TEACH US
With one step
from darkness
into the light,
you can teach us. You
can make us see why. You
left your country
riding on your
daddy's shoulders
through gloomy days
and darker nights
to live beside us.
How long did it take?
And how did you sleep?
Was there food to eat?
When did your daddy grow too tired to carry you?
And when did your feet grow too tired to bring you
through?
You can help us see
Teach us.
We want to learn.
© 2019 Robyn Campbell. All rights reserved.
Click HERE to read this month's interview with Karen Boss, Editor at Charlesbridge. Her challenge this month is to write a poem in second person, speaking directly to a kid or kids about something that you think is important for them to know.
Post your poem on our June 2019 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, June 28th. One lucky participant will win a copy of I Am Someone Else: Poems About Pretending, collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Hsu, available online for preorder, and coming to a bookstore near you on July 2, 2019.
Beautiful, Robyn! And such a powerful testament to the power of choosing love, choosing to learn, choosing to recognize the fact that we are more alike than we are different.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle. I recently saw a picture of a little boy, his sister and parents. The little boy had just journeyed from Guatemala. His face told his story. Sweaty, dirty but those eyes were filled with all his dreams. That is where the picture book idea came from. And this poem. <3
ReplyDeleteEvery day I tire of all the rhetoric. I only want to see what "they" are doing to help these children. They need to read and learn from your poem, Robyn. It's lovely & needed. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. That means so much to me. xo
ReplyDeleteChildren who cross borders and seas to travel to America have stories of hope, sadness, and family love. Thank you for sharing this in a single poem.
ReplyDeleteCarol, thank you. I wanted to write it because their faces look hopeful yet so sad and tired. You made me smile today.
DeleteJust wow!
ReplyDeletexoxo Thank you.
DeleteThis poem is so powerful. I can't even imagine the hardships these border children face every day. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNo, thank you. Your words have urged me on to finish the picture book. I so appreciate it.
DeleteWow. This is certainly appropriate for our time. Thans!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said, Robyn.
ReplyDelete