Bay Area

Be Careful
By José C., Marshall Elementary, San Francisco

What if we could turn into
Werewolves on a full moon
And then change back very soon?
It would be a disaster,
But I would still be their master.
I would give the day off to all
And they would go racing to the mall.
They would run into the boundary
And they would have to do the laundry.
In the night we would all eat hen
And everybody would be happy- especially the men.
Everybody would drift off to sleep,
And no one would make a peep.

 “My family and my favorite author inspire me. They taught me to never give up.”  José is going to NYC in April of 2012 to compete in the National Poetry SLAM!  He looks forward to performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, seeing the Statue of Liberty, and hopes to meet his favorite author, R.L. Stine.  His favorite memory was when he got the letter telling him he had a chance to go to NYC.

My Name is Riley
by Riley D., Sunnyside Elementary, San Francisco

My mom gave me my name
I like my name because my name means
a long stream in Ireland
I say my name means a long stream
to success and victory in life.
My name is special to me
because a long stream involves water
and water flows like life flows.
Time goes by fast and I don’t intend on wasting it.
I believe that I can make a difference.

Riley is a fifth grader who joined an America SCORES team in late September of 2011.  She performed this poem at an Inspired Art event in early December of 2011 for an audience of over 100. She also auditioned at the Winter Poetry Party for a chance to go to New York City to perform in the America SCORES National Poetry Slam!

Poetry is the Key
by Pedro P., Cleveland Elementary, San Francisco

Poetry is the key to life,
It’s what gets you pumped up,
Poems could be thoughts,
Poems could be feelings,
It doesn’t have to rhyme,
It doesn’t have to shine,
No matter where you’re at or
Where you’re going
Poetry will always cheer you up.
Poetry is beautiful,
No matter if you’re 7 or an ancient fossil.
Poems could be fun,
Poems could be funny,
Poems could be anything,
Poems encourage you to get back up,
To not give up,
It doesn’t have to be big or small
It just has to come from the heart.

Pedro is ten years old and was born in Mexico. His favorite hobbies are soccer and playing video games. He is the oldest of three in his family.  His favorite food is pupusas which is a Salvadorian food. His goal in life is to be a professional soccer player.  He enjoys America SCORES everyday and looks forward to soccer and writing classes. Pedro said that a happy memory of being in America SCORES is when he was a finalist of 23 to go to New York. 

Read more student poems on our Inspired Art blog!