Historical Poetry 3rd Period

EDITORS NOTE: The following poems were written by the students of Mrs. Taylor's 12th grade English Class, Period 3. The assignment was to write a poem that MAY one day be used as an original historical document. The assignment parameters were that the facts the poems are based on must be independently verifiable, and the historical significance can be personal or social. Any style was acceptable. I have edited for spelling only, and any errors remaining were at the request of the individual author. Appearance of the poems here constitutes first publication, and all authors retain all rights to the individual works. Matthew E. Forman


Poem About Katie by Ashley Smotherman

At the age of 17 I got a reality test
The one person that I loved the best
Taken one night in a fit of rage
Never again to turn a new page
Dark & cold, such a lonely night
Katie Rose gave into the fight
Hour after hour the struggle grew
By the end of the night her family knew
She had taken all she could take
That Monday morning I felt my heart break
If only I could be there to take her pain
I'd steal it all to see her again
To hear her speak, to see her smile
It feels like years it's just been a while
In my heart she'll forever be
Because I know she's in heaven
Smiling down on me.
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Untitled by Jack Scoles

Bottom of the ninth
Game five
I know we will survive
It was possibly a myth

The final game of the world series
One more pitch to throw
It seemed it was so slow
The pitch was thrown with furies

Strike three, Cardinals win
With the final win we no longer live in sin.
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Untitled by Kayla Horne

Once so full of life and joy
Happiness surrounded her
My best friend, my mother
became my best teacher
I learned of medicines and patience
I learned of motherhood and being strong
At what cost did I learn this?
The cost of watching my best friend
slowly slip away.
The excruciating pain in her eyes
as she watched her children cry for her
The pain in her eyes when we told
We told her she had to say her good-byes.
The never ending prayers for her beloved children
The agony in her voice when she realized
She wouldn't be there for my graduation
Her last day will not be forgotten
Her words still ringing in my ears
"I love you and am proud of you"
Her begging me to be strong
Never to e forgotten the day
The day I got the news.
I would never see your face again
My never ending sadness of wishing
Wishing you were here.
Never to be forgotten
My best friend, my mother.
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Untitled by Bethann Anthony

The winds blow hard that day
A natural disaster the news will say
Millions of people lose their homes
to the hurricane still she moans
People from all over come
to help the ones who lost a great sum
I was one of them you see
I helped rebuild a house for someone in need
The levees broke the hurricane destroyed
But we made it through this awful void.
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The STORM by Lesha Ford

The day before the Storm was quiet and warm
not a cloud in the sky, but we were in
for a big surprise when day turned into
night.

August 29th, my brother's birthday, he finally
turned 18, he was so happy and full of
joy, i couldn't stand that boy.

As the night grew dark and the clouds
came and the rain came down hard, little
did we know out homes would be gone and
So will the 9th ward.

it happened so fast and nothing could stop
it, i wished the rain would go away, but
it didn't, it continued day after day after
day.

As the waters rose i feared drowning
because i can not swim, the lights
wen out, the darkness surrounded us and
our chances looked pretty slim.

Sitting on rooftops eating from a cereal
box, sharing with 4 other people, looking at,
the destruction of what mother nature could do, looking at my own people.

Family members dead friends misplaced, my
life will never be the same, a child's hopes
and dreams lost due to a Hurricane.

Winds of 175, I thank God I'm alive, who
knows where I would be, time after time
I often repeat the phrase "O, God why me?"

Everything I ever held dear to my heart was gone
within 3 hours, every day felt like weeks. I couldn't
even take a shower.

Children scared for life people losing lives
husbands with no wives a little girl is missing
have you seen her? All of this because
of Hurricane Katrina.
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9/11 by Vania Patterson

The sirens are ringing
They say planes have crashed
There are cries, like someone singing
The Twin Towers have been smashed
Debris is all over the ground
People are trying to be saved
The cries for help remind me of surround sound
The urge to get out is certainly craved.
Why did such a disaster come upon us?
Innocent lives just had to be lost
The mourning of these people was decorous
Survivors who came out of the towers looked like frost.
Firefighters giving up their lives
Forgiveness for this is something that I'll strive.
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Untitled by Stephanie Bryson

In 2001, on the 11th of September
there had been an unexplainable tragedy
though I was to young to understand, I do remember
clueless to the fact that it was a complete catastrophe.

My fifth grade class was headed back to the classroom
when we entered it was dark and Mrs. Bonner was crying
it was like entering a dark and scary cave of doom,
she tried calmly to explain to us that people were slowly dying.

We saw two towers on the television with smoke from them arising
I guess no one in the world could believe this was happening
no one took it lightly, and to them it was surprising
the gloomy look on her face was very saddening.

To this very day I'm still trying to connect the pieces
but over the years it has become easier for me to understand
back then I never cared or wanted to know reasons but now
one thing I fully comprehend is divided we fall united we stand.
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Free Verse Poem by Drake Doyen

Weeks of preparation couldn't prepare,
The day came when it was finally there,
Hurricane Ivan striped the glade bare.
Even after that scary night,
There would still be plenty more fright.
Bugs, disease, robbery, down trees...
Flooding, debris, no electricity.
For two months this went on,
But through it all our community held strong.
Even after all the reconstruction,
Everyone knew there would be more destruction.
There will always be more hurricanes to come
But our spirits will never be bummed.
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Worst Fear by Justin Bridges

In class one morning nothing to do
until we were told to turn on the news
no one knowing what to expect
all I knew it was something like a big wreck

My teacher's face starts filling with tears
for what has happened is everyone's great fear
every channel is filled with this news
it has everyone shaking in their shoes

The planes have crashed the buildings are burning
The whole world has just stopped turning
One day later the buildings are gone
and the destruction has only begun,

The things we hve done in return
needs to be something we all should learn
for this information will help one day
and maybe all the soldiers can stay.