Poems act as a form of expression For those completing a poetry lesson
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - It is not often that a student can stop a teacher in the hallway and have them follow directions on command. However, at Parsons Elementary School on April 17, youngsters could do just that: they could ask to have a poem read to them.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, last week marked the nationwide Poetry in Your Pocket Day, in which students and staff members carried around their favorite poem and shared them with anyone who asked.

"Poetry is important because through poetry, children can learn to express themselves and learn how other people express themselves," said academic support teacher KathyMoon. "We want children to learn that reading poetry is reading."

Ashwath Krishnan read his own poem, "Fighting Colors," about colors that are dueling: red hates sky blue and brown ate burnt orange.

"You don't need to use lots of grammar rules you have to use in regular writing," he said of the appeal of poetry.

AlthoughAshwath doesn't write poems often, when he does, he said he focuses on sports and his favorite seasons.

However, he does enjoy writing short stories, and has a nine-book series about a wizard who must battle someone who is stealing the power his grandfather instilled in him.

Shaurya Pathak carried around her original poem "I Like the Sea." She said the idea came from time she spent at the beach, when she has dreamed of seeing a winged giraffe that sings and a fish leapfrogging in a race.

"Sometimes when I go to the beach, I always think about it and imagine me being a big fish there and all my other friends would be there with me," she said.

Monica Samy held onto the poem "A Million Valentines" by Robert Heidbreder.

The poem speaks of cutting out one, 1,000, even 1 million Valentine's Day cards, yet points out that "a million million are too few to say how much I love you."

"At the end it says I love you and I really do love my mom," she said of her decision to choose this poem.

Although she did not bring along an original work, she said that established poetry "gives me more ideas about how to write another poem."

Shaurya agreed, noting the unlimited possibilities writing poetry offers: "You can write about anything you want."

Poetry is part of the curriculum, Moon said, and the students begin writing poetry in the first grade. She gives out folders for the children to collect poems, and a poem was read every morning last week during the morning announcements.

"There are so many ways to express yourself, and it doesn't have to be any certain way. They talk about their feelings and their life, they talk about their emotions, and they become more expressive," said fellow academic support teacher Stephanie Ashworth.

Moon said her hope is to make this an annual event in the school and possibly in the district.