Poems signed by students

Stop.
Wait!
Poems by students? By adult learners of English?
Well, that's right.
Since the year 2000 that 21st March has been World Poetry Day. Having in mind that UNESCO's aim with this date is to promote Reading, Writing and the teaching/learning of Poetry and using an interactive resource  from Read Write Think, I challenged my adult learners to write Acrostic Poems, in other words, poems that use the letters in a topic word to begin each line. Some sts chose to use their own names, others chose topics as family or love, others still, festivities. Not all managed to complete their first poetic attempt; other poems were saved and sent without a final correction. Nevertheless, the result was so encouraging and rewarding that we would like to share these beautiful poems with you all.
Their poems follow below - and because we are approaching Easter, this "story" starts with an Easter bunny made with the students' names :=) So, what do you think? Approved, right?

World Poetry Day

Every year on March 21 UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) celebrates World Poetry Day - a time to appreciate poetry and poets all over the world.
Quoting Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

"Poetry is one of the purest expressions of linguistic freedom. It is a component of the identity of peoples and it embodies the creative energy of culture, for it can be continuously renewed".

Message for the World Poetry Day 

To celebrate this date and the beginning of Spring, a poem, what else???

IT'S SPRING

It's spring

And the garden is changing its clothes,

Putting away

Its dark winter suits,

Its dull scarves

And drab brown overcoats.

Now, it wraps itself in green shoots,

Slips on blouses

Sleeved with pink and white blossom,

Pulls on skirts of daffodil and primrose,

Snowdrop socks and purple crocus shoes,

Then dances in the sunlight.

John Foster in The Works 10th Anniversary Edition

What about you, what are your favourite lines?

Happy World Poetry Day, y'all :)

World Poetry Day

To mark World Poetry Day another poem this time by Valerie Worth

Book

Such a
Bountiful
Box of
Tricks:
Packed
With the
Five senses,
The seven
Seas, the
Earth’s
Four winds
And corners,
All fitted
Exactly in.

Valerie Worth in All the small poems and fourteen more

Find yourself a poetry book and read!
Happy Reading :=))

World Poetry Day

Every year on March 21 we celebrate WORLD POETRY DAY, a date declared by UNESCO in 1999.
The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements".
Bearing this in mind and to mark another performance by the Interacting theatre company to take place today, allow me to leave you with a poem - Yeah, what else today??? Laugh while you learn - so we hope today with the play "The World at War".

PRAYER TO LAUGHTER

O Laughter
giver of relaxed mouths

you who rule our belly with tickles
you who come when not called
you who can embarrass us at times

send us stitches in our sides

Image Source: bbc.co.uk

shake us til the water reaches our eyes

buckle our kness till we cannot stand

we whose faces are grim and shattered
we whose hearts are no longer hearty
O Laughter we beg you

crack us up

crack us up

John Agard