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“Compassion is a first bloomed rose
shining brighter than all the other flowers.
Yellow, a yellow rose taller than the rest.
This is a special rose,
It doesn't flow in the wind like the others.
It is strong.“
- Amanda, 5th grade
Ode to My Mom
My mom, the one who nourished me when I was young.
The one who held me when I cried and who wiped my tears.
The one who tucked me in when the nights were long.
The one who cut her long golden brown locks of hair
so I would not hide in them when I was shy.
She who gave me life when I was lifeless
and the one who loves me most of all.
-Theana, 7th grade
Rain is Light
It creeps up, turning everything limp and damp
as a newborn bat's wings.
Crystals falling out of silver.
A single trout takes over life,
good and evil.
It first starts sprinkling, then drizzling,
and within seconds, it's pouring.
Rain has no manners.
When it turns the world black,
it is the only light.
-Kyle Amster, 4th grade
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“If we can bring poetry back into the lives of our children, we can transform the world.”
- Deepak Chopra |
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There is a sacredness in everyday language that has been diminished in our culture. What this sacredness represents is a feeling of connectedness to self and something larger than the self -- the whole of nature. Within the act of writing poetry lies an amazing gift -- it is the gift of metaphor and the gift of the image. These two incredibly important tools stretch our normal perceptions and allow us to see similarities rather
than differences, unifying our experience of the world.
Children have an innate ability to feel this sense of connection. You see it in their overflowing energy at play, their love for animals, and their awe of the simplest rock or a star filled sky.
“Language of the Awakened Heart” written by Terri Glass in cooperation with Fund for Global Awakening, is a remarkable ten-lesson guidebook which provides a framework for children to express their highest truth with poetry, a language that embraces the sacredness of life – a language of the awakened heart. |
What is a language filled with heart? Man y people have forgotten that the power of words has a strong impact on our experience of reality. Slang, profanity, negative criticism permeates our media and creates a cacophony of sound, a discord felt in the heart. Returning to a heart based language requires a feeling of connection to oneself and a connection larger than the self - the whole fabric of life. Within the act of writing poetry, lies an amazing gift - it is the gift of ...MORE |
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Down to the River
Everyday I went down to the river,
knelt and drank the fluid home
of copepods, tadpoles, periwinkles
and my eyes turned inward,
dazzled a dark light
deep into my chest.
There my heart turned into
a forest of long reaching willows,
tall as redwoods, leaves glistening
like silver splinters of the moon.
Each leaf housing hundreds of...MORE |
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