Poems, stories, and responses by kids

Responses to Van Gogh's Artwork

Vincent's Chair with his Pipe

Where is my pipe? Where is my pipe?!
I know I brought it with me!
Didn't I?
I set it on the chair,
But did I ever pick it up?
Yes, I'm sure I did.
I picked it up right before I left.
Didn't I?

My Garden

In my garden,
everything is peaceful.
In my garden,
nothing moves.
In my garden,
the flowers grow up, and the roots grow down.
In my garden,
It is completely, totally silent.
In my garden.

The Perfectionist

I drink a glass of tea
and set it down.
Exactly 7 inches from the pitcher,
no more, no less.
I halfway close the window,
so a gentle breeze blows through,
no greater than the breath of a fly.
I straighten a picture,
more,
more,
too much!
Back a little.
Perfect.
I lay in bed, and pull the covers right below my neck.
I set my alarm clock to 7:32 A.M. sharp!
and gently fall asleep.
-Andrew, grade 7

Hospital at Saint-Remy
Lots of trees
at a hospital.
People walking,
in a hurry.
Where are they going?
Windows everywhere and a door
in the middle of a forest.
Sean, grade 7

The Starry Night, 1889

The wind swirls around itself in confusion,
the grass getting taller and taller, reaching up into the wind's confusion.
The churches spire does not go nearly as high as the grass that obscures almost half of my vision.
The sun is filling the rest of the moon as they meet in the sky.
But yet there us light coming from the side of the sky that seems to have no source
as it forms the exact shape of the hills.

Irises, 1889

They look like a huge jungle, proud and tall
with so many fearsome and gentle beasts.
Insects, tigers, gazelles and many others live in harmony in this great jungle.
They have flowers and plants that are found nowhere else in the world,
and yet no human has ever been there,
How can this be?
Mitch, grade 7