from hearts of children

From the Hearts of Children

When I look at my school today,

After the bell has rung to change classes,

While the kids are streaming through the halls,

I see orange and maroon.

As the SGA is handing out ribbons.

So that we all can be Hokies,

Even though we are miles away,

The kids are wearing the colors.

When I read Nikki Giovanni's words,

As I stand in front of my classroom,

Once I finish reading,

Our eyes are filled with tears.

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I used a lesson from Hot Chalk to reinforce subordinating conjunctions

with my freshmen. They wrote about all kinds of things - how hard it

is to get up in the morning, the joy of snow, being in love and

falling out of it. Some wrote about the terrible events at Virginia

Tech. I wrote the poem that opens this post. What follows are poems

written by my freshman students.

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As tragedy strikes,

When families are hurt and lost,

While sirens and cries are abundant,

As if all hope is lost,

We will remember this day.

Until this event goes by,

If we can gather up strength,

Since this happened,

Because we didn't deserve this,

We can get through this together.

As another day passes,

When it seems like just yesterday,

If only we could go back,

Though it would be too late,

We can stand up together.

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Since people were lost,

Wherever we go,

Now that we know,

Even if we don't know each other,

We unite as one.

Since this is a time of need,

Rather than be filled with greed,

As if we were a family,

Till the day when we are better,

We unite as one.

Because of this tragedy,

Whether you were affected or not,

Even though we are separated,

We unite as one.

As long as we are Virginia,

While we are here,

So that we all know,

Whenever we think about April 16, 2007,

We know we stand together, United As One.

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They, too, are described by Nikki Giovanni`s words:

We are strong

And brave

And innocent

And unafraid

We are better than we think

And not quite what we want to be

We are alive with imagination

And open to possibility

We will continue