The walls shook with the thunder of poet-warriors. Mere sixth-graders were transformed into living gods as with the tongues of angels they poured out their hearts to peers, parents and teachers in a crowded coffee house in the Gardnerville Ranchos on May 9.
"This is the first year I've had kids raise their hands to read," said Meneley Elementary School teacher Janine Mello. "These kids truly dug deep into their souls, took risks and spoke from their hearts."
Mello, who was named Meneley's Teacher of the Year, hosts Poetry Cafe each May.
"Sixth-graders are feeling so many different things and so much pressure as they get ready to go to middle school, so I encourage them to express themselves," she said.
After studying poetry in class, students went to Pony Espresso to read their original works in front of an audience.
Ophelia Martin, 12, wrote "The Wonders of the Ocean," using metaphors and imagery to strike into listeners a moment of otherworldly revelation.
"Supersonic waves echo in my ear," she read. "The deeper I go the wetter... I shake in fear not knowing what will happen. I see something taking a napping. Bobbing up and down is a sleek, silky baby sea otter with eyes the size of daisies."
Trent DiGiovanni, 12, wrote the "The Wall," a rhyming parable on the dueling nature of man.
"Blackness and hate is just another wall that lies between us," he read. "I ask why such an easy task of dropping all our hate and being nice to everyone, from Jose to Kate, is not complete... Instead we are locked in endless fight although both sides fight with all their might. So now a wall stands between the peaceful and the mean."
Danielle Belanger wrote a lyrical poem about loss and redemption.
"I wonder what lies beyond the stars. I hear rain drops on a silent day... I pretend to soar like an eagle. I feel my great grandma watching over me... I understand that I won't live forever. I say that God is watching over me."
Jacqueline Martinez played with alliteration in her "Onomatopoeia" poem.
"Shh, shh, do you hear something swish, something slash, screech? Do you hear? It's... it's... it's the Boogeyman swooshing under your bed, pulling your legs, his face ugly gray!"
Perhaps the most moving poem of the afternoon was a tribute to Mello read by the entire class.
"Mrs. Mello is awesome, energetic, thoughtful and spunky, and wishes she was on American Idol," students read. "She is a majestic, luminous light in the darkest places who likes to see her students grow. Her final destination is to rise above the stars and watch over her loved ones."
Mello couldn't hold back tears.
"This is such a unique class," she said. "Just knowing them I have grown as a teacher. For them to get up and write words like that means the world to me."
On Tuesday, Mello said that 14 of her 24 students had poems selected for the Creative Communications poetry contest and will be published in an anthology.
