Upper Intermediate Letters from Rifka Poetry

These poems were composed as a team. Each student wrote their own poem, then as a group, they selected two lines from each individual’s poem to combine into the poems you see below. There were six groups, but one group’s poem was eaten by their computer. It will be posted if it is recovered. J

The train kept moving my head hurt,
It felt like the train was on top of me slowly moving and pounding

Mama’s typhus is much worse than mine was,
Why won’t she move?

Waves lace around me,
Screams of terror ring in my ear

I itched my scalp with fear,
To reveal the rebirth of my hair

The world stopped beating
I ran across the deck looking, looking
To Rifka it was a great loss
And the sea was not welcoming
Clinging to the side of the boat
It was Pieter
They’ll send me back if they find out
But wait, it’s hair not my ringworm!

—Shelby, Ryan, Austin and Rick

Rich and creamy Belgium chocolate
Something I have never tasted
As I got the chocolate from the lady who sold it to me
I prayed for Mamma, Papa, Nathan, and Saul in America
A boy of life,
I hear him call when he is away
It took me by surprise,
Never again will I see him.
The one I’ve grown to love
Her body lay there lifeless
Colors of red overwhelm my vision
Death is coming close

—McKena, Reilly, Ashton, Shanell, Lindy, Hannah

Pulling twisting, braiding one’s hair,
            Not knowing of any ailment,

             I couldn’t trust anyone and no one could trust me.
I had no choice but to go if I ever had a chance to survive.

          There I stood
I made it to Warsaw

       Horror, destruction, death and disgrace
I gave up my loved own for death in the sea

          One leap from America,
So close yet so hopelessly far.

From Russia came ever
So hard to achieve
Fending for her own through many hardships
Left on her own with a broken heart
She bought the orange from the man
And the man yelled “thief”
My thoughts bring back horrid things
as I lay down feeling rather ill
Screams and cries come from below
Sailors get thrown overboard
Rifka had no hair
Therefore, she couldn’t voyage to America