Slow Down and Savor Life Poetry helps kids express feelings creatively

Poetry helps kids express feelings creatively

It seems fitting that April is National Poetry Month, considering Maya Angelou, one of America’s most well-known and beloved poets was born in April. Angelou has inspired millions of young women with her biography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and her poetry redefined the fierce feminine voice.

Amanda Gorman, the 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate, sites Angelou as an inspiration. Both grappled with speech impediments and had to overcome anxiety to speak in public. President Biden, who also had a childhood speech issue, chose Gorman to compose and recite her poem “The Hill We Climb” at his inauguration.

The National Youth Poet Laureate Program partners with literary arts and civic youth organizations across the U.S. to offer regional Youth Poet Laureate programs and to identify and celebrate strong poetic voices. Gorman was identified by California Poets in the Schools, an organization that pairs professional poets with classrooms.

Locally, Border Voices works to give students a platform to express themselves creatively though poetry across geographic, cultural and emotional borders. Kids have the opportunity to learn from National Poet Laureates, local teachers and other authors, and their work may be published in the San Diego Poetry Annual.

“Providing students with tools to interact with the world on a metaphorical and poetic level allows them to express emotions and thoughts they might otherwise not share in a classroom setting,” says Katherine Kavouklis, a teacher in Sweetwater School District.

In a recent lesson where students were to write poetry to interpret a piece of fine art, middle schooler Izzie Matias chose to tackle A Crab on Its Back by Vincent van Gogh with the poem “Endless Struggling.” (excerpted)

I lie here on my back, squirming as I’m engulfed in the aches and pains I feel from being chained to the floor. All I can do is stare into the cloudy, emerald green void that fills the space around me.

Izzie chose Van Gogh’s painting because the crab was relatable. Izzie describes a year of struggle and feeling helpless, much like the crab appears. The poem does a wonderful job of portraying the tension and movement Van Gogh created with his unique artistic style and complementary color scheme.

Another lesson prompted students to compose a Haiku about something that disturbed them or made them feel happy during winter break. A Haiku is a three-line poem with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Alianna Amador addressed January events with her Haiku “We All Take Cover.”

We all take cover A monster roams free outside When will it be slayed?

Alianna says the monster can be interpreted as any of the struggles people have faced in the last year.

Sometimes a singular voice emerges outside of a program, as writer Anne Malinoski found in her recent profile of Ben Lou in Flourishing Families. Anne introduced us to a competitive youth mathematician with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

Ben wrote “Sumo Wrestler” to convey the love he feels for his mom—his champion supporter of his medical and physical needs. Ben’s poem is excerpted here:

You’ve always been there for me Body set against the inexorable tug of nature and society pushing my soul down Your sweat beading in your heart Your endless love for me resolutely clenched inside you like fists Your wrestler’s powerful arms encircling, protecting me like a suit of diamond

Ben may be a mathematician, but he utilizes song and poetry as a creative outlet.

“I believe math is logical thinking in its purest and most elegant form, and poetry is to writing as math is to logical thinking,” says Ben. “Part of the power of poetry is in the way the author puts so much thought and care into a few words. This encourages the reader to pause, ponder and imagine the meaning behind each phrase. Poetry makes us slow down and savor the complexity of...life.” v

Read Ben and Izzie’s full poems and “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman by reading the full version of this article at www.sandiegofamily.com.

Read Anne Malinoski’s articles about Ben Lou at www.SNRFSD.org.

Emily Dolton has been hooked on poetry ever since she won her first poetry award at age 12 in a contest promoting Grandparent’s Day in the Glens Falls Post Star.

22 • SanDiegofamily.com • April 2021