Preteen Poetry

My 12-year-old daughter has been working on a long-term poetry project at school, and she had to select ten of the poems she has written over the course of the project as her “Ten Best.”  I, myself, am a dreadful poet, but I very much liked hers, so with her permission, I’m sharing them with you:

“Lyrical”
Melodious, poetic, rhythmical, musical, sweet
Words formed in music, always a great greet.

“I Don’t Understand Pain”
I don’t understand
    Why there is death
    Why there’s no truth
    Why there is pain
But most of all
    Why there’s decease
    Why we get sad
    Why we cry
    Why we can have family, then they die
What I understand most is
    Why we can share
    Why we can thrive
    Why we can care
    Why we can think

“Just Because I Love You”
Just because I love you
    Don’t tell me a lie
    Don’t say I’m the one
    Don’t say that I’m yours
Just because I love you
    I won’t always take your side
    I will still say no
    I’ll expect you to understand
Just because I love you, don’t tell me “you too” unless you really mean it.

“I Am In Love”
I am loving and truthful
I wonder why we won't
I hear your voice
I see you and me
I want this forever
I am loving and truthful.

I pretend you are here
I feel your hand in mine
I touch your hand
I worry it will never happen
I cry when I think of that time.

I understand why you won’t
I say its fear of loss
I dream of it again
I try to tell you without a sound
I hope you understand,
I am loving and truthful

     “Friend And Enemy”   
        Friend
              Kind, caring
            Hug, laugh, cry
Smile, Kayla, fight, heartbreaker
        Punch, yell, make fun of
          Hateful, mean
        Enemy

“Someday…”
Someday it will become better
Someday I will have a career
Someday I will be loved
Someday I will know what I want
Someday this nation will work again
Someday I will have kids who will then
Some day help the world

“Fire”
The fire creeps in like a hungry lion
It engulfs the houses
By pouncing with stealth                                     
In the warmth of the forest
The water scares it away from more damage

“Hurricane”
Hurricanes come rolling in, like a cat with yarn
It surprises people with its power
By slowly creeping, then biting
Along the edges
Ball rolls away, to another place

“I believe”
I believe in the miracles that happen
The fact we have to live each day to the fullest
The importance of love
The dreams I want to come true
The love in Family, Friends, and relationships.

But when they think that they’re the best of the best is greedy.

I believe in the love that will help you live
I believe in the life we all live
I believe in hope for peace, love, and respect.

And I believe in the fact that we all die and we will never stop worrying about that one thing.

(Yes, I realize there are only nine.  The tenth was a concrete poem about flowers and written on notebook paper.  I couldn't reproduce it.) 

tags: poetry  preteens