank you for
the last plum
but
I am eating
your pears.
I am not
leaving you
cherries.
by Mari
Dear William,
It's okay
but I was going
to eat them for
breakfast.
I am glad
that you enjoyed them.
I will try to get more for
both of us to eat for
breakfast next week.
Sincerely,
Phoebe
Hello William,
I was saving those
plums for breakfast.
I am gonna spank your
little bottom and there's
gonna be a mark
there for fifty
years now. You march
to the market and get
us some more and
make sure they're purple.
Sincerely,
Mom
by Jack
Dear William,
I have not
been saving those plums
but saving them for my friend
who was saving them
for her son's birthday.
Yes
I know they were
cold delicious sweet
but still don't eat the plums
if they aren't yours.
by Andi
Dear William,
I love your poem. This is why I like to write a lot,
because I like poems and so maybe we can talk sometime.
And so if you want to be
polite
you know already that you have to tell them
that you ate my sweet plums and
my mom said
that you eat my plums
yes, I did
You can't eat them anymore.
Waaaaaaaaaa inf inf inf.
By Savannah
Dear William,
Those plums
were mine.
Give me your
eggs.
by Kine
Dear William,
I am very
disappointed
in you. I thought
I could
trust
you. I was not
saving
the plums for breakfast,
but they were
mine. I
forgive you.
by Sam
Susanna then did a similar exercise with a different poem during her time with Lynn's class. This time she began with the Pablo Neruda poem, "The Queen".
The Queen
I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you, taller.
There are purer ones than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen.
When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass,
the nonexistent carpet.
And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.
Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.
-Pablo Neruda
Here are the children's response poems:
I Love You the Purplest
I have named you purple
from the deepest seas to the top of a
mountain.
You may not be the one
whose hair glimmers in cool night sky
when the moon is up and glistening
NO! You may not be the
one whose voice is as soft as
the wind
blowing over the tree
tops
but as harsh as a leopard's growl
but you are someone
special
you may not
be all these things
because you mean even more than
that
you may not be what beauty's worth
but to me you are 10,000 times that
you are
the sunshine, you are
the moonlight, you are more
than any other thing could be.
by Abigail
Mom
I
love
you so much.
Your eyes are
pure
like the
clear
sun in the morning. They
gleam
in the sun.
You fill my
heart
with
love.
I can't
explain
how much I
love
you.
You
amaze
me.
Spirals
go through my
mind.
Your hugs make me
delighted.
I feel
relieved.
I feel like I'm
relaxed
on a
soft
cloud.
There's this
cheerful
noise inside of me...
by Isabella
Dear _____________,
You make me feel glorious
like the
shining sun. Your powerful words
turned me into somebody different.
I have gotten letters
yes
many letters
but none as powerful as this
one I burst open
pouring out right when I
heard this letter. Oh thank you
thank you!
For this beautiful letter.
With Love,
Otis
Dear Tiger,
I love it when you
cuddle with me and
your loud purr
makes my heart race.
by Elliot
Dear Mom,
You are the glimmering sun.
I love you so much, you are pure
gold.
You are all of the
flowers in the world.
You are all of the
trees in the world. I love you more than the entire
universe.
You are the best
Mom ever.
You are more important
than anything. You are
marvelous, you are
lovely, you are
kind. I
love you very much. You are as
pretty
as the golden
shining
sun.
Your smile is as wonderful
as a sparkling sapphire.
You are the pink happiness
around the world.
by Bret
You Are the Princess
Julianne, you are
the princess
and I am your
prince
you are the one
who
fills me with
joy
in the morning
our
kingdom is the
great
rocky mountains
you
use the
eagle and the grizzly bear
for
your warriors
this is what I feel
about you.
How do you feel
about me?
by Justin
DaDee-O!
You are the most
wonderful
thing that I've
ever
had
in the morning, your
head shines
brighter
than light,
when I hear
your laugh, the
elk dance
around the fire.
You are my daddy
and noone can change that.
I love you,
Daddy-O!
by Justin
Mama!
Mom
You are the one
that
encourages me todo
my best
you are the one
that fills the world
with you
you surprise
me with your
jokes. You arethe
person who is the
best mom.
I love you.
I hope you love me too.
by Justin
Meredith,
I hope I see you soon.
I wish we saw each other more often.
I love it when you see me and then you
hug me.
I feel lke you know
everything
about me. I love that
as a sister
or something like that.
I am alone now.
I remember the time when there was asound of the piano
but no one was there.
We thought it was a ghost.
I remember when you came to the cabin
with us and we would go
swimming.
Sometimes I feel liek a great
storm of sadness comes
because I don't get to see you.
I sometimes feel like the giving tree
when the boy stays away for a long time.
To me you are pretty
and kind.
So here is a poem for you, almost as prettya s the one you gave me:
Meredith,
Your name sounds like the wind princess.
I bet almost every guy thinks the same way I do.
No one sees the crystal clear raindrop form of jewel
fall from your body.
No one sees the jewels
and diamond of kindenss that coem
from you.
You are perfect.
You are beautiful.
You are funny.
You are friendly
and much more things that I don't
know how to describe.
I miss you so much.
Your loving cousin,
Mabel
Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for writing that note.
It blew
my mind
and I cried of joy
Boom!
and it made me think about you
because I would write the same thing
about you.
I know that I am not a princess
but in our world
I am a princess.
by Addison
Mom,
The letter you wrote abotu me was
extraordinary and outraging.
You complete me.
In some ways, you make me better
than who I am.
You and you again help me by what you do.
I love you.
Here is one for you:
You
sing
you giggle and laugh to make me
smile
the chimes and fortune cross me
I love you for who you
are
and what you
do
I love you with all my
life
as big as the
sky
you make me
joyful.
Your Daughter,
Georgia
Dear Dad,
I love you
so much. My heart breaks
when you say
you are my love.
When you say something and
it means that you don't
know what to do with out me
I cry
with happiness. It is not just
happiness I cry about,
it is also something
hard to explain.
It is like
I love you so much
I can barely spend
a day without you.
You are
my only love.
by Lorraine
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