1. Free Verse Once I knew a man who gave his wife two skunks for a valentine. He couldn't understand why she was crying. "I thought they had such beautiful eyes." And he was serious. He was a serious man who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly just because the world said so. He really liked those skunks. So, he reinvented them as valentines and they became beautiful. At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of the skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet. - Naomi Shihab Nye

2. Love Poem Write a PG love poem to your mom, dad, sibling, pet, or thing that you love. NOT to a boyfriend or girlfriend! MUST have a rhyme scheme that is labeled at the end of each line MUST be at least 10 lines of 5 words each School appropriate! Decorated/Illustrated

3. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.A I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightB My soul can reach, when feeling out of sightB For the ends of being and ideal Grace.A I love thee to the level of everyday’sA Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.B -Elisabeth Barrett Browning

4. Ode to Coffee Oh, you know how I love my coffee A Black, cream and sugar, or super frothy A Every morning to Starbucks I do run B To make sure that my day will be full of fun B For if my coffee I cannot drink C I will fall asleep and begin to sink C Down in my chair while my students run wild D I love to drink coffee but didn’t as a child D