Watermelon by Amelia McQuade

As I indulge to
take my first bite
My teeth break through
leaving joy left to face
It drips
And slips
and makes a mess
But NOTHING will stop me
The juice glides
down my throat with delight
As I notice if oozing down my cheek
As it's calling my name
to take another bite
The smell stuffs my nose
with the summer scent of watermelon
Oh how I wish it was summer
to eat my favorite fruit: WATERMELON

Amelia McQuade, Grade 6

My Home by Marissa Mealey

Deep, blue ocean waves
hitting the soft sand
down below me

I stand high in the sky
my light warns a sailor
if they're getting close to me

Seagulls come up from stealing
little kids' food and fly
all around me

The beach is my home
I am happy here
I am a lighthouse

Marissa Mealey, Grade 6

baby bird by Kendall Blizzard

a baby bird I am

new to this colorful world

eager to extend my wings and soar

mother bird nurtures me

and educates me the way of life

until I am prepared with my knowledge matured

to bound off of my nest

and be the greatest

a baby bird I was…

an eagle I am

Kendall Blizzard, Grade 6

Don’t Forget to Sign-up for the Poetry Writing Workshops!

Thursday, April 29, Tom Daley will be giving poetry writing workshops at the Westwood Library. Grades 6, 7, and 8 will meet from 2:45 – 4:00, and grades 3, 4, and 5 will meet from 4:15 – 5:30. Tom taught workshops here two years ago and here is one of the poems that the kids wrote together with him. To sign-up, call 781-320-1042, or email us at westwoodpoetry@yahoo.com.

A Calendar Poem Listing the Quirky Moons of the Westwood Library Grades 3 – 5 Poetry Workshop

January is the moon of trying to beat the record at Grandma’s house of staying up to 6 a.m.

February is the moon of seeing the Lunar Eclipse.

March is the moon of the guinea pig visit.

April is the moon of the cherry blossom dance.

May is the moon of playing water basketball.

June is the moon of having an ice cream party in school.

July is the moon of going to Cold Stone Creamery for the first time.

August is the moon of celebrating my dog’s birthday and giving him doggie ice cream.

September is the moon of the first day of school.

October is the moon of ghosting my neighbors.

November is the moon of meeting a bunny that was my size.

December is the moon of seeing sea lions get fed at the New England Aquarium.

-Westwood Library grades 3 – 5 Poetry Workshop with Tom Daley

Aiden Fitzgibbon, Peter Jeong, Jordan Jud, Jessie Kreinsen, Zoe Luiz, Anusha Manglik, Ben Ouellette, Jack Papetti, Emily West

The poems are in!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a poem for this year’s anthology.  We received 167!!  Keep checking here for news about this year’s poetry reading/book release celebration, and to read some of this year’s poems.

Poetry Writing Workshops with Tom Daley

Tom Daley returns to the Westwood Library!  On April 29, Tom will host 2 poetry writing workshops as part of the library’s Positively Poetry series. Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will meet from 2:45 – 4:00, and students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will meet from 4:15 – 5:30. Registration is required. To register, email us at westwoodpoetry@yahoo.com, or call 781-320-1042.  The poems produced at the workshops will be included in the library’s 2010 Poetry Anthology.

Tom Daley teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and poetry and memoir writing at Lexington Community Education. In addition, he is a member of the faculty of the Online School of Poetry, serves on the tutorial faculty of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, and has been a guest instructor at Brown University, Stonehill College and SUNY Cobleskill. He has also been served as visiting poets at several schools.

Tom Daley’s own work has been published in numerous journals, including Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, Barrow Street, Vox, Diagram, and Hacks: The Grub Street Anthology.

My Late Excuse by Olivia Ware

I'm sorry I was late today,
It will not happen again,
It's just that a dinosaur ate my lucky pen.
My brother had the hiccups,
My sister had the flu,
Plus my new dog kept chewing up all my good school shoes.

I think I had the measles,
I had red pimples on my face,
My mother had signed me up for a surprise million dollar race.

I was dancing with a bear,
I was losing all my hair,
My day could not get worse,
I think tha tI was cursed.

So please just let me be,
while you think of all the bad things that have happened to me.
Thank you,
Oh, no! Ahhhhhh...ahhh....choooo!!

Olive Ware, Grade 5

The Moon by Brooke Dainis

There is only a little bit more
than the night before but my mind
can't help to adore its glowing ways
the wind pushes it behind a
cloud but then again I see it
found as rough night wind makes
tree branches sway.

Brooke Dainis
Grade 4

Crazy Cats by Holly Jenks

My cats are very crazy!
They throw all sort of wild parties!
When they have parties they trash the house.
At the parties they use my clothes as costumes.
In the morning they are sprawled on the floor.
That's it! Those crazy cats can't come no more!!!!

Holly Jenks
Grade 3

Report Card by Paul Sinno

My report card is here?
Why did I get those grades, Mom?
I had ummmmm,
An aching hand!
I couldn't see the board!
The teacher was cruel!
I couldn't finish the homework!
There were 50 pop quizzes!
My locker kept on getting jammed!
Someone robbed my binders!
I didn't have a pencil!
My spine snapped, repeatedly!
My neck ached --wait, what?
What did you say? I got all A's?
Wow, I must be a genius!

Paul Sinno
Grade 6

The Lake by Emma Harte

The lake is still.
Fog dances across the water.
Sunlight is its partner.
Morning has arrived.

Emma Harte, Grade 3

Gatorade by Keyon Rostamnehad

It quenches your thirst from the blistering heat during a big game,
It revives you like a doctor calling out, "Ready, set, clear!"
One sip takes you to a whole new world,
like you were just called by the Angels,
One sip takes you one step closer to clinching the game-winning shot,
a last minute goal, a walk-off grand slam,
Helping you step up to your game

GATORADE

Keyon Rostamnehad, Grade 5

Night by Julia Deininger

The sun is falling
Disappearing
Saying goodnight

The birds stop chirping
The children doze off
While the darkness cloaks light

Owls hoot
To awake the critters
That sleep through the day

The moon rises
And for a while
Night's here to stay

Julia Deininger
Grade 6

Poetry Reading a Huge Success!

Last night 56 poets showed up to get their copies of the library's 2009 Poetry Anthology! With their parents and other audience members, we had around 130 people packed into our meeting room to hear the kids read their poems. Guest poet Jayne Warren read from her early published works and then closed out the evening by reading her latest poem, Robin, which is included in the anthology. Keep checking the blog to read more of the poems included in this year's anthology.

Poetry Reading next Tuesday!

Wow, the response has been really overwhelming this year --we received over 200 poems! I've been so busy trying to get the anthology ready that I haven't had a minute to post on the blog. The reading is Tuesday, June 2, 7 pm, at the Westwood Library. The anthologies will be ready (keep your fingers crossed) and the poets will be presented with their copies. And hopefully, most of them will read their poems! Jayne Warren, who taught our poetry workshops this year, will read her early published poems, and also her latest work, which is included in the anthology. It's an inspiring evening, so don't miss it!

What is Purple?

Purple sounds like jazz at the coffee house
Smells like a new sharpie marker
Tastes like burnt broccoli
Purple is the bite from when you were two
I bet you anything if there was a word for the Loudest and most Obnoxious color,
Purple would win
Purple is coaxing someone to do the dare
The stack of rubbish on your floor
A glum Thursday when you fail the test
Purple is the long talk with your parents after your detention
The rusty bike sitting in the rain for the third night in a row

Julia Carlin, Grade 3

The deadline is past! The poems are in!

We received a record breaking 193 poems for our anthology! It's a miracle I can still type well enough to type this post. I'm working like mad on the book; the cover is at the printers; and plans for the reading are in the works. All I can say for sure is that there will be food and an appearance from a guest poet. Check back here for updates as we get closer to the date --June 2, 7 pm.

Miracle on the Diamond by Mark Bernardo

Miracle on the Diamond

The aroma of baked sunflower seeds
On the dugout floor
The pitch is releasing
I grip the bat
I have to think fast
The ball starts to curve
My bat meets the ball
I hear the reaction
I start running
The ball soars like a hawk
Excited fans rise
I dash for second base
Outfielders attempt
To catch the high ball
Rounding third base
The fans say, “Keep running!”
The ball thrown into home
I slide,
Safe, home run, six to five!

Mark Bernardo
Grade 4

The Whispering Woods by Kristen Cuccoli

The Whispering Woods

The woods whisper
In their own
Little language
Whisper, whisper, whisper

The bushes rustle
The trees crackle
Under
The howling wind

The woods
Are a library
They are silent
But full of thinking

The woods whisper
In their own little language
As I
Walk through

Kristen Cuccoli
Grade 6

Jayne Warren's Poetry Writing Workshops

Here's what Jayne says about the poetry workshops she recently gave at the library. "I started off having the kids pick a color and then brainstorm ways to describe it without mentioning the name of the color i.e. "purple." They wrote about other things that were that color, memories connected to these colors, feelings they had about those memories. When they were done I explained that the reason I had done this was because poetry is a web of associations. Poets find ways to describe things in new ways so that readers can understand. They use traditional similes and metaphors but also subtext. We talked about when words aren't enough to describe things, when people substitute action, like if they're happy. This is what poets do, combine feelings and associations to create a full picture. Then I introduced the poem "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams. Most of the kids were against this poem or felt it wasn't poetic enough. They thought it was too simple. We talked about how this poem describes an apology about something that was enjoyed. They then wrote thier own apologies about something they had enjoyed doing at the time. We had poems about robbing banks, punching people, pushing sibling, watching too much tv, etc. They had a lot of fun with this exercise."