With Poem in your Pocket Day coming up on Thursday, we studied Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s poem by the same name. In her poem, Amy sees a bird out her window and wonders, “if this bird had pockets, if this bird could write, would it scribble poems about nectar? humming?flight?” The poem comes from her book, If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your Pocket Day Celebration where she includes poems written from a variety of different animals’ point of view. So after reading a couple more poems from this book, of course we had to write our own pocket poems. While I suggested writing about a favorite animal, and after yesterday’s success with 16-word poems I encouraged students to try another short poem…students went in their own directions. And in a short period of time, pocket poems began to emerge from the pencils of the first graders in my class. Here’s a taste:
E who often writes about wolves and dogs, today wrote her pocket poem about friendship
You and Me
we walk to my
home
a tornado of
friendship
just you and
me
we are
together forever
C took me up on the animal invitation
Hedgehog
a spiky prickly ball
of sweetness uncurling
to its burrow
going to its mother
to eat breakfast
And G explored one of our favorite ocean animals
Dolphins are Amazing
dolphins zip to
me
leap up up
up
and back down
again
caring considerate and
loving
My own poem featured a hummingbird
Hummingbird
If this iridescent
jewel
had pockets they’d
hold
whipped-cream air
spun
from wings blindingly
fast
Maybe we’ll tuck these poems in our pockets tomorrow to share with those who cross our paths. How will you celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day?
Thinking Through My Lens 