I Am poems

Next week students are preparing for standardized tests, so to ease their minds I am planning a poetry unit. I realized that if I am going to make them write this poetry, I need to write it, too. (Obviously, Laurissa, obviously). Here is the first one. It turns out a little fragmented, but I like the concept. I think the point is for students to take ownership of what they write.

I Am Laurissa

I am a friend junkie, a person infatuated with smiling
I wonder why we have memories--connective, story-driven memories
I hear whistling winds pushing through the windows
I see Mom's crinkly wrinkly eyes, bright and sparkling stars in the night sky
I want to read two books at once
I am a friend junkie, a person infatuated with smiling

I pretend to like Grandma's sweet potatoes
I feel God's resuscitating pump of my heart when it fails
I touch the glossy cover of new books
I worry about my choices
I cry over injustice
I am a friend junkie, a person infatuated with smiling

I understand A Saving Grace
I say, "Mountain peaks are the best places in the world"
I dream I'm shrinking while everyone else is growing
I try to like politics and to keep an open mind simultaneously
I hope that traveling, teaching, and loving is for me
I am a friend junkie, a person infatuated with smiling


When I was in eighth grade, my English teacher had us write a poem much like this one. She gave them back at graduation. Special.