Tag: Democracy

Poetry Friday is HERE: Christmas Haiku and Slippers.

Welcome everyone to Poetry Friday! Today I have the honor of being the host. I hope all of you and your loved ones are finding joy in this holiday season.

What is Poetry Friday? It is explained Here.

Christmas is moving along at my house. Our tree is decorated. 

this young pine's branches
firmly grip fragile treasures--
as if it grew them.

©Janice Scully 2023

I made stollen with my friend, Leah, something we do every year together. 

fresh Christmas stollen,
obviously sprung from snow,
not a hot oven.

© Janice Scully

But, in spite of a tree and baking, this doesn’t feel like an ordinary Christmas now that 2024 is around the corner. I feel unsettled, another word for free floating anxiety.

I wrote another poem, one that does not concern Christmas, but instead, Democracy. 

TAKING DEMOCRACY FOR GRANTED

like slippers
so cleverly made 
that you can’t recall
having cold feet at all, 
 
until one day you jump out
of bed, put on your old slippers
and for the first time 
your feet feel 
the ice-cold kitchen floor!

You stare into the early silence,
vexed with regret  
because you never fixed 
that insidious hole,
           
and now
must replace 
the sole. 

© Janice Scully ©2023 (draft)

Have a happy holiday season! Add your blog to the list below. I look forward to reading them.

I thought I’d try writing an “Elfchen” poem or two this week. On Dec 29, the Poetry Sisters are sharing their “Elfchen” poems and invited the Poetry Friday community to give the form a try. See Tanita’s post Here. I found a description of the Elfchen from Here. It is a short poem, which of course doesn’t mean easy. I hope I’ll have one to share in two weeks.

Democracy and THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY

Welcome this week to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by the talented Buffy Silverman Here. Be sure to stop by for a visit.

This month, I have been thinking about Democracy and what a real life lesson we are all receiving daily, and discovered this wonderful 2016 middle grade novel in verse, THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, by Laura Shovan. It was waiting on my desk, actually. It seemed so relevant at this moment in history, that I wanted to post about it.

It is possible that the teachers on Poetry Friday have already read this, but maybe not. I hope middle graders are reading it and talking about it.

I was so impressed with the author’s craft: 18 memorable character, yikes! And all different, the use of different poetry forms to reflect character, and the engaging story.

A full discussion of the plot as well as an excellent teacher’s guide can be found here.

The main plot briefly goes like this: The Board of Education of Emerson Elementary wants to close the beloved school and the students are determined to stop it. The themes include Democracy and the right to protest.

Students protest with the following poem, which is a petition to the school board, recalling the words of our Founding Fathers in our Constitution:

PETITION
George Furst, Edgar Lee Jones, and Rennie Rawling

We the People of Ms. Hill's Fifth Grade,
in order too give a more perfect Understanding
of the importance of our student voices
here at Emerson Elementary,
seek to establish a Protest by our Classroom,
which hath Studied the U.S Constitution and Civil Rights,
to Provide our United opinion
regarding the fate of our beloved Emerson Elementary,
and Demand that the Board of Education
promote general Knowledge about its plans,
and share the Blessings of Facts
with ourselves and all Emerson
and Montgomery Middle Students.
Thus we do create and Submit this petition
to halt the razing of Our School
indefinitely.

Signed in Equality on this 6th Day of January.

In the study guide, the first question posed is this:

“Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed very unfair and you were unsure what to do about it? How did you handle it?”

This is exactly the question I have been asking lately. What can I do to have any impact given what’s going on in America today? But this book gave me hope that children are learning about the fundamentals of Democracy, and how important their voices are. The book is an opportunity to appreciate our rights as Americans, especially, the freedom of speech.

Thank you, Buffy, for hosting. I hope everyone is safe and anticipating with excitement the vaccine that just might restore our ability to be with friends and family.