CCSS
R.1, R.2, R.4, W.3, L.5
How to Write a Poem
Art by Mark Ward; Inside Creative House/Shutterstock.com (Teen)
Hush.
Grab a pencil
some paper
spunk.
Let loose your heart—
raise your voice.
What if I have many voices?
Let them dance together
twist and turn
like best friends
in a maze
til you find
your way
to that one true word
(or two).
Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images (Kwame Alexander)
Meet the Poet
Kwame Alexander wrote his first poem as a Mother’s Day gift for his mom. He was 12. Now he writes books for young readers. His most famous, The Crossover, is a novel about basketball written in poetry.
“How to Write a Poem” from OUT OF WONDER. Text copyright © 2017 by Kwame Alexander. Reproduced by permission of the publisher Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.
