Poetry Portraits

The Island of Hvar
By Rachel Donka

The crystal waters of the Adriatic,
Splash upon the shores,
The wind blows coolly over,
The island of Hvar.

The little town,
Is bustling with activity,
With many people talking,
The island of Hvar.

A castle atop the hills,
A tourist stop for sure,
A little begging cat,
The island of Hvar.

The Adriatic sea,
Just miles from Croatia,
With a beautiful little island,
The Island of Hvar.

This poem was written in free verse, the main style of poetry that was used by Walt Whitman.

Poetry Portraits

Walt Whitman
By Rachel Donka
3/25/10

Walt Whitman was born on Long Island on May 31, 1819. He went to school until he turned 11. Then, Walt was needed to help make money and support his family, so his early schooling was the only schooling he got. His first job was as an office boy. After Walt Whitman quit his job, he was apprenticed to the printers of the Patriot, a common newspaper. This is where Walt got his love for poetry.
Walt then went around from school to school teaching, but he soon tired of this and returned to his parents. Walt Whitman went back to working for newspapers, and he jumped from paper to paper for the rest of his life, writing poetry in his spare time. During the Civil he opening stressed his great love and respect for President Lincoln. Whitman firmly believed that slavery was wrong, and when Lincoln was assassinated, he wrote possibly his best poem, Oh Captain, My Captain.
Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892, at the age of 73. Walt Whitman is one of the greatest poets of all time even though he had hardly any formal education.

Poetry Potraits

War
By Rachel

People are dying every day,
Swatted down like flies.
Machine guns sounding everywhere,
Silencing the cries.

Blood stains the yellow prairie,
As more people fall,
The killing goes on and on,
Until there is no one left at all.

Soldiers are covering the ground,
Calling out for water,
Children are crying out in distress,
Looking at the slaughter.

Babies are crying for their mothers,
Who lie bleeding on the floor,
Oh God answer me this question,
Why do countries go to war?

HUNGER ACTION WEEK!!!!

Hi! Yesterday, hunger action week ended for us. We only did about half a day yesterday because we celebrated the end of the week with grilled hamburgers. They were really good. I really enjoyed hunger action week. The food we ate was not much different than normal, but we didn't have any sugar, and, happily, I am off my sugar addiction (YEH!). The only problem with being off my sugar addiction is this: my mom does not want me to get back on it, so she is monitoring my sugar intake. I am not so happy about that, but at least i know i won't be re-addicted to sugar. Any way, I think that hunger action week was fun and I would totally do it again. This week gave me a small peek into how it would be to live on food stamps. But, for us it was nothing but a game. We can try as hard as possible to be on a food stamp like diet, but it is nothing more than a game of "can you do it?". All in all, I am very happy with hunger action week.