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It Takes Two

June brings all kinds of things to celebrate - graduations, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or simply the arrival of summer! In the above excerpt from Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman, one of the most exuberant of poets, gives voice to overflowing joy.

In this month of lyrical twosomes, write a couplet. It's a pair of rhymed lines that goes like the one above.

"The poet refuses to let things merge, lie low, succumb to visual habit... she hoists things out of their routine and lays them out on a papery beach, to be fumbled and explored..." - Diane Ackerman

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Love letters

Take love's messages to heart. Savor each one you get, and give more than you receive. This month salute love in all its many guises.

Send sweet messages to family and friends. Display them on every surface you can find, from fridge to toaster to doorknob to spoon.

"If it were not for poetry, few men would ever fall in love." - La Rochefoucauld

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Words of wisdom

Learn new lessons and remember old ones, as you fall back into familiar routines. In this poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the poet ruminates on the elusive nature of love:

Give All to Love

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

Friends, kindred, days,

Estate, good-fame,

Plans, credit, and the Muse,-

Nothing refuse.

'Tis a brave master,

Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope...

Write a poem passing along lessons you've learned. It can be a poem of advice, encouragement, warning, even regret.

"In a poem the words should be as pleasing to the ear as the meaning is to the mind." - Marianne Moore

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Hidden meanings

Nothing is what it appears this month, as green turns to gold and skeletal structures emerge.

Write a poem about something ordinary - or notorious - in a way so new, it's a disguise.

"Poetry is language surprised in the act of changing into meaning." - Stanley Kunitz

For inspiration, check out Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" read by Benedict Cumberbatch - as one of the most brilliant examples of sensible nonsense

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Counting blessings

During this month of gratitude, savor the immense gifts of love, family, and friends, but don't forget to also cherish humble things. Beauty is all around.

Write a poem describing some of your favourite things, tangible or in-.

"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." - William Wordsworth

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The Poet's Corner - Metaphor & Visual Poems

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Are you afraid of death? - Nacho Kolev, 12b

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Are you afraid of death? - Nacho Kolev, 12b

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Are you afraid of death?

Perhaps the scythe gives you a fright.

The black drapes and void-filled eyes seem intimidating.

But can't you see the beauty?

Give back what you once took,

now feed the world that you fed on.

Return to what you once were,

Find something else to lean on.

Biological processes take gradual halts,

left to right and right and left.

Proteins melt into the soft cotton mattress of a ground.

Red turns brown and disappears,

blanket of creepy crawlies that ingest your every memory.

Lodged deep within your squishy squelching flesh,

laughter, sorrow, hateful thoughts they borrow.

The calcium rows placed so intricately shine and crack,

they break off little by little in the whooshing wind.

Empty eye sockets as if still sparking with emotion.

Out of nowhere,

a little thud, back and forth,

curious small feet approaching.

Eyes meet, black and white,

life and death.

"Starling, deer, lizard, hare!" rumble with childlike excitement.

Looks as though you'll be remembered,

insignificant as it may be in this little blue confinement.

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Just like normal crevices,

the ones of bathroom tiles,

the ones with city services

will end up in the files.

They will be painted red,

mind the human variant,

Just as some herrings find their bed

in cans obligingly so pliant.

This can't be stopped - we've tried,

but crushed cans always end up

on the side.

Maybe one day this all won't matter,

pretending it does now,

but worry not,

bleach helps a crevice after every clatter.

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Express yourself - Alexandra Koleolova, 12g

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Express yourself - Alexandra Koleolova, 12g

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Reading is a doorway carved in ink,
a hush between heartbeats where thoughts can think.
It’s light that flickers through paper skin,
a world that begins when you step within.

It’s voices of centuries whispering low,
where dragons still breathe and rivers still glow.
It’s thunder in silence, it’s flight without wings,
a spell that unravels and quietly sings.

Reading is a mirror that shows who you are,
and a telescope reaching to galaxies far.
It’s comfort in storms, it’s courage in fear,
a friend who keeps speaking when no one’s near.

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Poem of wisdom - Viktoria Georgieva, 12 D

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Poem of wisdom - Viktoria Georgieva, 12 D

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One shall always think

before they speak,

in a world full of sorrow

do not be afraid to spread

your wings.

The past goes into oblivion,

the future does not exist.

Everything is far behind us,

or thrown into the abyss.

Be careful what you wish for,

do not be afraid of the fate.

Believe in your dreams and chase them,

there is no such thing as being too late.

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Reading is a passion,

unfolding mysteries scattered into pages.

Reading is salvation,

that has lived through the ages.

Reading can devour,

are you ready for the adventure?

Reading is a power,

a priceless treasure.

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The universe is not complete,

if there is an absence of love,

a feeling so divine,

sent from heaven above.

Shared between friends or family,

love so pure,

to any sickness,

love is the cure.

Cherish the ones you love,

adore who they are,

preserve every moment,

for when they are far.

Look at the starry sky,

take a moment to pray.

Friends and family

are the brightest ray.

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A soul is crafted to understand,

not to destroy.

It’s meant for a harmonious world,

where flowers bloom from ones joy.

The river of pain is dry,

the tears shall never make it overflow,

the sky is brighter and light,

when you aren’t alone.

What makes the world go around?

Love, honesty and trust.

And peace is to be found

even behind the rust.

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Reading is a sacred path,

leading to mysterious places.

Reading is a way,

of following somebody’s traces.

Reading is the key to life,

unlock the secrets,

Reading is a portal,

leading to the deepness.

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For every hand that held me near

and showed me kindness,

I am grateful to this day,

every moment is priceless.

For laughter shared in quiet rooms,

for all the tears we’ve shred,

to my family and friends,

I cherish everything you have said.

For every night, for every day,

when you have kept me warm,

I remember every second,

you have made me feel at home.

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Martina Foteva 12d

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My Favourite Things

In quiet moments of this grateful month,

I treasure simple joys that fill my days—

the morning light that warms my hands,

the laughter shared with friends,

the calm of walking under golden trees.

I cherish small things, humble and unnoticed:

the scent of fresh rain on the ground,

a soft cup of tea after a long day,

a gentle word that lifts the heart.

Beauty is everywhere if we choose to see it,

and in these peaceful moments,

my feelings rise like quiet waves—

a reminder of all the gifts

that make life bright.

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12b 2025

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12b 2025

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12d 2025

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12g 2025

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12g 2025

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12g 2025

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12b 2025

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12b 2025

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12b 2025

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Add a word

Pretty packages add sparkle to the holidays. So do family and friends. As Jane Hirshfield reminds us in her poem "Jasmine", one of the season's most valuable gifts is presence of mind.

Celebrate the holidays poetically. This month we devote to Random Acts of Kindness. Write an acrostic or cinquain poem to warm someone's heart in the holy season.

"Poetry is not an assertion of truth, but the making of that truth more fully real to us" - T. S. Eliot

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Pure White Snow - Gergana Srebreva XII d

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Pure White Snow - Gergana Srebreva XII d

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On Christmas night, little lights of colour glow

Kids running outside, putting on a playful show

In deep thought they wonder what's hidden down below -

A sleeping flower buried under pure white

snow.

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Magdalena Stefanova, 12b

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One-of-a-kind one-liner

In the first month of this year, be unique, be odd, even! Explore your singular self in verse, counting each day as creative!

Write a One-of-a-kind One-Liner. Write it in one minute, one day, or one week.

"The problem in every poem is to figure out how to make less suggest more." - Charles Simic

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Burst into a Cinquain!

Patience is required and rewarded this month, as days grow longer and tender shoots break through the cold ground.

Burst into a Cinquain!

Try your hand at this poetic form, which is five lines long with a syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2.

"Poetry is the renewal of words, setting them free, and that's what a poem is doing: loosening the words." - Robert Frost

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Oxymoronic brilliance

April begins with gags and jokes, but turns dead serious at midmonth, when it's time to pay the piper. It's the perfect time to consider oxymorons, word pairs that seem at odds with each other.

What could be more appropriate for April than an oxymoronic poem?

"Poets aren't very useful.

Because they aren't consumeful

Or very produceful." - Ogden Nash

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Epistle Poems

Yes! You may... stroll through a meadow, leap over a fence, wriggle out of your sweater, and soak up warm air. As Hayden Carruth reminds us in this poem, spring is the time of new possibilities.

An epistle is a letter. Write one in poetic form to someone dear.

"Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking." - John Wain

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Souvenir Poems

... to the mountains or beach. Take your imagination with you and return with poems capturing the sights, sounds, and smells of vacation. As W. B . Yeats reminds us in the above excerpt, you don't have to leave behind the memories you gathered.

Recall a memorable vacation (for better or worse) in verse!

"You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you." - Joseph Joubert

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Onomatopoeia, Anyone?

Bugs buzz and thunder rumbles. What does the end of summer sound like? Listen!

Spend a day really listening to all the sounds around you. From a screen door's creak to a tire's screech, write a poem whose words suggest the sounds they make.

"The poetry of earth is never dead..." - John Keats