National Poetry Month

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’ve selected student poems for publication to share with you. One of my favorite strengths of my 8th Grade Honors ELA class is their ability to dig deep, make personal connections from literature, and be introspective.

McKinley Ream’s poem, “My Mask”, is an exemplary piece of introspective poetry:

                           My Mask
                 By McKinley Ream

I wear a mask over my face on a day to day basis,
It covers all of the sorrow and distress I’m feeling on the inside of me.
My mask is happy and joyful, making me look as happy as can be;
But with doing this people only know me by the mask I wear,
Not by what I´m feeling on the inside of me.
And while this is the goal,
I´m afraid that by wearing this mask;
It´s going to get stuck to me,
And I will have lost my true identity.
But if I take off my mask then everyone will know the truth,
And all of those days I spent wearing the mask will have had no meaning,
Because everyone will know how I truly feel on the inside;
And all of the flaws I hold on the inside of me.

“The Mask”, Artwork by McKinley Ream

McKinley Ream is an eighth grader at Sunnyvale Middle School. She is gifted in acting and has a distinct voice in her writing. She’s a delight to have in my Honors ELA class. -Ms. Angela Henderson