Children's Literature

SIDMAN POETRY

Sidman, Joyce. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2007.

Joyce Sidman took on the personas of Mrs. Merza’s sixth grade students when she wrote the poems in This is Just to Say.  The premise of the book is that Mrs. Merza’s class read the poem “This is Just to Say”, by William Carlos Williams.  The “students” imitated the style or concept of Williams’ poem and liked them enough to create a book.  Many of the poems are written in free-verse form, but the book includes a haiku, a poem for two voices, and a pantoum.  The poems are divided into two parts: Apologies and Responses.

Writing as sixth graders, Sidman wrote poems of apology and the responses to those apologies.  They range from funny to serious to sad.  In “Brownies – Oops!” Maria writes a somewhat humorous account of the time she snuck to the kitchen and stole a huge brownie from the middle of the pan.  Her poem is an apology to her mom, and the last stanza speaks sixth grade perfectly:

            “My head said, Oops!

            but my stomach said, Heavenly.”

Tenzin pens a serious poem with “It Was Quiet.”  This poem is about a dog being euthanized and the feelings that accompany that event.  The feelings of the fictitious author are evident in the last two stanzas:

            “I’m so sorry we had to do this.

            We wanted to save you some pain.

            I hope we did the right thing.

            Is death ever right?

            I don’t know, but I hated having to choose it.

            And I hate the quiet in our house

            Without you.”

The seriousness of Jewel’s poem, “Next Time,” trickles out a little at a time.  The author’s father left and the child apologizes for everything she believes she ever did wrong.  By the end of the poem she is begging her father to come home.

            “Please, please come back.

            Don’t leave me spinning alone,

            like a slow, sad tornado.

            I’m sorry, Daddy.

            Next time I’ll be

            perfect.”

The responses are just as poignant, with Maria’s mom apologizing for her own transgressions, the custodian sharing the story of euthanizing his own dog, and Maria creating a poem from the too emotional letter her father sent.

Pamela Zagatenski’s illustrations are whimsical compilations of hand-drawn pictures and computer generated art.  Many of the pages include the dictionary definition of apology worked into the illustration in some way.

“Spelling Bomb”

by Joyce Sidman (as Anthony)

I can’t believe I lost.

I know I disappointed you.

Do you really thin I don’t care?

I know how important it is to win.

I know I disappointed you;

I saw it in your face when I misspelled.

I know how important it is to win;

I studied hours and hours.

I saw it in your face when I misspelled.

I saw you turn away from me.

Even though I study hours and hours,

I never seem to be your champion.

I saw you turn away from me

and in that moment would have given anything

to be your champion.

To see your bright, triumphant pride.

In this moment, I would give anything –

do you really think I don’t care? –

for your bright, triumphant pride,

which I can’t believe I lost.

by Anthony

Before reading this poem:

Ask students if they’ve ever done anything they are sorry about.  Allow them time to talk to their shoulder partner or group about things they may want to apologize for.     

Follow-up:

Explain the pantoum poem form to students, as this may be new to them.  See page 22 of This is Just to Say.

           

Pairs of students will write apology and response poems either as themselves or pretending to be someone (or something) else, choosing any poetic form (haiku, diamanté, pantoum, etc.) that appeals to them.  Each will write the apology poem, swap poems, and write a response poem to their partner.