Who are you? Do you know yourself? One of the greatest aspects of poetry is the way it helps the writer explore his/her thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Feelings need to be understood and analyzed in order to express them. This poem is an example of one author's ideas about being famous.Famous
Naomi Shihab Nye
The River is famous to the Fish
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
if famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole,
not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
What do you want to be known for? In what way do you want to be famous? Rewrite the last two stanzas to reflect your view on being famous.
Start by thinking about 2 things:
1. I want to be known for . . .
2. I am going to show this by . . .
or
The reader will see this by . . .
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlk/2379992801/sizes/s/
I want to be famous to my coaches
ReplyDeleteto tell me that I'm important to the team,
men who protect us,
famous as the ones saving lives.
I want to be famous the way a shovel is to a worker,
or the way water is to a fish
to be able to help and to make their jobs easier
and they will not be able to forget how those things helped them..
I want to be famous to brave men
ReplyDeletewho protect what they believe in.
Men that will never know me,
but I will be famous for knowing them.
I want to be famous like a house is to children,
because of my bravery and courage
they will be safe and protected.
And I will pay for most of their freedom.
I want to be famous like a motor
ReplyDeleteis to a car
without it
both will be useless.
I want to be famous like a football
is to the end zone,
or the hands
that caught it.
I want to be famous for what I do,
ReplyDeletenot who I am.
Like a helping hand to a stranger.
Like a home for a child.
I want to be famous to little kids,
Not like parents or family,
like a friend who is trying to lead them
or a big brother guiding them.
I want to be famous like a humming bird
ReplyDeleteas it drifts from flower to flower
carrying its hummer along
so she can sing from flower to flower!
I want to be famous as a saddle is to a country girl
As she sits she wonders in to a whole new world
the horse clip clopping down the hill
the beat the girl can carry!
I want to be famous like a band-aid,
ReplyDeleteto crying children with scraped knees.
Because the tears stop running,
and the child soon feels better.
I want to be famous like a mother,
to her children going to college.
Not because the smiles and tears,
but because she knows they've grown up.
I want to be famous to orphans
ReplyDeletelike a guide that leads the way,
famous like eyes
to a person that cannot see.
I want to be famous like a family
to people without any,
or as famous as a wheelchair
to a man that cannot walk.
Excellent project, I have had fun reading through the responses!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Tenkely,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment. I have enjoyed them also. But, I am not sure if all of the writers are enjoying them too much. Don't you just hate those teachers with high expectations, that just keep asking for more and more? :)
This is a edited and improved version of my comment
ReplyDeleteI want to be famous to brave men
who protect what they believe in.
Men that will never know me,
but I will be famous for knowing them.
I want to be famous like a house is to children,
they will be safe and protected
because of my bravery and courage.
And I will pay for most of their freedom.
This is an edited and improved version of my old comment.
ReplyDeleteI want to be famous to my coaches
the way the whole team is important.
The way a baseball is to a bat
to get a home run.
I want to be famous the way a basketball is to
hearing the swoosh of the net,
like getting fouled and
winning the game
I want to be famous
ReplyDeleteto the big-times,
who walk the walk,
the little hands with paint.
I want to be famous
the way a thread
is to a bat,
the way the net
is to the rim.
I want to be famous to the disabled
ReplyDeleteto be the ipod of their ears,
to be the cane for the elderly,
famous for the one who was there.
I want to be famous
like the pillow is to the head,
to be the one who stands up for depressed,
the one who was there for the evicted.
I want to be famous to my family
ReplyDeletewho smiles at me
to all of my family standing in line to eat
setting down at the table to feast.
I want to be famous
to my brother and sister
that get in trouble for something they didn't do
famous as the one who said they did not do it.
I want to be famous
ReplyDeleteto other people so when they fall
down I can be there for them
when they do I can help them up.
I want to be famous
to my brother & sister
for getting in trouble
because they didn't do there chores then I do it for them.
I want to be famous by being like the cane
ReplyDeletethat helped my grandpa get where he needed to go ,
elderly people on their porches ,
famous as the one who helped them .
I want to be famous the way a smoke detector is
or a fire extinguisher is ,
nothing big just helping save lives ,
cause no matter what it always does what it's built to do .
The hunter in the tree stand is famous for the deer watching him from below
ReplyDeletelike a eye is to the scope
like a bullet is to a barrel
like a arrow is to a bow.
The vet in the office is famous to the dog in the waiting room
like a needle is to a cure to save a life
like a kiss is to a cheek
like a bandage is to a gash.
The soccer ball is famous to the cleat
like the grass is to a shoe
like sweat is to the forehead
like winning a game is a smile
I want to be famous
ReplyDeleteto the kid I first helped
after she skinned her knee
cheering her with a smile
with a look of encouragement
I want to be famous
like a happy picture book a silly mask
the look that makes other people feel better
making other people look the same way
I want to be famous
like a toy is to a child
like a tissue is to a tear
like a band aid is to a skinned knee
I want to be famous to children
ReplyDeletewho laugh while playing,
cry when they have a scrape,
famous to the one who gave a hug.
I want to be famous as an alarm
is to adults or children,
not because I want their money
but so I can protect them from harm.
I want to be famous like a mother
ReplyDeleteis to her kids that cares and love them,
like medicine to ill people/animals,
but to help them along the way.
I want to be famous like a chrysalis
is to a caterpillar,
like a leaf is to a tree
like a nest to a bird.
I want to be famous like a big sister is to a little sister
ReplyDeleteor a teacher is to a student
I want to be known for taking care
of the ones that need a helping hand
I want to be like their friend
that they can trust always
Be the one that always
reminds them safety first
I want to be famous like a shelter
ReplyDeletefor dogs that are stuck in the pound,
Dogs that get the shot
famous as the people that have saved.
I want to be famous for the helping hand
the hand for kids that need food
a family,
and freedom.
I want to be famous like a book
ReplyDeletechildren ready to learn,
like a house who protects a family,
or like water that quenches a thirst.
I want to be famous the way a pencil is to paper,
as a zipper is to pants,
not because it is outstanding,
because people will never forget.
I want to be famous for as fast as the wind,
ReplyDeleteCrossing the white and black line,
might be first might be last
to me it doesn't matter.
I want to be famous as a house is to homeless people,
or a bone to a dog,
I might not be as famous as a friend,
I can still be a hero.
I want to be famous to kids without food,
ReplyDeletestarving kids may never know me,
I will be famous,
for helping them.
I want to be famous like coats,
to people that are freezing,
so they can be warm,
I will be as famous as a warm coat.
I want to be famous for who I am not what I am
ReplyDeletemaking colors for what I am
crossing the line of shadows
helping the kids that need help
I want to be famous for helping people in blue
making people safe from other people
getting rewarded for helping people with their problems
being a hero
I want to be famous like a veterinarian
ReplyDeleteto a poor helpless dog,
or a mother
to her daughter.
I want to be famous as a star
is to the night sky,
or as famous as a flag
to a flag pole.
I want to be famous like an umbrella on a rainy day,
ReplyDeleteor how the sun is to the sky
I want to be famous like water is to a burning house,
how books are to a library
I want to be famous like the last page
in your favorite book,
the one that makes you smile because
they all lived “Happily every after.”
I want to be known as the cast
ReplyDeletethat healed a broken bone,
and the child that came back
to visit me with a smile,
I want to be known like the shade
is to the grass on a hot day,
or like fur
is to an animal in the winter.
I want to be famous like a shooting star
ReplyDeleteis to a child with a dream,
or like a pair of eyes
to someone who can not see.
I want to be famous like the flag
is to our country,
or as famous as the walls
are to a building.
I want to be famous to the lost person
ReplyDeletein an area that I know well.
Or the spoon to a bowl of hot soup
and a parachute to a sky diver
I want to be famous to the old folks at the grocery store
as the one that will help them carry and load up the things that they got
or famous to the person that fell and lost a race
and me be the one that came back and helped them up