Deep in Books
by Amy LV
Today's poem is dedicated to Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson over at A Year of Reading who celebrated their five year blog birthday yesterday! A Year of Reading serves as daily inspiration for me as a writer, teacher, and parent. Too, Mary Lee is a Poetry Friday mentor extraordinaire! Happy birthday!
This holiday allowed for some all-family reading time at home. And it always amazes me how a room can be completely quiet, full of people doing the same thing - reading - but how each reader has a completely different experience. As I sit and read about knitting, Mark reads a mystery, Henry reads a Narnia book, Hope reads funny short stories, and Georgia reads a novel by Mildred D. Taylor. On the outside, we look the same. On the inside, we are living different lives. How true this is for classrooms with time for independent reading.
Students - this poem is a contrast poem. Something looks one way but is actually quite different. Can you think of something that looks one way but actually is something else? If so, this double-sidedness might make for a good poem.
The worlds/words lines at the end of this poem are certainly inspired by Geof Hewitt's brief and fabulous poem, "Typographical Errors", from the book I FEEL A LITTLE JUMPY AROUND YOU: PAIRED POEMS BY MEN AND WOMEN edited by Naomi Shihab Nye and Paul B. Janeczko. I adore this book for upper grades and adults too.
Also, yesterday I posted a collaborative New Year's poem started by Charles Ghigna and me. We welcome you to stop by and add a few lines!
(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)
Thanks for the poem and the kind blog birthday wishes!
ReplyDeleteI often think about the wonder of 20 readers in the same classroom in 20 different "worlds of words." It's magic!
Thanks! You are too kind! LOVE the poem:-)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Mary Lee and Franki! Thank YOU for all that you do for all of us. Happy celebrating! A.
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