Inspiration: Often poets use images, paintings, or photographs to inspire writing. Today, pick one of these pics to spark your poem (or choose your own image and link to it). Consider one of these ideas to get you poem-ing:

  • Write the inner thoughts of a person or object in the image or who composed the image. Write from a growth mindset of what he or she is working through, figuring out about the world, patiently understanding through careful observation.
  • Tell the story of the image. What is happening?
  • Pick an object within the image and write from its perspective.
  • Personify a feeling, object, idea, from the image.
  • Use colors, sounds, smells, shapes, textures to make your words as vivid as the image.

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Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

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Bageshwar

CAT
Oooooh…
It’s a banana!
What the…?
It’s fluffy!
Now I just want to scratch it and rip it…

HUMAN
“Awwww”
“Who’s a cute kitty? You are!”
“I’ll go get the camera so I can look back at this!”

CAT
Oh no!
Not the dang camera!

HUMAN
“Here Garfield!”
**FLASH**

CAT
“Hissss”
com’n John!
You know I hate the stupid flash!
Then why?!?!?

HUMAN
“Sorry but it had to be done!”

Nicholas

Ha Ha! I get the joke about Garfield and making it sound like a comic strip.

Khari

i look up in he sky
as it twists up like a
portal trying t suck in life
itself.

Elicia Perez

How?
How can a picture,
Hold 1,000 words?
How?
We look at
a picture and just assume.
But, what if
were wrong?

Little cesars

I like how you kept asking questions, to make us as the reader think about it.

Emma

I really like how you did not just take one picture and tell it’s story, but you took all of them and asked questions about them. I really like how you asked “what if we are wrong?” because it got me thinking that when I described the picture that I chose, did I describe that persons life wrong? Thank you, Elicia for asking these questions and really getting me thinking.

Leilany

This yellow pillow
Shaped like the fruit
Humans eat.
Why do I feel so attached to it?
Why are these memories
Of when I was a kit,
suddenly washing over me?
I see my mother,
And I, along with my siblings,
Are snuggling with her.
All I can feel now is comfort,
As I cuddle with this banana.

Jasmine Plata

First picture.
The wind blowing from above.
Fireflies getting
swayed in the wind.
Their gold light shining
ever so bright.
A cliff,
where you can see the
beginning
of the
whole
village.
A tree planted on the top of the cliff.
A colorful village just there alone.
Surrounded by luscious fields.
Green mountains off in the distant.
The unique colors blending in together.
The story of peace.

Henry nham

blue sky
wavy sky
radiant sunlight
overall a great piece of art

Bageshwar

So true and I totally agree!

Colin

Last picture
what are they doing?
Is their a celebration ?
Is it a dance party?
Is their a play?
Why is someone in a costume ?
I wonder what are they doing ?

Ruby

stories are everywhere
doesn’t matter where you are
you just know there is a story behind every face that we see
we can’t judge people by the “chapter” we came in on
we need to hear/read the story since the beginning
or else we will never get the story

Mik Mieczkowski

The line ” there is a story behind every face that we see, we can’t judge people by the ‘chapter’ we came in on” was very insightful, and it is very wise. We can’t judge others by just a few minutes spent with them, or by a single look, because they could be much nicer, and better than you think. It’s like the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

Becca

they are everywhere
some tell a story
some are sad
or happy
depends on how you look at it
they are a snapshots of memories
things to look back on
things to remember
by yourself
or with lots of people
seen from all different angles.

Mik Mieczkowski

I carve the jack-o-lantern as my father watches me.
An eye here, I think to my self, and a mouth here.
Beautiful!
As it almost becomes finished, my dad says
“What is that?”
“A jack-o-lantern”
“That looks like a smiley face, or a bowl of fruit.”
He turns it over and makes the jack o lantern you see in the picture.
“Mommy! look at what I made!”

Lucas

Loneliness
the definition of your life
your only company
is the owners who took you from the other animals at the pet store
They aren’t even home until your asleep
so you lie on the pillow
and wait for them to come

Malik

You think of all the kids your making happy,
By teaching them songs and dances,
And the parents even more happy, to see them learn.

Then you think of the random people staring,
At your ridiculous red costume,
Laughing and questioning your work.

But you get past them,
Put on your strawberry costume,
and rock that school play.

Kevin H

SLOWWW
Man I’m listening to Drakes new album #LITT
This lady walks slow like a turtle
I wanna tell het to get off her phone but it might be disrespectful
What has happen to this society
Mostly everyone is on there phone
Technology can be are best friend but can be are enemy
It can cause death
It can get s together
But please get off her phone

Emma

Starry Night

Swirling
In colors of
Yellow and gold.
Twinkling
In the merciless
Night, providing
Light.
Towering
Above it all
So close, it could
Almost touch the stars.
Almost.
But you
CAN
Touch them.
If you believe.

Kaitlyn

The sweet breeze
The shining sun
I can’t wait for summer

The green grass
The blue skies
I can’t wait for summer

Out all day
And up all night
I can’t wait for summer

San tans
Pool days
I can’t wait for summer

Sunflower seeds
and softball games
I can’t wait for summer

Counting the days
Until relaxation
I can’t wait for summer

Maddie

About Claude Monet’s painting titled “The Magpie” (sorry, it wouldn’t load)

The Magpie

A small bird on a poorly made gateway
The only thing not covered with snow
It rests and looks around at the winter wonderland
And wonders where all the green went
A peach ranch settles behind half brown, half white trees
The faint view of telephone lines struggle to be seen
Against the bright, light gray sky
The paint on the canvas streaks, making shadows
And the miniscule blots of the paintbrush let snow rest
In the tiny edges of the cut down ash tree

Abigail Zimmerman

Pic #6

The girls watched as the bad men burnt their school to the ground.
Some worried as to how they would now get their education.
Some cried over all the books and knowledge lost.
Never again would they read the sweet words of the authors in those books.
Never again would they be taught new ideas and problems.
They would be forced to go back to their old lives of begging
And wondering when their meal would come.
That day, they learned that education is everything
And that the world depended on it.

Rieley

i am walking down the street
the lady in front of me is so slow
come on get off your phone
i look around everyone is too
what is wrong with this world?
i look down
whoops!
forgot i had my headphones too

Anna

(picture 4)
I watch through my geometrically shaped eyes as the young boy inspects me.
Drool dribbles from his mouth
His chubby, still baby like fingers reach out and
run along the crooked edges of my mouth.
Behind me, although I cannot see him
I know his father is watching carefully with love
appreciating the happiness the boy carried as he watched him
carve my permanent smile
and fill in my hollow insides with candle light.
I wish I could stay in this moment forever, but I know that in a few minutes
I will be watching beasts and monsters from the doorstep
Awaiting the day my body curls up into the green ground
Until next Halloween.

Chessie

Pondering a Starry Night

The stillness of the night is marked by the starry expanse of the magnificent sky–
The swirling patterns of emerald and cobalt blue, the cerulean and sapphire intensity
And the stars engulfed with cornflower halos, all like the colors of
a peacock’s tail feather with its mystical eye.
The eye of the night reaches out with its moving patterns
As if to welcome me into the secrets hidden among the stars.

The stillness of the village, secluded at the base of the rolling hills,
Is motionless on this vivid night.
I can glimpse the soft, yellow light of a candle flickering
In the windows of slumbering souls.

There, in the middle of the village, rises a spire that seems to reach towards the heavens.
The stillness of the night is magnified in this symbol of peace.
The hymns of my childhood flood through me, and I softly whisper His name.

Each brushstroke has meaning, a purpose for the infinite vastness of this night sky.
I can feel a sense of humility as I gaze upon the limitless wonder and try to imagine how the
universe just goes on and on, forever in time.
I look on in awe and am mesmerized by the constantly swirling ribbons working their way through the sky.

The crescent moon bathes in the early morning light of the approaching dawn–
The dreamlike period between sleeping and the wakefulness that blankets the world,
The time when the sun begins to peek through the remaining darkness, and the crisp air
Intensifies the color and beauty of the starry night.
I feel that I must reach out to touch the remnants of the fading stars.

There before me is the threat of the tower of death, reaching its dark trunks towards the heavens.
I mourn for the lost souls who have been enamored of the night and who have been
Bewitched by its beauty.

A lone, white light in the sky appears in the distance.
It is noticeably apart from the other swirling stars,
And its brightness grows as it moves towards the mortal tree.
The morning star emerges and beckons to me, and I grasp onto its spectrum of hope.

I take a breath and firmly pull on the fine camel hairs as I gently dip them into the palette’s array of shades,
Colors that transport the radiance of this night onto canvas.

I find myself guided by this infinite light.
My focus is on the sky, and I must follow that light.
The sky will lead me to finding myself and feeling free.

Even though this starry night has come and gone,
There will be other nights such as this to remember.

Will people remember me,
A lonely man from centuries past
Who loved to step out and view a beautiful
Starry Night.

I am Vincent.

Michael

I like how long and detailed you are with your description of starry night.

Zachary

This is a great poem talking about the starry night and I can definitely see this painting.

Abigail Zimmerman

I noticed that you used the technique of allusion. You said, “I am Vincent.” which, because this poem is about the painting ‘Starry Night,’ it gives us the impression that the speaker is Vincent Van Gogh, painter of this work.

Kaylen

i like that your poem is long

Colin

I like how you gave a lot of details on the starry night picture and what it means to you.

Jillian

Carving a pumpkin
So simple
So easy
So forgetful
Carve out a half oval for the mouth
So he can speak every word with pride and honor
Carve out two holes for ears
So he can hear the beautiful sounds of his loved ones laugh
Carve out one triangle for the nose
So he can not only taste, but smell the wonders of flavor
And two circles for eyes so he can see the
Pain
Wonder
Joy
Sadness
And curiosity
In this world
One day he will pass on those big brown eyes to his own son
And one day they will carve a pumpkin together
Just like we did

Alyssa

Picture 4:

Halloween can make people filled with fright,
But with a pumpkin in sight,
That fright may disappear.
Carving faces and laughing along,
It’s just something a family might do to bond.
The pumpkin can cause a baby to smile,
Even if they have been carving the pumpkin for a while.
Black and white is what the picture appears,
Maybe someone in the picture might be showing some fear.

Anathea

(Perspective of the kitty in picture #3)

I lay on the carpet calm
I listen
Birds
Footsteps
Finally I can rest
I slowly close my eyes
PLOP
What the heck was that
I immediately open my eyes
What the…
A yellow crescent creature of some sorts is right there
Meow? I ask
(No response)
How dare you lay on my carpet
Do you smell this carpet?
It smells like MY fur
So…. IT’S MINE!
Leave immediately I state
It didn’t move
Are you challenging ME?
Not a single movement
I hiss at the yellow demon
It still didn’t budge
I slowly stretch my back
I pounce
I wrestle it
But it didn’t fight back
I then bit it
Trying to rip it’s head off
I turn to see those 2 humans
THEY’RE LAUGHING AT ME
How is this at all funny!?
I then realize
The yellow crescent demon is my catnip toy

Chessie

Your poem is amusing and so descriptive. I can just imagine the cat doing the talking!

Abigail Zimmerman

Your poem really highlighted the cat’s thoughts and emotions. It explains to us why the cat attacks the toy in a creative way.

Ruby

Music
It’s a getaway for a lot of people
it makes you loose yourself
makes you forget about everything
everything that could possibly be going on
you forget about her
and him
and them
and everyone
its just you
and you is all you need
you see what’s going on
but you can’t hear it
and sometimes it good that you can’t hear things
because they are not worth our time
or we may have no part of it but it affects us
for some reason
Music
its a getaway for a lot of people

Julia

Picture #4

Exploring

They’re just curious…
What will happen?
The effect.
Learning if it’ll fall,
and break.
Bend or snap.
Twist or turn.
Testing it.
Wanting to see the
End Result.
Like cutting a pumpkin, into
A jack-o-lantern.
Pushing and pulling.
Seeing and waiting
Just to see
What.
Will.
Happen.

Abigail Zimmerman

You took the pictures and created a whole new idea of it. Most of us would have just seen a boy making a jack-o-lantern, but you saw an explorer. You thought outside the box and that is what makes a good poet.

Karen

Sexual Abuse

This happens daily
Don’t matter the gender

It comes from who you expect it
It could be your parent
Your siblings
Your Grandparents

Their thinking about it 24/7
They are your most love ones

They come when you
least expect it

Giancarlo

I stare at my little brother carving a pumpkin
I stare at the person that I might not ever see again
I stare at “my world”
I stare at him knowing that I won’t be around to see the person he’ll become
I hear a knock on the door and my nightmare begins
I open it and see two people standing there
I stare up at the sky knowing what’s coming
I close my eyes
CLICK,CLICK
BOOM

Jazmine Johnson

# PICTURE 6
I have nothing
My family has nothing
Everyone in my town has nothing
I wish my people will stop fighting
do they forget about the kids
do they forget that people have families
do they forget that we need to survive too
can we just stop the brutal abuse ?

Miriam

Picture #6
My family, friends, and I
have a feeling
that we would live through
this starvation.
We’ve been trying to find some food.
Hours have passed
and still no search of food.
Finally we see a berry bush
and an apple tree.
My friends and family
go rushing to pick some out.

Jack

Wow, this poem walks the line between really sad and happy. Excellent work Balancing the two out.

erik palacios

i walk alone
distracted to music
think about life and the future
ignoring my surrounding
thinking nothing will happen
walking with strangers
bumping to people who are distracted
on their phone, calling their love one’s

(watch picture is this)
sorry if you can’t understand this

Liam

I can relate because when I listen to music everything just gets blocked out

opunƃǝS ɹǝɥdoʇsıɹɥↃ

Picture 4

living with my parents
I am glad to be here
carving pumpkins
having no fear

I have privileges
unlike some guys
so I best appreciate it
Until I die

I don’t understand the world
or what is in for me
but I love my life
me and my family 🙂

Liam

Today is the beginning of the end
The beast is finally awakening
As soon as it fully awakes it’s senses as a hunter and matures
but for now…

the kitten will just settle for the banana