The following poetry written by Mar Vista Elementary School fifth graders was inspired by a visit from local poet Magdelena Montagne.
I Am
I always seem to be contagious
And I spread the love.
I’m on a face, I stretch like lace.
I’m usually the color light pink.
This poem could go on for a while,
But don’t worry, I’m a smile.
•••
Lytrell
Mime
I am the one who gets
Trapped in a box
Does rodeos
With humans
Walks down no stairs
And can’t talk
Who am I?
Yes, I am a mime.
•••
Nicky
Who Am I
I’m scary and I’m black
I can’t see anything at night…
•••
Tahjanae
Sneaking
Peeking around the side of the tree
Ready to pounce on my prey.
Not speaking. I’m silent.
Light brown ears perk up.
He spies me
With those big black eyes.
Realizes what I am.
I see my red dog-like reflection
In the eyes that act as a mirror.
The skittish deer gallops away triumphantly.
At the sight of a fox.
•••
Alondra S
Wind
I am clear and I flow around the air.
I blow on many things.
I blow hard when there is a storm.
I blow around on people to make them cool.
You can’t see me
But I can see you.
I am a breeze that flows.
What am I?
I am the Wind.
•••
Anthony Gonzalez
I Am
I am moving
In the deep dark forest
I run and hunt prey for food
I lay sleeping with my rack.
What am I?
I Am Getting glazed and dripping
I am a tasty treat
I may come with nothing
Yet, I taste so delicious
You can find me in the hands of a cop
Or hanging out with my best friend coffee.
I am so tasty
You can smell my glaze from almost a mile away.
I am a tannish color
I am a donut.
•••
Tony Sanchez
I Am
I am hard and gray.
I live on the ground.
I don’t blow away
When the wind blows
I am heavy like a rock
But I am much bigger.
What am I?
I am a boulder.
•••
Brian Bowyer
I Am
I am an object flowing through the trees.
Will you guess what I am?
I am the breeze!
I am fast
I am slow.
I fly from to and fro.
I flow through the trees.
Yes, I’m the breeze.
•••
Erin deCastongrene
Kitten’s Afternoon
I am the hunter,
Fearless and strong,
The wind whistles by,
Creating a song.
I creep along the jungle,
Spotting my prey.
I get ready to pounce,
Today isn’t their day.
The tall green grass,
Hides me from sight.
But just as I pounce,
The butterfly takes flight.
I am defeated,
My glory gone,
No longer the hunter,
No more fearless and strong.
I lay in the grass,
Feeling quite silly,
Then I’m swept into the air,
Hearing, “ What a cute kitty!”
•••
Will
King
I fly silent.
I eat mice.
I sleep during the day.
I awake in the night.
I am owl.
The owl king.
•••
Camryn Gurnee
Slippery Sand
I am tiny rocks
That get stuck
Between your toes
When you walk on me.
I am where the waves crash.
I am what you often dig into at the beach.
I am all different colors: black, white, yellow, orange.
You may think you may know what I am
But take a walk and guess again.
Well if you can’t guess—
Here it is: Sand.
•••
Morgan Ziel
I Am
I am not see-through
but made of air.
I sit in sky when I am around.
People think when I appear
I will cry. My tears hit
the ground watering your grass.
My friend is named wind.
It crosses when I cross.
I can be calm when I am alone.
But fierce when a storm comes.
If you think I am fog
You are wrong. When you
are in the sky you are
a part of my life.
I am a cloud.
•••
Alana Paytk
My Colorful Ways
I have colors yellow, pink, orange and red.
I shrink below the ocean, while humans watch in bed.
The clouds are becoming pink,
Like I have one eye, which seems I’m going to blink.
The sky is becoming dark,
I am done, I make my mark.
The stars are coming out,
I am going away, I don’t want to shout.
For I am silent, like a ninja that’s ready to attack.
On the beach there is only one shack.
I am the sunset.
I am beautiful.
I am at my Seacliff Beach.
•••
Gavin Barnholt
I Am
I am a monkey
I am jumping
From tree to tree
I am swinging on vines
I am biting
I am eating bananas
I am fighting apes
I taste bananas
I feel fur
I see trees.
•••
Vanessa Chanda
Graceful Glitters
I am something that glitters in the sky.
I have vibrant colors and wings that are gentle.
I am on flowers and looking for food.
I can be a caterpillar that turns into something else.
I am pink and orange.
I can hear other insects.
I live in forests and grass fields.
I am a butterfly.
•••
Devon LaBonte
I Am
I am something that flies in the sky.
I am orange, black, and sometimes purple.
I love flowers and flying in the sky.
When I am a baby, I am in a cocoon.
When I am older I am a
Butterfly.
•••
Abby
Panther
I am flying through the air,
but land lightly on my paws.
My dinner cannot see me,
so I pounce with my claws.
Did I catch it? Should I peek?
No!! It scampered up a tree.
It is getting dark.
I must go back to my den.
Tomorrow is a new day,
Where I can begin again
To catch my prey.
Who am I?
•••
Serena Romero
I Am
I flitter and I fly
I am a flower lover high
I am a Hummer
I have a skinny beak
I have a beautiful red or blue body
I am beautiful
I am playful
I am a hummingbird down below
I love gardens
I love flying
I love me.
•••
Truman N
Time to Fly!
I am quite small, and people think of me as a pest.
I swirl around, causing people to give a disgusted shriek.
I am to be eaten by a particular trap.
I fly around a giant skyscraper that holds a yummy treat.
I empty out my stomach and eat it up again.
Now, I am ready to eat.
I swarm around horses, ready to bite.
Some of my names don’t even match me or make sense.
I am bluebottle, greenbottle, and a horse.
Don’t let me bite you when I am a horse
You’ll yelp in pain.
I have hairy legs, big eyes, and wings
That can surprisingly lift my fat body off the ground.
I have three stages: eggs in water, larvae, and flying form.
If I’m on your food, you will simply say,
“I’m not going to eat this.”
There is a product especially made for me.
I call it the “spatula of death.”
Well, time to fly.
Guess who I am, who am I?
•••
Max B
I Am
I Am
a hollow home to many treasures
a dark fortress people will want
to call their own.
I have many friends who will maybe
Never be found. A hero
I need to break my ground.
Who am I?
The cave.
•••
Marissa
I Am
I am used to getting stepped on
and I have lost most of my family members
due to lawnmowers.
I absolutely hate my color
and my size.
I am only one blade of grass
out of a hundred billion trillion.
•••
Olivia Crook
I Am
I am a thing that blows in the wind
I am something that falls off in the fall.
I change colors in the season.
Green. Orange. Red.
I am a leaf.
•••
Audrey Cunningham
I Am
I am plump, I am round, I can’t climb
have I been found?
I am black and
I am white.
I can not. Will not, fight.
I eat bamboo
And I love food.
I live in rolling hills.
I do not kill.
What am I?
I’m a panda.
•••
Lexy
Horse
I am a horse.
I run around in the middle of a meadow.
I can see a man in a tall purple hat.
He turns around with a crystal ball in his hand.
It’s a wizard!
I run my hooves through the tall grass.
I stop to look back to see if the man is following me.
He’s not.
I gallop back and glance a look at him.
He is looking into the crystal ball.
There is a strange woman in the ball.
I don’t know what to do.
So as a regular horse,
I run away.