"I write to discover my soul...I read to discover yours." The poems you are about to read are written and selected by sixth graders from the Fairfield Middle School in Fairfield, Iowa. These students experimented with many types of poems, including tanka, cinquain, haiku, acrostic, bio, concrete, diamante, ocean research, magazine haiku, couplets, title down, color poems, holiday, and limericks. They did a wonderful job creating poems that expressed who they really are, and I'm proud of their willingness to share this part of themselves with others. I hope you enjoy reading their work as much as I have. They should be very proud of their accomplishments. I am also thrilled for my students to have this opportunity to share their poetry with the world! ~~~~Ann Gookin, ~~6th Grade Language Arts Teacher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Communication is vital in today's society. It comes in many forms these days, from conversing to e-mail. One form of communication is writing, and one form of writing is poetry. Poetry doesn't seem to get the recognition it deserves in this fast-paced world. It is a form of writing that is personal and demands time to read it. It needs to be understood or felt by the reader. It can represent self-exploration for the author, while it can open feelings in the reader. The poem becomes the symbol of communication on many levels to many people. We hope these poems will communicate to the readers in some meaningful way, as they are read. This collection of poetry was created by the 6th grade students of Fairfield Middle School. It got started when a fifth grade student brought his poem home to his mother to read. His poem had been published in a book like this one. His mother is one of our sixth grade Language Arts/ Reading teachers. She saw it as an exciting project for the sixth graders at FMS. The rest is, as they say... history. This book of poetry communicates to all that take the time to read it. Those who contributed their work hope you will let their poems communicate to you. The collection of poems in this book started by sharing, and we hope you will share it with others, as you enjoy it yourself. ~~~~Gary Henry, ~~FMS Principal