Poems about Family: Roethke's My Papa's Waltz

I thought a good second lesson for young new poets would be to have them write about members of their family. I read the poem and we discussed how the poet describes his father, the things they do together (horsing around, wrestling, rough-housing), the kind of job the father my have. We talked about other qualities of people...grandma's favorite thing to cook, mom's favorite shirt, things brother likes to do.


Laila L
k

My dad sits
in his favorite rocking chair
He likes to talk
on the phone
He likes to go to work
And be happy


Victoria E
K

My baby doll Muffin
Likes to sleep in her stroller
I take her to the park
and Navy Pier
I let her sit
on my lap in the car


Brad H
K

My grandma likes
to drink coffee and pop
She takes me to school
And my friends house

Zahria S
K

My cat likes
to play with yarn
She likes coming into my room
to watch T.V.
She likes watching
squirrels on the windowsill

Sentwali N
1st

My sister runs
and falls alot
She runs
against things
My sister has
golden earrings
We play sometimes
My sister likes
music

Gregory R
1st

My dad got stung
by a bee
and it hurt so bad
you don't want
to hear the rest.

Nadia A
1st

My mother
has a store.
She works hard
and I work hard, too
Just like my mom.