Emerging After School Artist: A Poet
PIC's After School curriculum engages children in weekly learning clubs. Each club features a variety of enrichment areas, including nature, cooking, sports, gardening, dance, crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), among others.
With every 8-week cycle, the selection of clubs changes offering children a wide variety of activities to choose from.
Creative writing is often a popular club and recently PIC After School Assistant Teacher Marc Anthony Richardson shared about his current club and a beautiful poem written by one of his students.
"In poetry club we read and studied various types of poetry (haiku, couplets, quatrains, limericks, sonnets, and free verse) to encourage self-expression and self-confidence through creative writing, reading out loud, and presentation. I found this particular poem by Abigail Harris to be inspired."
Tiger Song
A story told in haiku
By Abigail Harris, 10 years old.
Pause. Prey. Scared. Knows.
Smells something vulnerable.
Crouch. Spring. Leave moist earth.
Pheasant prey struggles.
But it knows it is useless.
Death’s presence. Prey limp.
Eat now, says instinct:
It takes force to restrain it.
Must go back to home.
Stalking noiselessly
Prize between my deadly fangs
A living shadow.
I reach a damp cave.
Yellow eyes peek out of black.
My striped cubs appear.
Pause. Listen. Danger.
Hide the cubs. Defend your home.
Listen. Movement near.
I see a dark shape.
The green ripples through the bush.
An adult tiger.
I pounce. Claw his flesh.
The striped enemy fights back.
My blood. Almost killed.
He attempts a strike.
The claw makes the fatal blow.
No, cannot die; cubs…
I must strike once more.
Gun shots crack. Must stay awake.
My enemy falls.
A man. I must kill.
This uniformed man appears
Cradles my children.
This man aims to help.
He takes them to a small cage.
I need not worry.
Puts cage onto truck.
He understands. Nods at me.
I know I can rest.
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