In Good Company

Today was National Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day, and I asked all of my students to carry a poem with them. In order to prepare for the big day, I gave them time earlier in the week to look through all of the poems we've read together, but they could also choose something that they or a classmate had written, or another poem they knew of and liked. In each class there was a voluntary read-around where students who were willing rose and introduced their selection by saying a few words about why they'd chosen it and then read the poem to the class. Because they're kids, and I wanted it to be kind of fun, they were rewarded with a lollypop. (An aside-- Dum Dum Pops now come in mango flavor, and they are delicious!)

They picked a nice assortment of poems. Shel Silverstein is always a favorite; Langston Hughes was very popular; there were a couple Dickinsons and Frosts, too. Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, and Ruth Foreman were all represented. I was glad that many chose from our common texts; it was nice to revisit those poems through the students' eyes. Several kids used poems that they had written this year, and that made me happy, too.

Near the end of the day, one student stood to read her selection. She turned to the class and smiled. "This was one of my favorite poems this year," she started. "I picked it because I like it." Then she read a poem that I had written and shared with the class about our school. It was an odd moment for me. To be in the company of those other poets, no matter how fleeting, and to hear my words in her voice was so moving that, when she finished, I realized I'd been holding my breath. And it may have been that, but it could also have been the applause from the other students that made me feel light-headed and a little giddy.

"Thank you, Ana," I said. "For that, you can have two lollypops."