Page One

Examples of work from the Young Writers’ Camp; see story on p. 1 

Ode to My Shoes  

By Terry Xiao, sixth grade, San Leandro 

Faint smelly odor drifts from you 

the creek on the tongue, 

downtown all over the heels 

Worn shoelaces that are so short 

we never worry about tying 

Splashes of rainbow colors 

jump out from the ankles from art class 

Dull brown and smug green 

caked on the bottoms from camp 

How can plain white tennis shoes bring out so much? 

O shoes, where art thou? 

Ode to my Bed 

by Michael Pruess, sixth grade, Berkeley 

Oh soft cotton, or so they said 

100% cotton covers my bed 

A feather pillow, blue pillow case 

Blue sheets to match the azure sky 

The bottomless lake on which I lie 

It makes me soar, it makes me swim 

The pattern of a road ploughs 

never ending route on the surface of 

My dark blue comforter, in blue and white, 

The sky, the clouds, as I take flight. 

Ode to letters 

By Ashly Graves, sixth grade, Oakland 

Ode to letters 

squiggly, shapely 

make me talk 

on a paper 

so blank until 

I blob some letters on it 

and I talk to my friends 

without using electricity 

without wasting my breath 

and all I need is a stamp 

Ode to letters 

squiggly and shapely.  

Ode to My Tennis Racket 

By Philip Chang, seventh grade, Albany 

Oh racket glittering in the sun 

slowly getting weaker 

Watching your strings crack 

You used to make a sharp sound but now you just make a thud 

You were patched up again and again 

Each time getting weaker 

You broke one day but you were too good to waste 

So now you act like a mirror reflecting my hobbies 

And the memories still linger with you 

Remember the time we came back in a game 

that our opponent thought he had won? 

Oh racket glittering in the sun. 

Colors 

By Naima T. Smith, fifth grade, Oakland 

Purple, a slit of royalty waiting to be crowned 

Orange, a show of dazzling performances 

Red, a life of danger, excitement and anger 

Green, a hunk of nature waiting to be grown 

White, a thin line of pureness 

Black, a breeze of mystery 

Yellow, a piece of happiness 

Blue, water rolling down cheeks 

Pink, just as sweet as candy.