For 25 years,Writers in the Schools (WITS) has placed some of our nation's most creative poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists into classrooms across Houston to engage children and their teachers in the pleasure and power of reading and writing.TheWITS program helps students improve their writing and communication skills, build their confidence, and raise overall academic performance. We work in schools, hospitals,museums, parks, community centers, and summer camps to make a significant impact on our students, teachers, schools, and community. Writers in the Schools leads the WITS Alliance, a national consortium of creative writing programs.
Get your poem a day from WITS on the web at witsblog.org. For more information about WITS, visit www.witshouston.org or call 713.523.3877.
Monday, April 12th
You’re ready for
school but you still
have 30 more minutes
left so you lie down
on the couch or sit.
It is the longest
30 minutes of your life.
Monday morning
is like homemade
play dough - you don’t
really know what
to do with it and
it takes forever
to wash off.
Philip, 4th grade
Tuesday, April 13th
(My Magic Box)
En mi caja mágica, yo quiero poner
la sonrisa de mi hermana chiquita,
el sabor de un chocolate o dulce rico,
y el recuerdo de la Navidad y el olor de las galletas dulces
que mi mamá hizo para mí.
En mi caja, quiero guardar el sonido
de los pajaritos que cantan.
Y quiero guardar el momento
cuando mi mamá ganó
un trofeo en su trabajo.
~
In my magic box, I put
my little sister’s smile,
the taste of chocolate,
the memory of Christmas
and the smell of the sweet cookies
that my mother made for me.
In my box, I put the sound
birds sing, and the time
when my mother won
a trophy at her job.
Jessica, 3rd grade
Wednesday, April 14th
I, the star god,
Take bones from the
Underworlds of past times
To create mankind.
Xanath, meaning star,
Another story for
Another night. Tomorrow’s
Sun will be here to wake
Us up soon enough.
Let us go to our mats
Now and sleep
As the stars up above.
A shining light
The light of the night.
Lorena, 6th grade
Thursday, April 15th
I whisper to my mom. I whisper to her about space. I say that there are eight planets. I tell her that there are stars. I say there are galaxies. I tell her that I like space. My mom tells me that she likes space too.
Aneesh, 3rd grade
T.H. Rogers School
Friday, April 16th
If no one was watching I would
say good-bye to the stars in
the night. I would stay in my room writing
about the world, telling myself
how I love my family. I would write
a song of love without anything
to get in my way. I would kiss the moon
because I love you so much. I would do
anything for you because I love you
so much. “You are the love in my
life,” I would tell you up close,
and you would tell me, “I love you, too.”
Laila, 3rd grade