mini place poems

My students have moved into a (very brief) poetry unit. After we've read a few, I tell them they have to write a poem based on a place - real, imagined, it doesn't matter - because that tends to keep them from cliché, abstract, emotion-based pieces.

Before I give them time to write, I have them brainstorm about my classroom, and model how I would turn that brainstorming into a poem, using their input. I'm rather amused at how they turned out this year. (The last one falters in tone a little, but I was very tired by the end of the day.)

. . .

Walls of stormy blue, with explosive stars
Above Egyptian tombs,
Tattooed with a kohl-black lexicon.

. . .

Stars are dangling haphazardly
From a cratered ceiling, and polar
Winds make the moons wobble.

. . .

James Dean glances over glowing crescents
Of strung stars, the scent of Paris
And a pickle.