Day and Night
In the
day
I haul
myself from the warmth of my sheets
and
yawn as I take a shower.
I have
a quick breakfast, then put
my
poems into my backpack.
On my
way to school I worry about
whether
the kids will like me;
whether
the new poem I’ve written
will
make them laugh,
and
whether the teacher
will
invite me back.
Some
kids laugh
and
some kids don’t.
On my
way back home I think about
all the
things I could have done
differently.
I bury my mind
in the
pages of a book,
eat supper
and go to bed.
At
night
I
shower in laughter and money.
I have
a thousand doughnuts
for
breakfast, and never get fat.
Every
poem I write brings joy
to
children across the globe,
and
causes countries
to lay
down their arms.
Teachers
queue twice
around
the world
to
invite me to their schools.
At
night there is no such thing
as
regret.
Every cloud
is the hug of a parent.
Every
thunderclap is a round of applause,
and
every drop of rain
is a
funny joke.
.........................Firstly, I hope you enjoyed this poem. When writing it I faced something of a dilemma: should I write the poem from 'my' point of view, or from the point of view of a child? Much of my poetry takes place from the latter point of view, or at least blurs the distinction, but the above poem very much adopts the perspective of a fully-grown, adult poet. The 'I' of the above poem is not a child, or pseudo-child. I'm sure this is a very important issue within the realm of children's poetry, and children's literature generally, but I'm not sure whether here is the best place to discuss it. What I would say is that I hope the resultant sense of 'authenticity' acts as a spur for the children's own writing. What I would like to do now is to outline an idea for a poetry workshop, based on some of the ideas in my poem.
- Warm Up
Each student writes a 'timeline' of a typical day. They can include the events that occur, and how they feel about them. Each student could aim to jot down five such events, which span the space between getting up and going to bed.
- Poem Sharing and Discussion
Share my poem 'Night and Day' (above) with the students. Discuss the difference between what happens 'in the day' and what happens 'at night'. Is one true and the other false? What kind of language have I used towards the end of the poem?
- Poem Writing
Using the ideas generated in the warm up, students write their own 'Night and Day' poems. The key idea here is to contrast reality with the imagination; to juxtapose the mundane with the fantastical, and to reify the dreams, ambitions and desires that the students have. I hope this exercise shows that poetry can encompass both the real and the imaginary, and can blur and question the distinction between the two. As ever, enjoy!
