Sunday, September 25, 2011

I am Cheetah, by Emma Bednar

Getty Images from Google

I am Cheetah

I am strong and fast
I wonder, will I survive today?
I hear innocence cry out as I tear it apart
and I see life flutter and fade before me
I want my cubs to be like me
I am strong and fast

I pretend I'm the queen of the land as
I feel another's life tremble beneath my paws
I touch the ground like wind rushing over a mountain
I worry about the balance between life and death
and cry for my cubs when their survival is threatened
I am strong and fast

I understand the wind as it calls my name
I purr my discontent, so beware my mixed signal
I dream my spirit is the speed of light
I try to teach my young to be ruthless
and hope they understand compassion means weakness
I am strong and fast

by Emma Bednar

This was written by my 6th grade daughter - I helped her ever so slightly with showing her the wonders of dictionary.com and the thesaurus.  I encouraged her to use the "and" line in all three paragraphs and I had a slight influence on having her take the sappy sweet lines out and making the overall tone a bit more foreboding...  I had her read a few articles on the ruthlessness and toughness of this animal and what it takes to survive in the wild.  A good mother is a tough mother as far as the Cheetah is concerned.

If you want to read a bit more on the Cheetah, please click HERE.  It is a 2009 Scientific American article and is also where I got the photo.

I linked this to dVerse Open Link Night #11.  Over 100 AWESOME poets...check it out.

16 comments:

Ginnie Hart said...

Dear me! Like mother, like daughter? 6th grade??? My grandson is in 6th grade and somehow I can't imagine him writing anything like this...unless he made it into a rap song. :) WOW. I'm very impressed.

izzy said...

Tell her: "Grreat!"
they are endangered- for all their speed...

Reena said...

6th grademaste writer? She is awesome! You must be so proud.

Jannie Funster said...

No. Way.

Well, of course YES. Way.

I read the title, understanding it was written by a 6th grader. Then my mind wandered as I read it, and I forgot it was written by a child. Then the byline brought me back and I went Whoa, awesome writing, for any age.

I am amazed by the scope of her imagination and feeling.

Love the tough mother approach, Emma! I'd love to live among them undetected to experience their family life.

Margaret, she's a gem, as you know. Oh, these children we have -- they are sailing like ships out on the sea as we stand upon the windy shore where so many have stood before.

xoxo

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

She is amazing and the apple did not fall far from the tree.

Your blog is progressing beautifully with your talent and enthusiasm for art and life. Nice to see you again!

Bises,
Genie

Margaret said...

Thanks for complimenting my daughter everyone. But, I must say, she did get my help with the massaging of this. We talked a lot about the meaning of words and the use of the thesaurus, etc. For example, she originally wrote: I try to teach my young to be like me. (third to last line) and I asked her what did that mean. So we searched for something stronger. The true test will come this weekend when I am having her write another "Like Me" poem using all of the things we talked about. I will be posting that next week. :)

Brian Miller said...

woohoo what a poet you have on your hands there...this is a wonderful capture of the cheetah and its motives...love that the family was included as well...i find it interesting the points a youth tends to pick up in their observations...very nice!

Claudia said...

oh i love when children are writing poetry margaret...what a wonderful capture by your daughter...they so have their own way to see things...and so good when they find their voice early

Anonymous said...

It's great that you are encouraging your daughter to write. It's a wonderful gift to pass on. This poem is great, and so well written, a real talent there under your wing.

ayala said...

This is awesome...you must be so proud! :)

Scarlet said...

I enjoyed her poem - it is simple yet full of meaning. I like reading children's perspective on life and death.. she has a lot of wisdom for so young an age.

Anonymous said...

Writing can only be encouraged as we pass the literary baton. Congrats...

gautami tripathy said...

Your daughter writes really well for her age. She must keep writing...


chained the present

Beachanny said...

This is an excellent poem for anyone to write. Very creative to put oneself into the instinctual mind of a mother cheetah. Well done!

Anonymous said...

The seedling doesn't fall far from the tree! Very advanced passion! You must be incredibly proud, and how wonderful your encouragement... blessings friend.....

Fireblossom said...

I love this! I followed "link within" to this post, because I love cheetahs. This captured Spot Mama and her world so well!