Since Communiversity was held during National Poetry Month, members of the Town Topics team collected poetry submissions from school children attending the town wide celebration last month. Olivia Tague, 8, a second grader at Littlebrook Elementary School, submitted such a colorful piece that we include it here as received. In addition, here are five poems from Landon Pesnell, 5, who attends Nassau Nursery School; Thomsen Lord, 7, a second grader at Riverside Elementary School; Ellie van der Schaar, a third grader at Princeton Charter School, and John Witherspoon Middle School eighth grader John Evered, 14. The theme of each poem is “What Princeton Means to Me.”
The Poems
The True Meaning of Princeton
by John Evered
Through the hardship of winter
The warmth of spring
And joyful summer memories
The glorious overcast of leafs
Every color
The sap of the tree
From bikers to joggers
Explorers to teachers
Expressions to a gesture
The mystical horizon
The bright futures
The promising opportunities
The comforting hospitality
Diligent neighbors
Outdoor celebrations
From ethnicity to accent
Country to country
Foreign land to American soil
Unity.
Helpful tutors to helpful friends
Hard workers
Determination.
———
Princeton
by Thomsen Lord
Sports, sky and shops. Bordering
Bigs like New York City and Philadelphia
Not too busy. Not too quiet. Tons
of popular restaurants. All the importants
like banks and two gas stations.
I love Princeton!
———
The Best Town Around
by Ellie van der Schaar
Princeton is best of all
places
I would please to be,
Friendly faces
As far as the eye can see.
Grocery stores,
Fashion galores!
Family parks,
Relationship sparks!
Delicious food,
Brightens your mood!
Nature surrounds, all over town
Princeton is the
BEST
Town around!
———
What Princeton Means to Me
by Landon Pesnell
Inspired by his walks home from Grover Park near the Princeton Shopping Center, where he prefers to use his puddle boots in the mud instead of staying on the path, Landon Pesnell, 5, composed this shorter-than-haiku work:
Princeton means to me
Off Roading!
———