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It's first block, my planning time. 

I really should be correcting papers.

But, here I am, instead.

My Poetry Writing students have Chapbooks due this week.

The little booklets contains 5 poems about themselves.

Here are the first two poems in Jessica's.  The first one they had to do was an acrostic.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

July 8th

Everyone is

Sitting around

Staring at the baby girl

In my mother's arms

Cute

As a button, my eyes pop open, everyone

Jumps to be the next in line to hold me in their

Arms, except for

Dad, he isn't

Even there.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For the second one, they had to write about something they regret.

 - - - - - -

Pain

The sound of your voice

Sends a chill down my spine

I cringe knowing what's next

I see your hand go up

But in the blink of an eye

It strikes my face

The sting of your hand

Makes those tears fall down

I put my head down

With regret that I

Let it happen again

And with silent steps

I walk away

Knowing that

Wasn't the end

- - - - - - - - -

I'm sitting here with a lump in my throat.  A couple of her sisters have already gone through our school and this has been reported to the authorities and Jessie assures me it's in the past but, obviously, she's not over it.  Maybe writing about it helps.  So many times I've wished I could take kids home and raise them myself.

Okay, time to run some quizzes off.

I'll do the correcting tomorrow!