A POEM AS BIG AS NYC: Poems

A POEM AS BIG AS NEW YORK CITY is a carefully crafted adaptation of thousands of poems written by New York City youth. T&W writers conducted poetry programs throughout the city's five boroughs to generate the raw material for this extraordinary book. Read kids' poems here, and find a new one every week!

 

 

 

 

Where I’m From

by Brianna
7th grade

Where I’m from there are police
camera’s in front of my building
Where I’m from there are people
trying to talk to my mother saying
“Hi how you doin sweety.” Where
I from there are little children
about 6-10 outside by them selves
cursing Where I am from there are
people standing outside of stores
asking for a little change.
Where I’m from the are elderly people sitting
on a bench saying hi to you then
the next minute talking about you
Where I’m from there are ladies
about 57 trying to dress as if they were 16
Where I’m from there are
14 year olds having babies
Where I’m from there are women
talking to their friends on the phone saying
I am getting my baby them new jordan’s
Where I’m from there are people
that don’t really love anything
and pretend they do But, also where
I’m from there are people who are,
and I would love
for that to be me!

 

  

untitled

by Edith

New York is busy as an ice cream man getting
orders from whiny kids.
New York has style like a supermodel in a run way.

 

 

An Ode to Hudson River

by Jake

From bird's eye view you look like a moving
green serpent separating New York and New Jersey
separating the Knicks and the Nets
surrounding the G.W. Bridge.
Then you pour yourself out into the ocean.
Goodbye Hudson River and remember my
ode for I will remember you when I
am old.

 

 

Untitled

by Christian
5th grade

A spelling bee was walking down a country
road when he came across a cannon. This
bee was feeling very creative, so he started
thinking of a poem. But when he had thought
of one, he couldn’t write it anywhere, so instead,
he wrote it in the cannon. Then, by accident,
he lit the fuse, and shot the cannon. And it
shot the poem into the sky. Now this was a
HUGE poem. But when it rained, part of the words
soaked into the ground and from that,
New York City rose out of the Earth.
But still the words were in the sky.

 

  

City Symphony

by Jack

A symphony played
with car alarms,
shouting people
shrieking subways
blaring music.

And it was beautiful.

 

And it was beautiful.

 

 

Untitled

by Jasbel

In this city
full of buildings
big, small, brown, orange
tiny windows
1 out of 1000
small and black
but still you and I
look outside
see the bridge
or the trees
mostly cards
and yellow taxis
cheese buses
and MTA buses
But where am I
If I go downtown alone
no one knows me
If I go to brooklyn
no one knows me
alone in the middle of the big apple
places unexplored unknown to me
clueless, lost
In the middle of this jungle