I just started writing with these 2 classes through a program sponsored by
the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism.  Believe it or not,
the following 2 group poems were written and presented 'out loud'
within the first 90 minutes of the visit.
I am so impressed with these young voices!

Worthington Hooker Grade 8 – Morning Class (8A)

If I was a sound

I’d be the thump of your father’s footsteps

and the millions of little coins

jingling in his pockets,

the giant-like coughs,

the huge hand turning the knob

of your bedroom door,

the size 13 shoes

creating holes in the earth.

I would be a book

waiting on someone to

pick me up and read me.

A chance to connect with

the reader’s eyes for one

last time.

I would be a pen -

you can doodle with me.

You can draw and write with me

but when you put your mind at work

I can do wonders.

I would be a book

full of knowledge, secrets, desired dramas.

I’d be a book.

My story is open to read.

I would be the dog tags on a soldier’s neck,

jiggling as they run through the open terrain.

I’m the color BLACK

because I stand out like eyeliner on a Rockstar

when he plays his smash hit for his rad fans.

I would be purple

like the purple pillow on your bed

you love to rest on,

a favorite stuffed animal,

a warm blanket on a winter’s day.

I would be an eraser,

so I’d never be alone.

I’d always have a pencil to be on top of. 

I’d be able to look up and see a student learning,

a parent writing a phone number down,

someone writing an emotional love letter

screaming their feelings with a pencil,

a poet writing their very first line.

I’m like dirt in your eye.

I would be blue like a silky blue scarf,

a stream of water

and the blue calm sky.

I am the color yellow –

like the sun brightening up everybody’s day,

like little kids laughing on the beach.

I am everybody’s happiness.

I would be a clock –

the one to let you know that it’s time to go,

when it’s time to relax and chill,

when it’s time for the class that makes you frown

or even the class that’ll make you jump up and down!

I’d be the sound of the wind

whistling through cracks in the window.

I would be green.

It’s fresh.

If I could be a sound,

I would be the sound of a breeze of wind.

I would be blue

like Caribbean water,

a horizon ocean,

light wash jeans.

I would be a hot homemade apple crumb pie

and you would love every bite

as you were eating me up.

Paint me purple

robes of royalty,

the velvet inside

of a box of jewels,

a single violet

in a field of green.

Worthington Hooker Grade 8 – Afternoon Class (8B)

I am brown

like the earth in spring,

like the bark

of an oak tree

standing tall.

I am like green –

I don’t make an effort to stand out,

but you notice when I’m gone.

If I were a color

I would be purple

like my favorite pair of pajamas. 

It’s warm and inviting

like when you visit your grandmother

who is 2,000 miles away. 

Sour like the bottom

of a package of sour patch kids. 

If purple could,

it would crown everyone royalty. 

Purple sounds like a breeze

passing through.

I would be a dog,

energetic and happy,

wagging my tail and panting

with my pink happy tongue

dancing in the afternoon air.

I am a gentle snow fall,

dusting the earth with my grace,

sweeping the meadows

with a glitter

and kissing the tree tops

with my cold, pursed lips.

I would be a dog

loud and mad

daring anyone to come near me. 

Uncontrollable

attacking anyone

or anything in sight.

I would be the color orange. 

It’s vibrant

and fun

and beautiful

like the sunset.

I would be the color blue –

exciting, yet calm

different shades

like different emotions.

I would be a fox

because they are stealthy

and they stalk their prey

until the time is right to strike.

I would be the color pink,

a sunset over palm trees,

a light spring rain,

a flower,

a soft ballad,

a breeze rustling the sunflowers,

a light snow.

I would be the color green

like the fresh grass.

I’m also like a green sour apple.

Gentle snow falling,

down

  down

into the mouths of gleeful children,

their noses red as Rudolph the reindeer;

bringing joy to people of all ages.

No matter where I drift,

I will be embraced with love.

I would be the clear,

slightly cold

sky at night.

Only a few clouds,

catching the light from the moon.

I would be the color green –

subtle and delightful

like the grass in a field of dreams,

the color of my favorite shirt,

the color of Charlotte’s favorite pencil.

I would be a cheetah

because I’m fast.

I would be a bright and shining sun

that bestows its rays on those below.

I would be a dog running wild

and letting loose,

thinking no one can stop me now. 

The breeze running though my fur

and the sun shining on me.

I would be a beaver,

busily building a home that diverts a river

and when my time was up,

I would give my soft pelt