The Liberty Bell -- Pantoum
-Talia Pott, Rising Junior, Project Write
Keep the faith, Baby, the fight is not yet over
A very significant symbol for the whole world
No turning back
Let’s take a selfie
A very significant symbol for the whole world
And they smoke it away
Let’s take a selfie
Let’s go the gift shop
They smoke it away
A baby cries
Let’s go to the gift shop
The Dodgers are in town
A baby cries
No turning back
The Dodgers are in town
Keep the faith, baby, the fight is not yet over
----------------------------
Pantoum
- Gabriela Petit, Project Write
How was it cracked?
No turning back.
Did all y'all want to be in there?
Yeah!
Fathers . . . Mothers with babes in arms
Yeah!
That's why we're here
No turning back
How was it cracked?
Did all y'all want to be in there?
Crowds swarmed to see the bell
That's why we're here
Crowds swarmed to see the bell
yes we can go
Yeah!
No turning back
-------------------------------
Pantoum Poem
- Mecca Patterson-Grady, Rising 8th grader, Project Write
"Let's take a picture"
Like a religious relic, the Liberty Bell attracted huge crowds as it traveled throughout the nation
Ring, ring the mighty bell
In the storm, in the storm
Like a religious relic, the Liberty Bell attracted huge crowds as it traveled throughout the nation
"Have a good day looking at the Liberty Bell"
Ring, ring the mighty bell
In the storm, in the storm
"Have a good day looking at the Liberty Bell"
Wherever chained, til universal liberty for all be gained
Ring, ring the mighty bell
In the storm, in the storm
Wherever chained, til universal liberty for all be gained
Like a religious relic, the Liberty Bell attracted huge crowds as it traveled throughout the nation
Civil rights were systematically denied to people based on the color of their skin
Ring, ring the mighty bell, in the storm, in the storm
"Let's take a picture"
These poems really highlight the way the bell has been taken up by people throughout the history of the United States. and the voices saying, "Let's take a picture," and "Let's take a selfie" make me think about how this time period's ways of thinking about the bell might be interpreted in the future.
ReplyDeleteThese poems reminded me of how the Liberty Bell has evolved historically - as an icon in pop culture to some, and as a reminder of liberties denied to others.
ReplyDeleteDear Mecca, Gabriela and Talia
ReplyDeleteI am listening in to your poems, hearing the sounds of the present merge with the past. So interesting, and the way you have set up the rhythms of the poems ... I can feel the beat, the pulse of the pens.
So, a found poem within your found poems ...
Ring
Ring
the mighty bell rings
Let the story
of civil rights
travel this nation
in the storm
in the storm
Ring
Ring
the mighty bell rings
Keep the faith
this fight ain't over
in the storm
in the storm
Ring
Ring
the mighty bell rings
there's no
going back
in the storm
in the storm
Ring
Ring
the mighty bell rings
there's no picture
and we're
not turning back ...
in the storm
in the storm
that's why we're here.
Peace,
Mr. Hodgson
Sixth Grade teacher
Western Massachusetts
epencil.edublogs.org
Talia ,Gabriella and Mecca,
ReplyDeleteI greatly appreciate how each of you portrayed in your Pantoum Poems ,the power of the liberty bell as a symbol of the struggle for Freedom and how you were able to Juxtapose that with the every day conversations that one might hear at the Bell Center.
Thanks for your support, Larry!
DeleteTalia, I find the lines "A very significant symbol for the whole world/and they smoke it away" very interesting because they can mean a couple different things. It can be saying that "they" waste the symbol and its meaning, or it can be that they obscure the symbol, like a "smoke screen" or clouding meaning. Very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGabriela, the lines "Crowds swarmed to see the bell/that's why we're here" really made me think about the way we pass down meaning and significance through generations. Symbols like the bell mean a lot today because people before us created meaning for them and told us they were important. And we've decided to keep passing on that significance to future generations. Very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteMecca, the image of a bell ringing in the storm is so vivid, like something you would see in a movie. The repetition makes it especially powerful.
ReplyDeleteTalia, I appreciate how you juxtapose the powerful protest lines with the everyday comments you overheard. It speaks to the idea of the Liberty Bell as a symbol. For some, it is a symbol of overcoming struggles, and for others, it represents the city of Philadelphia, or another stop along the way for a family vacation. Thank you for sharing what the Bell means for you in this poem.
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome, and thank you!
DeleteGabriela, your poem captures the energy of the Liberty Bell Center on a busy day! Your reader is able to visualize the Bell chamber on a busy day - packed with people of different ages and backgrounds saying "Yeah! we're here!". Thank you for sharing your work with us. Ranger Beth
ReplyDeleteMecca, I'm struck by your comparison of our visitor's trip to see the Liberty Bell to a pilgrim's journey. In many ways, they are not dissimilar, and the Liberty Bell holds much of the same significance and power for our visitors as the holy site does for the pilgrim. Thank you! Ranger Beth
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments. I really appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteI think you all manage to capture how the Liberty Bell attracts people for many different reasons. From being a powerful symbol of fighting oppression to an object that is fun to take a selfie in front of.
ReplyDelete