My Reaction To ‘Poems From Quaranteens’

Poetry from Buffy Hamilton’s 8th-grade language arts students

I had the opportunity to read an anthology of poems written by 8th-grade students; I was not prepared to be riveted by the colorful simplicity, and the truth about how these students processed Pandemic 2020 in their minds.

Do we ever wonder how students truly feel about the change in our world? As we go about our daily life paying bills, getting shots and watching the news, how are the 12 year olds, the 15-year-olds, and older teens dealing with the global crisis?

As I was reading, I highlighted poignant moments from each poem that touched my heart.

“Being quarantined is/ like the Hunger Games/shelves at stores completely/empty”

I love the Hunger Games and many young folks do too, so the fact that even the 8th-graders see us living in a real life Hunger Games is startling.

Here’s another:

“The world around us panics while/some wait and rest till the virus is /gone”

During this time, I remember talks from reporters and friends alike saying that “this pandemic will be over”, we all had hoped that 2020 is where the worst was left behind.

“Yellow feels like a sting from a…