Fifteen eighth grade students and some teachers from Cortez Middle School will present their poetry Dec. 10 at the Sunflower Theatre.
Local poet Lisa Taylor might also read poetry, said English teacher Lyssa Lycan.
The reading, 5:30 p.m. at 8 E. Main St., is free.
According to Lycan, the eighth graders in her and Forrest Kohere’s classes completed a poetry portfolio and performed them for classmates. Teachers selected students for the theater performance based on their “exemplary” portfolios.
In October, Taylor helped the students work on their poems.
“She worked to introduce them to a variety of poems and helped them to understand the ways that poetry can be powerful,” Lycan said. “She provided students with prompts, and they practiced writing poems on the spot.”
Learning poetry is standard from the Colorado Department of Education, and Lycan said poetry can help students reflect on their lives.
“Many of our students in this community have already been faced with a staggering number of challenges. In this unit, I worked with students to see that the power of poetry (and all forms of art) lies in their ability to take an experience and put it through what we have dubbed the ‘art machine.’ ... “This is where they take a step back and see how an experience has changed them, how they've grown and who they are now. If they succeed at putting an experience through the art machine, they can create something powerful; not only a beautiful piece of art, but something that is healing, both for themselves and for their audience.”
Lycan said that as the students shared their poetry, students provided encouragement, and acknowledged one another for “bravery in telling true and sometimes painful stories.”
Lycan said students don’t stop after completing their portfolio.
“They continue writing poetry for themselves long after this unit is over … and if I'm very, very lucky, they continue to share it with me, too,” Lycan said.
Lycan can be reached at llycan@cortez.k12.co.us.
One poem, written by eighth grader MJ Yoder, details the emotions she went through after experiencing the loss of her mom. The poem is called “Melody.”
“Melody” by MJ Yoder
In a matter of moments
it hit me like a stone,
I had reached a cliff,
I had fell off the edge
One moment … just one moment. Stop
In a matter of seconds,
this event became the worst
possibly most significant
change in my life.
In a matter of days
I struck change
faster than it takes a musician to forget their melody. One beat.
Three beats.
Two beats …
Stop.
In a matter of weeks
I found a person I admired,
for reasons I didn't know
Although the pest I was,
I knew
they didn’t feel the same.
I still tease on late night calls
we laugh
we snicker
oh how time has changed
us both.
In a matter of months
I shoved people away
As if they were wrappers of candy
once enjoyed by a bratty little kid.
One down.
Three gone.
Two more.
Stop.
In a matter of a year.
I came to realize
Those events only strengthened my existence. Just like tragic events strengthen an artist's skill. It proves their worth.
In a matter of a decade.
I hope to think of this moment,
ponder the amount of falls I would have taken if I didn’t drown first.
One dive.
Three drops.
Two breaths ... (inhale)
... Stop
