Although I grew up copying out Emily Dickinson poems for penmanship practice and giggling over Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, I’ve always been intimidated by this particular form of literature. It wasn’t until I began reading Novels in Verse last year that I felt poetry might be worth approaching.
I’ll admit, it’s still confusing and new, but I’m paying more attention now. Poetry isn’t just a sentence with a lot of negative space anymore. I’m even trying my hand at writing a few. So, in honor of National Poetry Month, here are a few short poems that I thought would appeal to fellow newbies.
Jack doesn’t want to write poetry. Poetry is for girls. Poetry doesn’t make any sense. But as Miss Stretchberry introduces the class to new poems, Jack begins to see how simple ideas jotted down on a piece of paper can become something beautiful.
Elza Kinde 