The Student Publishing Program

Read last year's questions that teen writers needed answered the most - and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s answers to them!

Read the teen poems we’ve already begun publishing alongside poems by Pulitzer Prize-winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser!

The Student Publishing Program has been selected as one of the top 12 creative writing programs in the country. Learn why in our program background section.

Get free access to original writing and publishing support from many of our nation's top educators, experts and writers, including Poet Laureates and six Pulitzer Prize-winners. Free audio, video and Podcasts of poetry slams and interview epiphanies.

See why so many high schools nationwide have already sent written participation interest for the upcoming school year.

The online literary magazine of Massachusetts' Lexington High School, where we've successfully piloted SPP for five years.

Questions or comments? Get in touch with us here.

Ted Kooser

Tattoo

What once was meant to be a statement -
a dripping dagger held in the fist
of a shuddering heart - is now just a bruise
on a bony old shoulder, the spot
where vanity once punched him hard
and the ache lingered on. He looks like
someone you had to reckon with,
strong as a stallion, fast and ornery,
but on this chilly morning, as he walks
between the tables at a yard sale
with the sleeves of this tight black T-shirt
rolled up to show us who he was,
he is only another old man, picking up
broken tools and putting them back,
his heart gone soft and blue with stories.

Kim N.

Where I Am From

I am from ice skating,
Blades gliding across the slick ice,
Singing a song that I can’t understand.

I am from blackberry picking,
The dark sweet flavor exploding in my mouth,
Looking down to find
An empty pail.

I am from horse rides,
Jingling harnesses,
Clacking wagon wheels,
And getting glimpses of sunlight through
The trees.

I am from snow flakes
Dancing their way to Earth,
Covering the ground in a shimmering sheet.

I am from church bells
Ringing low and sweet on
Sleepy Sunday mornings.

I am from shooting the rifle at
My grandparents’ house,
Either aiming too high or too low,
Not quite hitting my mark.

I am from painting
With slimy wet colors
Between my fingers
And everywhere.

I am from Smallville,
Gazing at the farm boy known as Clark Kent.
And talking about it the next day with Sarah.

I am from sleepovers.
Staying up all night,
With tons of sugary sweets.

I am from Bardstown,
A sleepy, small town
In the center of my world.

Kim N. is a middle school student.

Sophie DelDonno

Just Enough

Sighing downwards to the ground
in an indefinite moment of time,
the last dry and colorless leaf
leaves the empty tree.

It circles, arcs, and twirls reluctantly to earth
taking its time on its last exhilarating flight,
now to rest among thousands of others,
individuality vanishing with the multitudes.

From where she sits looking out the window
she cannot tell one from another,
but she knows that just a month ago
every last one was beautiful.

Who will appreciate these
delicate offerings from each branch of each last tree?
They used to be something more –
no longer, but that was enough.

Sophie DelDonno’s poem was first published in Lexington High School’s Online Literary Journal, 2:25 PM, by The Student Publishing Program, a free creative writing program that gives students the confidence and skills to write for a wider audience, and then publishes and promotes student books with 100% of the profits going back to each school.

<< BACK TO POEMS BY TED KOOSER & TEENS