Identity Poem
-Where poets express who they are –
They identify themselves:How they see themselves or how the world sees them…
Questions to answer when creating an Identity Poem:
How can I express myself?
How can I talk about the kind of person I am?
How do I see myself or how do I think the world sees me?
*Think of it like an inner thinking description…
How you view yourself/how others view you, including Figurative Language.
IDENTITY POEM Examples:
Example #1:
They look and stare
but they don’t know.
I laugh as loud as a siren
to mask what I’m
too scared to share.
It’s hard being me.
Always up and always free
There to help and there to see.
I just wish that someone would
ask about me.
Put on my game face
to please everyone else.
When is someone
going to ask
about me?
Example #2:
Waking up every morning
and being the best possible
version of myself.
Looking out for my friends
Looking out for my family.
Helping others,
no matter what
because you’re supposed to.
I always remember to
look in the mirror and smile,
even on days
when I don’t want to.
That’s what people
expect me to do.
These expectations are getting
too heavy
to hold.
Assignment: Please write your own IDENTITY POEM.
*Your Identity poem should be honest and expressive and an insight into how you view yourself or how you think others view you.
*You may borrow the structure of one of the Identity Poems from the packet (if needed), following similar lines and style. Your poem must be in Line Breaks and you should include Figurative Language. PUBLISH onto piece of white paper.
*Each student gets a packet of IDENTITY POEMS.
Read through multiple poems
RESPOND in your binder:
Interpreting a poem of your choice [AT LEAST ONE]
-What is the author trying to say?
-How does the author feel about themselves?
-What you liked or what stood out for you (explain why)
-How a certain poem made you feel…
*Identity Poem title:
SOME SENTENCE STARTERS
The author thinks that he is…
This poem is about…
This poem reminds me/is telling me that…
Packet of IDENTITY POEMS.
Read through multiple poems
Ask yourself:
-What is the author trying to say?
-How does the author feel about themselves?
Identity Poem
-A poem where the author is identifying themselves/expressing who they are.
-It shows how the author sees them self or how the world sees them.
THE FREAK'S THOUGHTS
By: Sarah Ston
I am a Freak with an open mind on life.
I wonder why people judge books by their cover.
I hear the voices of famous singers.
I see the stage lights flashing in my eyes.
I am a Freak with an open mind on life.
I pretend that i am famous.
I feel that God is fake.
I touch the souls of unforgiving people.
I worry that some things with never change.
I cry that my parents don’t understand me.
I am a Freak with an open mind on life.
I understand that life is a roller coaster.
I say what i believe in.
I dream of a world that understands.
I try to love those i hate.
I hope that my friends will stay true.
I am a Freak with an open mind on life.
NEED
By: Thomas Andrade, age 17
I need to do something,
Write a letter,
Let it go somehow.
My heart attaches
To things, people.
When there is collision,
I lose myself in it,
In confusion.
Why not have two hearts?
I don't understand love,
But I know it exists.
PERFECT
By: Kari Myers
Supermodel
Superway
Fix the mold
Don’t break way
Perfect in the magazines
Perfect in your little dreams
Careful angel
Don’t fall down
Fragile doll
Who’s tied and bound
Perfect when you are 17
Prefect, so it seems
Plastic smile
Glossy eyes
No emotions, nothing to hide
Perfect in this scene
Perfect as your parents’ beam
Honeysuckle
Babydoll
With your picture on my wall
You are everything I hate to see
You are everything I want to be
TIME SOMEBODY TOLD ME
Quantedius Hall, age 12
Time Somebody Told Me
That I am lovely, good and real
That I am beautiful inside
If they only knew
How that would make me feel.
Time Somebody Told Me
That my mind is quick, sharp
and full of wit
That I should keep on trying
and never quit.
Time Somebody Told Me
How they loved and needed me
How my smile is filled with hope
and my spirit sets them free
How my eyes shine, full of light
How good they feel when they hug me tight.
Time Somebody Told Me
So, I had a talk with myself
Just me, nobody else
'cause it was time
Somebody Told Me.
FACESBy: Dan Gallagher, Age 16
Faces pass by at 35 mph
Staring at you, laughing at you
Wanting you, intrigued by you
Loving you, hating you
Giving you a smile that says, “Good morning”
Giving you a look that says, “Stop looking at me.”
You look for someone you know
Your brother, your grandma, your ex-girlfriend
The president, your barber, Neil Armstrong,
Jon Voight, Michael Jordan, or Leslie Nielsen
The guy you saw in a Subway eating a tuna foot
The girl who sold you peanuts at Wrigley Field
The lover you wish for after a hard day
The asshole who stole your bicycle when you weren’t looking.
But you’re lost, a stranger among strangers
No idea who you are or why you’re here
Just that you’re alone, lost in this city of faces.
I Cryby: Tupac
Sometimes when I'm alone
I Cry,
Cause I am on my own.
The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form
I Cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on.
If I had an ear to confiding,
I would cry among my treasured friend,
but who do you know that stops that long,
to help another carry on.
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.
Then to stop and see what makes one cry,
so painful and sad.
And sometimes...
I Cry
and no one cares about why.
An untitled piece
By: Marcel Mendoza, age 16
Just because I love darkness
Doesn’t mean I’m depressed
Doesn’t mean I can’t love
Doesn’t mean I’m blind.
Just because I love my Mom
Doesn’t mean I’m not a rebel
Doesn’t mean I can’t love others
Doesn’t mean I’m a mama’s boy.
Just because I act psycho
Doesn’t mean I need medication
Doesn’t mean I can’t be compassionate
Doesn’t mean I don’t cry.
JOKER
By: Michael Tobias Bloom, Age 16
You would be surprised
To know that the funny man
Is also the sad man
Like a clown fallen from his stilts.
But this is his career
Never will a joker feel secure in a serious environment
He will keep telling jokes
Never will a joker be secure in his insecurities
He will keep telling jokes
In the process of getting out of a hole
A hole I dug for myself
A bottomless pit
I will die . . .
Like the product of a pun
A misunderstanding.
The saddest joke . .
A clown lying by his stilts, full of regret.
I AM
By: James Balzer
I AM THE HATED ONE,
SPREADER OF THE DISEASE,
CARRYING THE BLAME UNJUSTLY.
I AM THE DYING INNOCENT.
I AM THE UNGODLY THING
PREACHED AGAINST IN CHURCH-
PREACHED AGAINST IN POLITICS.
I AM THE LOATHED,
I AM THE SHUNNED,
I AM FEARED.
I AM GAY.
I AM DYING INNOCENT,
I AM GODDESS,
I AM GOD.
I AM AN UNBORN CHILD.
I AM A DYING MOTHER.
I AM THE BLOOD FROM YOUR WOUND.
I AM LIVING WITH YOU,
I AM DYING BECAUSE OF YOU.
My Identity
By: Heartbeat Tempo
Who Am I?
Do I have a name?
I feel lost
Am disappearing
My true identity is disappearing
Where am I?
Am confused
Am wounded by the emptiness in my heart
My soul is empty
I have two sides
One that lives in a fantasy
And the other lost amongst the dark clouds
I keep floating from one place to the other
I do not know who I am
Am slowly drifting away
Fear of not knowing my true identity
If you know me
Tell me
Before i disappear forever
I Am Not Me
By: Andre Rodriguez
Where has all my love gone?
my sea holds no still waters.
a time since I've felt calm.
my thoughts churn as a blender.
knuckles scarred with all frustrations.
I am not consumed for I am aware.
death, sin and a broken heart.
the key to my transformations.
eroding a clear coated conscience.
wrestling with the unwanted influences.
a preemptive bite behind the scenes.
a sturdy defense in the greater fight.
it may not be the high road.
once traveled lonely but bold.
but its better than enduring constant betrayal.
how robotic I have become.
guided by the devils instinct.
I am not me.
SILENT SCREAMS
By: Rachel Halsall
I curl up tight and try to hide
The roaring fears that lurk inside
They sing of each weak part of me
My childish insecurity
The mask has slipped; I’m losing face
I’m on my way to a fall from grace
I’ve gone too far and burst the seams
All on earth can hear my silent screams
The burning urge to please my peers
Is easing out those locked up fears
I work to death so I can be
The perfect girl they want to see
My aching mind can’t take the strain
I’m crying out to release this pain
Clones stop and stare with vacant eyes
Blank empty stares as the freak girl cries
Unruffled hair and flawless skin
My aching need to be so thin
Craving, slaving to be the same
The pressure’s on to win their game
But soon all the strain starts to show
Eternal signs of a depressed low
My soul’s bared out for all to see
Wailing to the world a wordless plea
I’ve let go, the world’s on code red
Now I’ve changed, they just want me dead
The black sheep’s always rejected
Left alone, cold and neglected
Better rewind and take it back
Cross my fingers that the walls won’t crack
Pray I break only in bad dreams
Let the Sandman hear my silent screams
TRAVELING THROUGH LIFEBy: Rasma Raisters
Can it be
That it was all
So long ago
Childhoods bright smiles
And days of pure innocence
Teenage years of fears
And love eternal
The early adult steps
In a world of which
You’re not sure of
And now as life
Sails on into sunset’s glow
Wasn’t it grand?
Why did go so fast?
Memories golden
Remain forever
And the eternal question
Glancing upon a mirror
Wasn’t it really all so simple?
And are not these
The moments to treasure
Forever and ever....
NAMELESSBy: Alyssa Palmer
Pacing around this wall-less place
A scream of light
Streaming around
A multicolored sound
A blur in this blackness
A face in this crowd
Always around but never to be found
The name less girl
Unidentified
Unseen
Unknown
But there?
Indeed