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P OETRY U NIT Natalies Poems

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T ABLE O F C ONTENTS 1. What is Poetry? 2. First Day of School 3. On Turning Thirteen 4. Epitaph 5. Snow Charge of the Seventh Grade 6. Nonsense Poem 7. The Crush 8. Spring 9. Tanka, Senryu, Cinquain, Haiku 10. Flower Petals 11. Failed Test Sestina 12. Limerick 13. Poetic License

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What Is Poetry? 10/10

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That First Day Of School The street is silent. The rest of the chatting has gone. As I walk towards home, The trees rustle their secrets. The frog beside me disappears. When is the last time Ill see him? Winter is coming fast Now that Ive had my first day of school And that autumn chill is here. Poet Laureate Poem 10/10

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On Turning Thirteen The whole idea of it makes me feel Like the weight of childhood is gone. All of those days of imagining myself As something Ill never be Are gone with those other twelve years. Now I am almost thirteen, The gateway to teen years. If it is too early to be looking back, Why do I do it? All of those birthdays I still see, All of those long years, They can still be replayed in my head. They were nothing compared to this. I have a strange disease of thirteen years, Only curable by turning fourteen. For now, Im still twelve, Trying to get the most out of it. I know if I even blink, Ill miss some of this day, And it will be year thirteen. I cant stop it, But I can delay it. And suddenly, I am ready. Thirteen wont be so horrible. Maybe I wont lose myself. It may just be like a one-day flu. So now I say, come! Thirteen, I will face you! I can do it, I can turn thirteen. 10/10

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My sister and I played By the old stone well. She pushed me in And down I fell. I fell for so long, And then I was here. Its not so bad (but Madilyns buried near). No one remembers me, But I dont care. It doesnt matter, Because Im not there. Natalie Alexander 1998-2012 10/10

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Snow Charge of the Seventh Grade Seventh grade, seventh grade, Three hundred of them. All in their classes at school Watching the snow fall. Forward, the seventh grade! To the courtyard! they called. Into the ERH halls Ran the three hundred. The students all ran With their eyes on the prize. Not one of them saw them, Those teachers who watched. The snow was too tempting, Too nice to look away. They just kept on running, The poor seventh grade. They filled all the halls up, Waving their snow jackets At the ones who opposed. Running and shouting With teachers behind them. All the stragglers were caught, In trouble they were. The rest didnt stop, The fast seventh grade. The doors were in plain sight, The charge would turn out right! There was no catching them, The future was not grim. The teachers were gone! The doors were thrown open wide, No bothering with lines. Students were pushing, And then they were in it! The snow and the ice! Then they just played, happy, In the courtyard snow. Then the teachers converged, Coming from the left door, Coming from the right! Detention for lunch! And after school for you! The students all fell, Not even one survived. Detentions were given, More homework on the side. The poor seventh grade.

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Snow Charge of the Seventh Grade That one day will not fade, Remembered forever. The seventh grade charge, That one snowy day. Honor the seventh grade, Noble seventh grade. 8/10

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That Octoseahorseopus Beware of that munster Near the Wangalang Sea. She lives in the poris caves Near which she roams free. She is fierce, She is monstrous, I know she can eat us, That Octoseahorseopus. Well swim to her cave, Its just past the jelpo weeds, Then follow the sand path, (I think thats where it leads). I can see her caves, And I think she sees me. So lets drive her away, And then well be free. Lead her past Mt. Unjear, To the kingdom of Kearo. When you come back, Youll be a hero. 10/10

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Ernie and Dolores

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Swirls of seeds from a dandelion Fly up as I run right through them. This is spring, so sweet smelling. So warm, with no hint of snow. The sun is shining, throwing its rays, Heating the earth with its warmth. The bugs are buzzing on the breeze, And spring flowers spread colors. Soon summer will come and spread sunlight, And spring will be no longer here. Next year it will come back, though, And its beauty comes back as well. 10/10

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Haiku The sun throws down heat Making the soft summer breeze Like an ovens blast. Senryu The days are longer, The air is so much warmer, But Dad only sleeps. Tanka The mornings are warm, The afternoons are scorching. This must be summer, With its days like hot ovens And its cool, relieving rains. Cinquain Summer Must be coming With its roasting weather And its booming bright thunderstorms And bugs.

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10/10

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Failed Test The problems are there in my head, But they are hard to understand. X and Y? What? When I am solving the problem, Something malfunctions and I forget. Geometry, equations, and algebra. My teacher says, Do your algebra! I say, Yes but Im not connected to my head. What did he say about this!? I forget. I try and try again to understand. I stare hard at the problem, Willing it to solve. Eight times Y is what? No, no, no. My teacher says something. What? Time is up, he says. You did not do your algebra. No! Nothing done! Not a single problem. Half finished equations fly around my head. Why do I not understand? This is a failed test. I will try to forget.

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But I wont forget. I will be doing who knows what, And I still wont understand. I will still think about algebra. This test will float into my head. I didnt finish a problem. Not one single problem. It is impossible to forget Or erase from my head Anything of what Happened today in algebra. I wont ever understand. Since I dont understand I wont graduate. Thats a problem. Since I dont know algebra, I wont work. I would forget Everything. I wont know what To do. There will be nothing in my head. I cant do the problems. Dumb head. Dumb math. Eight times three is what? Why do I always forget? 10/10

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