The last unit I teach every year is a poetry writing unit. For many kids it is a way of expressing ideas about what is going on in their world or their life. They learn that they CAN write poetry. We start with some easy templates where they fill in the blanks or there are strict pattern rules. I always have students do an "I Am" poem. The first part is about them in present time, the second their past, and the third their future. For most of these students I get to see them a little better. They bare their soul in this poem.
At the beginning of the year the student who wrote the following poem came to me and said, "You're a Christian right?" She then asked me to pray for family members who were hospitalize with covid and pneumonia. So I did. The poem below shows how deep this child is.
I Am Poem by G.V.
I am powerful and faithful
I wonder if I’ll get to heaven where my goal is to go
I hear the holy spirit talking to me
I see the glory manifesting and descending over us
I want to be touched by the holy spirit
I am amazed by the things God does in my life
I pretend there’s no problems when you’re a Christian
I feel sad that I can’t save everyone from going to hell
I touch people and heal them
I worry for everyone’s salvation
I cry that people do bad things
I am encouraged by God’s word
I understand that God is my father
I say that God is the only God and that he is powerful
I dream to be with God and Jesus one day
I try to be good everyday to go to heaven
I hope I go to heaven and everyone does too
I am faithful that people will change
I was a slave of the devil
I understand that God save me and died on the cross for me
I heard false information about God and the holy spirit
I saw people burning and throwing away Bibles
I wanted to yell and stop them
I was devastated by them doing these horrible things
I pretended that everything was okay
I felt sad because people wouldn’t believe
I touched the hearts of some people
I worried I couldn’t tell everyone about God
I cried when I saw people murmuring
I was amazed by how people wouldn’t believe
I understand God loves everyone
I said I wanted to change people’s lives
I dreamed everyone was accepting Jesus
I tried to understand that people didn’t care
I hoped that one day some would understand
I was committed to tell people about God
I will be a believer of God
I will wonder if people are starting to believe
I will hear people testify what God did in them and the changes
I will see people accepting Jesus
I will want a life in Jesus
I will be obedient to God’s words
I will pretend I don’t get too worried anymore
I will feel blessed without what God gives me
I will touch other people and God will heal them through me
I will worry about nothing just about God
I will cry for happiness when I see more people converting
I will be happy with the outcome of the impact I will have’
I will understand it’s a test when I go through storms and battles
I will say that God is manifesting in my life
I will dream to be a follower of God
I will try to be my best to reach the mercy of the Lord
I will hope to be better every single day in Jesus Christ
I will be praising the Lord and believe in him at all times, even when times get hard.
