"Life Doesn't Frighten Me" Poems

Back in April, I had to miss two weeks of school to go to Nigeria and celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. Because it was National Poetry Month, one of the lessons was a throwback to a project we did during my student teaching days.

First, the students read Maya Angelou's poem "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," and then write their own version of it. When we did this with the 4th graders, we had them "publish" their poems and created a class book with all of them in it.

While I didn't have the time or resources to do the same thing with my 8th graders, a few of them gave me permission to share their poems here. Enjoy!

Original poem by Maya Angelou: 

Student Poems:

Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Yancy D.
Ghosts creeping on the walls
Strange things at the mall
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Sharks circling around
Bad songs in soundcloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

A stylist cutting all my nails
A barber cutting off my hair
They don't frighten me at all.

Mystical creatures with their scary features
That doesn't frighten me at all.

I go boo...
Make them shoo
I steer clear
Make them fear
They all fall
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Plastic smiles to match their styles
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Alligators in the zoo
Ghosts just saying boo
No, they don't frighten me at all.

Don't show me a wolf
and listen for my screams
I've got a magic charm
They don't frighten me at all.

I will stand straight
You won't see me stray
I will stand my ground
So you can go around

Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.


Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All by Viviana F.
Roaches on the all
Darkness down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Dying alone
Staying by my own
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Changes all around me
Leaving all the oldies
They don't frighten me at all.

 Filling with disappointment
Even my parents won't do the appointment
That doesn't frighten me at all.

 I go boo, 
I go boom
so they no longer bloom
I won't cry, not a tear
They know I won't tear
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Politicians fight
'till they leave us with no rights
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Meteorites coming down
life the running clown
No, they don't frighten me at all.

 Coffee shops with me following my every move
until when I show they...
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 What is this strange feeling?
This thing so revealing?
Why all this squealing?
When . I know he'll be leaving?

 Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Not at all.
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all. 
Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Angela C.
Losing my gift of sight
Causing everything to be white
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Getting lost in an alley of angry dogs
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Failing a year 
after all I get in trouble
They don't frighten me at all.

 Getting swallowed by death
Almost like being swallowed by water
That doesn't frighten me at all.

 I go boo.
Make them shoo.
I make fun
Then they run.
I won't cry, so they fly
I just smile, they go wild
Life doesn't frighten me at all. 

 Arguments in the night
Losing my parents to the light
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Falling in the dark
Strangers in the park
No, they don't frighten me at all.

 Buzzing bugs
Random people's hugs
They don't frighten me at all.

 Don't show me zombies and ghouls
And listen for my scream
If I'm afraid at all, 
it's only in my dreams.
I've got a magic charm up my sleeve,
I can walk the ocean floor and not breathe.
Life doesn't frighten me at all,
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all. 
Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All by Isabela F. 
Changes on the wall
Death down the halls
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 Quietness that is so loud
Loneliness up the cloud.
Life doesn't frighten me at all

 The mean old Mother Goose
Sharks on the loose
They don't frighten me at all.

 La lloronas habits
and those neon-colored brackets
That doesn't frighten me at all.

 I go boo, 
it all goes shoo
I make fun when they run
So they get shy
I just smile
They go wild.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 When the guys cat-call
Make 'em feel small
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

 They new classroom where I can't reach for air
They don't frighten me at all.

 Don't show me the world's end
Just listen to my scream.

 Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all. 

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