"Please Teach Me" Author unkown

Please teach me everything I’ll need,
Teach me to calculate and speak,
Teach me to stop being so weak:
Teach me to think and write and read.
‘Cause there isn’t much I’ll learn alone,
and my mind is hungry for your food,
the food for thought that makes us good
and without which we’re dry as stone.
Teach me to be just like yourself,
The person I so much admire,
The one whose intellectual fire
I wish I’ll have one day myself.
Take a seat and start to teach,
Let me thus the wonders see
Of this world where I will be
A bit better thanks to each
Of the teachers that I had,
and thanks to yourself, the one
who’s made me sure that I can,
that in fact, I’m not that bad
as a student. I’ll succeed.
You’re the one who made me start
To realize that it’s an art
To develop the great seed
That you planted in my young brain.
I’ll water that seed all the time
With your great teaching, and with time
You’ll see your efforts were not in vain.

 Since this is my last poetry response of the year I thought I would do a poem for Mrs. Coleman.  I picked this poem because of its ideas.  Even though it does not have a specific rhyme scheme, it has alot of heart and meaning that comes out of it.  Mrs. Coleman has taught me alot this year and has guided me through my senior year.  I did not always make the best grades or actually read all the chapters she assigned, which showed through my quizes, but she made class enjoyable and I learned alot.  Most students would say the amount of work we did was a little much and complain, but now that it is the end of the year I can say it was worth it and definitely has shown in the end.  This year was a great one, so thankyou Mrs. Coleman. :)

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" By: Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass 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.

This poem was one of my favorite poems when I was a kid. I always liked reading as a child but I was one of those kids that liked reading about happy or ideal things.  This poem to me was always the thought of endless possibilities, a sidewalk that never ended.  Of course realistically it has to end, and in the poem the end of the sidewalk symbolizes growing up and leaving childhood behind.  I like the rhyme scheme of this poem; the 1st and 3rd lines of each stanza rhyme, so it makes it fun to read but not too over the top.  I love Shel Silverstein and this poem will forever be one of my favorites.

"The Class Reunion" by: Anonymous

Every ten years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail.
"A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand,
Make plans to attend without fail".

I'll never forget the first time we met,
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain,
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed"
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted "least" now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini,
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal,
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores,
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait--they've set the date,
Our fiftieth is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid,
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled,
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party,
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun. but I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

I chose this poem because we are at the point where we all must realize highschool is ending and we are all moving on to bigger and better things.  Some of us are going away to college, some are staying home.  Some of us will continue to talk to each other everyday, while some friendships will fade away.  Reguardless of how things end up in May, rest assured we will all see eachother in the years to come.  It might not be everyday like we see eachother now, but every 5, 10, 15 years we will all meet again.  I liked this poem because of the humor the author used.  He/she wraps the sterotypical things that usually come to mind with thinking of highschool, into a fun poem with a nice rhyme scheme.  The author describes everything I hope to see at my highschool reunion, so I look forward to when we are all old and cute and meet again.

"My Best Friend" - Anonymous

A best friend
is always there,
whether you need advice,
or a pep talk,
or even a shoulder to cry on.

A best friend
listens with her heart
and is always honest with you,
even though the truth
may not be
what you want to hear.

A best friend
knows all your secrets,
understands your fears
shares your dreams.

A best friend
never stops believing in you
even if you give up
on yourself.
you are
that kind of friend
to me.

And no matter what happens,
you always will be.
You are my best friend....
my forever friend.

I like this poem because it is about friendship; not only friendship but true friendship.  I like there is not a rhyme scheme to this poem.  The style the author used in this poem to express their feelings.  I think true friendship is hard to find.  But once you find a true friend, or best friend, you can always go to them and trust them no matter what.  They will always protect you and tell you what you honestly need to know.  This poem shows those thoughts and I really like it.

"Time of Your Life" by: Green Day

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.


Whenever I think of things changing or people moving on, this is the song that comes to mind.  Not only is it catchy, I think it is a song almost everyone can relate to.  It is one of those songs that gives you goosebumps on your arms because you feel powerful listening to it.  This song says it is okay to move forward.  There are memories that everyone keeps forever; they may not talk about them everyday, but they put them on a "shelf" in their mind and no one can every take them away.  I really like this song, it says it is okay to move on, and I think that is a message that should be spread to everyone.

"Messy Room" by: Shel Silerstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

I like this poem because it reminds me of my mother getting on to me about my room being a mess.  She always makes up rhymes or clever sayings to make me want to actually clean so she will stop.  I also like this poem because of the hidden underlying message.  The speaker is quick to judge the owner of this room, critquing the little things and mentioning how there is even a vest out in the hall.  He continually judges the owner of the room only to find out that it is his own room.  The author is trying to say that most people hypcrites; wrongly judging others for something that they themselves do. 

"Thank You, Friend" by: Joanna Fuchs

Thank You, Friend

 

Thank you, friend, for all the things
That mean so much to me--
For concern and understanding
You give abundantly.

 

Thanks for listening with your heart;
For cheering me when I'm blue;
For bringing out the best in me;
And just for being you.

 

Thanks for in-depth conversation
That stimulates my brain;
For silly times we laugh out loud;
For things I can't explain.

 

For looking past my flaws and faults;
For all the time you spend;
For all the kind things that you do,
Thank you; thank you, friend.

 

I picked this poem out because it reminded me of my good friend JJ.  I feel like a true friendship does not always get the full recognition it deserves.  This poem does exactly what its title implies; it is a thankyou to a friend.  Although we do not always realize it, we are affected and impacted by our friends that are around us everyday.  Wheither it may be lending a hand, asking for advice, or simply just being by your side, a true friend is always there and never judges you.  I like the way the author presented this topic in this poem.  I know they must have been thinking of a good friend like I was when I came across this poem.  :)