George Ella Lyon recently chose Sage's poem
to represent her poetry template. Clicking this banner will take you to her fun and educational site:
In Winter
of 2008, we enrolled Sage in USC Upstate's "Write Here, Write Now: Sharing Slices of Life Through the Magic of Digital Storytelling,"
a series of writing and publishing workshops sponsored by the Spartanburg Community Writing Center. Sage was the youngest
among her group of about 50 or so students, and was determined to be as independent as she could be. Her delightful instructor,
Tasha Thomas, encouraged her independence, and it was not until her final presentation that we discovered what kind of video
she had decided to make.
Where I'm From
I'm from big blue herons to small river otters,
I'm from big Metasequioas to tall stalks of bamboo,
I'm from cousins that were unknown to the closest of friends,
I'm from my mom and dad to my lab-beagle dog, albino rats, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches,
I'm from roaring water falls to silent flowing streams,
I'm from terrifying Zombie walks and Scarowinds to a gentle princess-loving godsister and godbrother
I'm from pepperoni pizza to microwaved meatballs,
I'm from my inspiration station drawing and writing to a homemade book,
I'm from my old dog Chani to red-shouldered hawks,
I'm from Jack the magic clown to my weird parents,
I'm from a tiny baby to an educated sister showing baby MinMin what school's like,
I'm from bold looking deer to relaxing foxes,
I'm from making a fire in the county to ridin' in a cotton combine,
I'm from a fan of Alexa Vega and Miley Cyrus to a spy lovin' tween (me),
I'm from playing with cockroaches with a friend to Joe and I together,
I'm from my heritages to Mom's mystery heritages,
I have an opinion that none can change...life is great!
-Sage Hennequin Kuhens 1-29-08
Sage had asked to select some pictures from our iPhoto collection, but she refused to say why. Until we saw her presentation,
we were not aware of George Ella Lyon's "Where I'm From" superb poetry template.
Sage attended
the "Word Wanderings" writing camp sponsored by the Spartanburg Junior Writing Project June 9-20, 2008, at the University
of South Carolina Upstate campus. As a rising third grader, Sage was the youngest child in the youngest group, and she had
an absolute blast. Sage raved about her instructor, Mandi Cox, and after I got the chance to meet her I could see why as she
is infectuously enthusiastic about inspiring these kids. "The Beach" is just one of several poems Sage wrote during her two
weeks at SJWP camp, and I think it is sweet that she chose the baby blanket Donna made for her so long ago to use as a beach
towel. This poem has been published in the "Bursting out of the bloom!" anthology and if you can't hear Sage's fellow camper
say the last line as she rises, she says, "I guess the Sun is just too shy." . Here's another one Sage wrote during her two
weeks at SJWP camp, which concluded on my birthday:
Sage feels
inspired to write poetry most when she first wakes up in the morning, often before the sun and her parents have risen. Her
favorite place to attract her muse is on the upper deck over the waterfall. This poem stands out because she also chose to
typeset it in Pages on the one-month anniversary of receiving her iMac for Christmas. I wish I had the words to describe the
delight we experience by being awakened by a giddy third-grader eager to have her parents' old eyes focus on her morning's
creation.
