Adrian Green
Mirror
There are no lies
in the morning
no cheating of age
an illusion of eye
smoothing skin over bone.
No portrait hidden away
becoming skeletal
and demanding release.
Another day to face,
my confessor, so laugh
at this charting of years.
(Samantha, Kayla, Diego, and Clayton)
_
_
Karen Fitzpatrick
A Soldier's Cry
Jagged heart
Souls plead
Voices cry
No time to bleed
Whispers linger
In the night
d**h all around
Horrible sight
Face to face
You're just like me
Sad to think
War has to be
k**ing fields
Battle sweeps
End is near
Soldier's weep
(Travis, Emily, Aundre, and Audrey)
_
_
Robert McGough
Survivor
Everyday,
I think about dying.
About disease, starvation,
violence, terrorism, war,
the end of the world.
It helps
keep my mind off things.
(Jordan, Ashley, Emily, and Kielen)
_
_
Sir Herbert Read
The Happy Warrior
His wild heart beats with painful sobs,
His strin'd hands clench an ice-cold rifle,
His aching jaws grip a hot parch'd tongue,
His wide eyes search unconsciously.
He cannot shriek.
Bloody saliva
Dribbles down his shapeless jacket.
I saw him stab
And stab again
A well-k**ed Boche.
This is the happy warrior,
This is he…
(Ashley, Lydia, Theo, and Alex)
_
_
John Clare
First Love
I ne'er was struck before that hour
With love so sudden and so sweet,
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower
And stole my heart away complete.
My face turned pale as deadly pale.
My legs refused to walk away,
And when she looked, what could I ail?
My life and all seemed turned to clay.
And then my blood rushed to my face
And took my eyesight quite away,
The trees and bushes round the place
Seemed midnight at noonday.
I could not see a single thing,
Words from my eyes did start --
They spoke as chords do from the string,
And blood burnt round my heart.
Are flowers the winter's choice?
Is love's bed always snow?
She seemed to hear my silent voice,
Not love's appeals to know.
I never saw so sweet a face
As that I stood before.
My heart has left its dwelling-place
And can return no more.
(Brooke, TJ, Remi, and Frank)
_
_
Shel Silverstein
Where The Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
and before the street begins,
and there the gra** grows soft and white,
and there the sun burns crimson bright,
and there the moon-bird rests from his flight
to cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
and the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
we shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow
and watch where the chalk-white arrows go
to the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
and we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
for the children, they mark, and the children, they know,
the place where the sidewalk ends.
(Bryce, Josh, David, and Ashton)
_
_
Vernon Scannell
Gunpowder Plot
For days these curious cardboard buds have lain
In brightly coloured boxes. Soon the night
Will come. We pray there'll be no sullen rain
To make these magic orchids flame less bright.
Now in the garden's darkness they begin
To flower: the frenzied whizz of Catherine-wheel
Puts forth its fiery petals and the thin
Rocket soars too burst upon the steel
Bulwark of a cloud. And then the guy,
Absurdly human phoenix, is again
Gulped by greedy flames: the harvest sky
Is flecked with threshed and glittering golden grain.
‘Uncle! A cannon! Watch me as I light it!'
The women helter-skelter, squealing high,
Retreat; the paper fuse is quickly lit,
A cat-like hiss, and spit of fire, a sly
Falter, then the air is shocked with blast,
The cannon bangs and in my nostrils drifts
A bitter scent that brings the lurking past
Lurching to my side. The present shots,
Allows a ten-year memory to walk
Unhindered now; and so I'm forced to hear
The banshee howl of mortar and the talk
Of men who died, am forced to taste my fear.
I listen for a moment to the guns,
The torn earth's grunts, recalling how I prayed.
The past retreats. I hear a corpse's sons -
‘Who's scared of bangers!' ‘Uncle! John's afraid!'
(Alexis, Kevin, Jesus, and DeShon)
_
_ Learn The Basics Getting Started
1. What is Genius?
2. Education Genius
3. How to Read Annotations
4. Sign Up for an Account
5. Genius Educator Accounts
Genius Educator Accounts
1. Creating Cla** Pages
2. Privacy vs. Openness
3. Verified Teacher Annotations
Student Teacher Interaction
1. Leave a Suggestion
2. Sending Feedback
3. Accepting (or Rejecting) Annotations
4. Sending Private Messages
5. Upvoting Annotations
6. Point System
7. Profiles as Portfolios
8. Reading Annotations in a Text or Profile Prepare for Cla** Explore Our Resources
1. A Resource Guide for Genius Educators
2. A Student's Guide to Genius
3. Examples of Student Work
4. Cla**room Projects Page
5. Lit Genius Guidelines
6. Sample Assignments
7. Educators Forum
8. Education Genius — we're here for you!
Finding, Adding, and Organizing Texts
1. Search for Texts
2. Common Core Texts
3. When Should You Add a Text?
4. How To Add a Text
5. Note on Copyright
Course Materials
1. Adding Course Documents
2. Assignment Prompts
3. Creating a Cla** Tag and Homepage
4. Creating Cla** Rosters
Planning and Pacing
1. What You Want From Students
2. What Students Need From You
3. How Much Time Do You Need
4. What It Will Take To Get There Create Annotations Formatting
1. How To Create an Annotation
2. Italics
3. Bold
4. Italics and Bold
5. Block Quotes
6. Headers
Multimedia
1. Links
2. Pictures
3. Videos
4. Gifs Delve Even Deeper Digital Writing
1. Digital Literacy
2. Use of Formatting
3. Use of Images
4. Different Assessment
Your Profile
1. Add a Picture
2. Add a Bio
3. Link to Social Media
Edit Descriptions
1. For a Text
2. For an Album (or Book)
3. For an Author
Special Projects
1. Soundcloud
2. YouTube
3. Design Your Own
4. Move Beyond the Cla**room
Contact Us
1. Education Genius — we're here for you!
2. Share Student Work