Monday, April 29, 2019

NPM: Day 29

I've been reading poems about the natural world with my eighth graders this month. Here are two bird poems I shared with them.

Bird-Understander
by Craig Arnold

Of many reasons I love you here is one

the way you write me from the gate at the airport
so I can tell you everything will be alright

so you can tell me there is a bird
trapped in the terminal      all the people
ignoring it       because they do not know
what to do with it       except to leave it alone
until it scares itself to death

Here's the rest.

Here's a post from 2013 in which I explained why I think this is a perfect love poem.

And here's "Hummingbird Abecedarian," by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. We also enjoyed some YouTube hummingbirds.


Here's today's line in the Progressive Poem.

2 comments:

Linda B said...

I remember this one, printed it out for my students, too that year you first posted. It is a love poem extraordinaire! And I love this part: "of not turning away/from hurt". Thanks, Ruth, it's been quite a month of inspiring words, hasn't it?

susanbruck.com said...

I've never heard this poem before--it's beautiful. I love the idea of being a bird understander. I also love hummingbirds. Thanks for sharing this video.