06 Jan, 2010
Stealth poetry project con’t: Answer To A Child’s Question
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Stealth poetry
Remember when I fastened a poem to the back of our front door? It’s part of my goal to keep poetry in our hearts and minds.
Well, Emma requested a new poem for the door and I’ve printed one out. It’s posted below.
Say it loud with your kids, then whisper it softly. Read it dramatically. Read it like a robot. Imagine the pictures in your head. Ask your kids: What seasons are we talking about? What does a sparrow, a dove, a linnet and a thrush look like? Do they live where we live? Why are the birds quiet in the winter and loud in the spring? What does the poem make you feel? How do you feel in winter or in the spring? What question was being answered? ETA: Most importantly, don’t drill it into them. This is only something beautiful to be admired and absorbed … like a piece of art, a pretty flower or a tall tree.
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Answer To A Child’s Question
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Do you ask what the birds say? The Sparrow, the Dove,
The Linnet and Thrush say, I love and I love!
In the winter they’re silent — the wind is so strong;
What it says, I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.
But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather,
And singing, and loving — all come back together.
But the Lark is so brimful of gladness and love,
The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings, and he sings; and for ever sings he —
I love my Love, and my Love loves me!
