Delicious Imagery Poems

We’re going sensory today at Author Amok. The Northfield third graders are working on imagery – writing poems about food. Food is as much about memories and associations as it is about the immediate sensory experience of eating. I challenged these eight and nine year olds to include those associations in their poems. (Here is the full lesson.) Take a look at the section of Mariel’s poem that I put in italics. Does it remind you of a poem by William Carlos Williams?

I love the similes she uses to describe the noodles.

Poet: Mariel J. Mac and Cheese It’s really cheesy and delicious slimy too I slurp it up all day long then I munch it munch munch it looks like a banana or even a little boat I laugh and giggle at it until I’m ready to eat and then I slurp and munch it up I say thank you to my dad for making me it and letting me eat at the counter because I never do then I give him a hug and a kiss and go down stairs to watch TV Mackenzie does an amazing job of recreating an experience around a food – eating spaghetti and meatballs at a family reunion. Look for some of the spot on word choices she makes, like the dog’s wagging tail, “Slicing the air.” Poet: Mackenzie P. I breathe in the steam From the bowl Coming from the kitchen. I slide into my special seat As the food arrives. Grampa serves the Spaghetti loaded with Sauce. I roll meatballs onto My plate. Slurp! I hear my aunt And grandma Eating the noodley Food. I laugh at The stories my Grampa hears at work. My sisters and I Demonstrate something We learned at school. Pat, pat. Libby carries her dog Bone under the table Hoping for some scraps. I hear her tail wagging, Slicing the air Beside my feet. I taste the Warm, spicy Meatballs as I Twirl my fork on my plate, Twisting the food around It. When dinner is over I stand up And go to the couch With the others Leaning against My mom drowsy, By the end Of my family Reunion. Thanks to the Northfield ES families and teachers for their permission to post student work. More of our wonderful food imagery poems tomorrow.