Oh, Common Things!
Ode to a chairOde to a shoe
Ode to a bed
Ode to a T.V.
Ode to a tree
by Jehry, Jennifer, Marvin & Sophia
You, chair,
are fluffy like a bed of nubes,
and as comfortable
as a blanket made of algodón
You, chair,
can be muy brillante in color
and also dark like chocolate
You, chair,
are better than a flat, boring table,
better than
the cold, duro, dirty floor
Sin tí, chair,
cena would be dreadful-
a tragedy-
we'd have to cortar the table legs
and sit on the floor
Without you, chair,
escuela would be chaos and disaster
Gracias, chair,
for letting me sit on you.
nubes=clouds, algodón=cotton, muy brillante=so brilliant,
duro=hard, sin tí =without you, cena=dinner, cortar=cut
escuela=school, gracias=thank you
by Jennifer, age 11
You, shoe, you might be
apestoso and dirty but helpful.
We love that you just help us
keep our feet warm and really limpio.
Without you, shoe, our feet
would be dirty and real feo.
In invierno, when there is
snowstorm our feet would be congelados,
horrible and so dreadful.
You, shoe, are so wonderful
how you keep our feet warm and clean.
Shoe, I love how your bonitos colors
are all around you.
Shoe, your very comfortable
on the inside and very warm from the inside.
You, shoe, help us by walking
as far as we can and do all sorts of stuff.
That's why we thank you, shoe.
apestoso=smelly, limpio=clean, feo=ugly, invierno=winter,
congelados=frozen, bonitos=beautiful
by Jehry, age 9
You, cama, are so comfortable
that in the morning I don’t want to get up.
Sin tí, cama, I don’t know
where I would have to dormir.
What I like about you, cama,
is that you are so pequeña
and really suave.
Sin tí, bed, I would have to sleep
on the piso and when I get awake
my cuerpo would hurt.
It doesn’t matter if you are small,
grande, ugly or nice,
I would still like you.
You, bed, are small,
you are made of madera.
Gracias, bed,
that you let me sleep on you!
cama=bed, sin ti=without you, dormir=to sleep
pequena=small, piso=floor, cuerpo=body
grande=big, madera=wood, gracias=thank you
by Marvin, age 10
You, T.V.,
bring me “Dirty Jobs”
once a week.
More reliable
than the T.V. Guide.
Black like el cielo
during a lunar eclipse.
Sin tí, T.V.,
I would be
aburrido in my room
thinking of something to do.
You, T.V.,
are the size of big box.
You, T.V.,
are the color of thick, black aceite.
You, T.V.,
are wonderful for showing my favorite T.V. shows.
I use you todos los días and
I thank you for letting me watch at
your pantalla.
el cielo=the sky, Sin ti=without you, aburrido=bored
aceite=oil, todos los días=every day, pantalla=screen
by Sophia, age 9
Oh, tree, you are bonito all year round.
In winter, your leaves are gone
and your ramas are covered in nieve.
As I play with my hermano,
you watch over me so tall and beautiful
you stand there mirando.
In Spring, sprouting botones
turn into bright leaves
You sprout like a flora.
You stand out like a red rose in the middle of invierno
In summer your bright verde leaves turn darker.
You earn more leaves
as the middle of verano approaches.
In autumn your leaves start to fall and change color
from green to amarillo,
from yellow to naranja,
from orange to rojo,
from red to marrón.
They blow around you in all different colors.
Todo el año, you are beautiful and amazing.
Gracias for being what you are.
bonito=beautiful, ramas=branches, nieve=snow,
hermano=brother, mirando=watching, botones=buds,
flora=flower, invierno=winter, verde=green,
verano=summer, amarillo=yellow, naranja=orange, rojo=red,
marrón=brown, todo el año=all year long, gracias=thank you
