These acrostic poems were written by students in Mandy Smith’s class at Guinyard-Butler Middle School in Barnwell as part of April being National Poetry Month.

Forgive

Forgive

Forgive

Forgive

Only so many forgives before they become lies

Only so many times you can call me names

Treat me differently from your other sons

You yell at me

Give me slander

It’s not simply banter after the millionth time

So try to lie

The truth will come

I guess I must forgive you

For all the stuff you’ve done

So strip my dad away from me

Manipulate his choices

Change his whole personality

I

Forgive

You

-7th Grade Student at GBMS

I Forgive

I forgive you mom for making me not feel

good enough

I forgive you for making me feel like I’m

not the perfect child you always wanted

I forgive you for always being the mess up

to your problems

I forgive you for yelling at me when I

make mistakes

I forgive you mom for not being a perfect

child.

I forgive you grandma for not being skinny

enough

I forgive you grandma for you yelling and

body shaming me

I forgive you for yelling at me cause I

don’t do things your way

I forgive you grandma.

I forgive you friends for talking about me

behind my back

I forgive you for leaving me out

I forgive you for being fake

I forgive you for making me not feel confident

I forgive you for making me feel insecure

I forgive you for making me have depression

I forgive you friends.

-7th Grade Student at GBMS

WHISPERS

Crystal clear waters,

Blue skies,

Blazing warm sun,

And fluffy clouds.

This is what it is like to be

in paradise.

Pure white sand,

Small white crabs running along on the sand,

Large rocks leading you down like a bridge,

The ocean calling your name,

Whispering to you to come

closer,

As you hold on to the longing feeling,

Because you believe,

That someday you will give into the whisper.

After teleporting to a

completely different continent,

Do you still feel it ?

Do you still hear it ?

Do you still want it ?

Do you still see it ?

Everyone has a path that’s

waiting for them.

Easy or hard, it is your path

And only your path.

You have to make some hard

decisions,

But that longing feeling will

always stay with you in your

heart.

Even after all the long and

wistful years,

You will never forget

how amazingly surreal it felt,

To the point that you wanna

relive it,

In your fantasies,

Just to hear the ocean’s whispers

again.

-7th Grade Student at GBMS