A Poem Can be Consoling

A Poem Can be Consoling 

     Small clouds are sailing,

     Blue sky prevailing,

     The rain is over and gone!

                    William Wordsworth 

     The calendar was filling up with gray clouds, rain, sleet, drizzle, and fog. But the day I gathered ideas for this post was different. It was a storybook March day – chilly, windy - puffs of white clouds sailing across a blue sky - a perfect match to Wordsworth’s “Written in March.”

     I eyed this welcoming sky through the parlor window glass in between the pages of my reading. On gray days my little bottles on the window are a substitute blue. But on that afternoon I enjoyed the real thing. 

     In my reading I came upon a poem celebrating springtime. It was written by one of Miss Charlotte Mason’s students. Not only did Miss Mason’s students narrate in prose from the subjects they were learning, sometimes the assignment was to narrate in verse. E. G. age 17 is one narration example. I share part of the poem here with you.    

Come spring, thou fairest season come!

With the bee’s enchanting hum,

And the dainty blossoms swinging

On the tree, while birds are singing,

See how they clothe the branches gray

In dress of freshest pink, all day,

Then when the dewy evening falls

They close their flowers till Morning calls.

Sweet Morn! Spring leads thee by the hand

And bids thee shine o’er all the land;

Thou send’st forth beams of purest gold,

To bid the daffodils unfold,

While Spring bends down with her fresh lips

To kiss the daisie’s petal tips.

And as she walks or’er the green sward

A cheerful mavis, perfect bard

Breaks into song; his thrilling notes

Are echoed from a hundred throats

Of eager birds, who love to sing

To their sweet mistress, fairest Spring. 
. . .

Oh!  Spring my heart’s desire shall be

That thou wilt ever dwell with me!

 

"May-time" by William Stephen Coleman 1829-1904 English

     Isn’t it lovely? Forgive my abridgment. The full poem can be found on pages 208 and 209 of Philopsophy of Education.  

     Seeking more poems about spring I returned to our trusty hardcover copy of Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris. Some poems are like old friends. One of mine --one I couldn’t help memorize along with my little girls -- because I read it aloud several times a day for a week in 1989 -- I remember distinctly because that was the spring my son was born -- is “Who has Seen the Wind?” by Christina Rossetti. Do you know it? 

     You can see that our well-worn Famous Poems Old and New is straining at the seams. 

     William Wordsworth 1770-1850 and Christina Rossetti 1830-1894 are two of the classic “old” poets in this thick book of almost 600 pages. “New” poets such as Ogden Nash 1902-1971 and Eleanor Frajeon 1881-1965 have a place, too. Poems might be cute, comical, calming, patriotic, sad, silly, serious, or religious. This selection of poems entered the ears and imaginations of my children age 5 to 13. But older people (like mothers, fathers, teachers) enjoy them in their own way. 

     

     The poems are divided by theme into eighteen sections. Each theme is decorated with a line drawing by L. Weisgard. What a wealth of poems for home learning! 

    

     In the introduction the author gives us paragraphs about the fond memories of her childhood. Doesn’t it sound like Helen Ferries experienced a sort of  “gentle art of learning?”

“This book had its beginning years ago when two parents, loving poetry, made it as much a part of their children’s every day as getting up in the morning, eating breakfast, going to school, playing outdoors until suppertime.”

     Are we in too much of a rush to read a poem? It takes only minutes to read one. Perhaps there always seems to be more important things to attend to – what highly efficient people call “the essentials.”  And yet, we are all the better for reading just one poem. Be careful. This may be as difficult to do as munching just one potato chip. 

     It isn’t necessary that poetry be made an everyday affair as it was in the childhood of Helen Ferris. We create the story of our homes. Sprinkle poems into the schedule – however-whenever. And souls will be enriched.   
    

  


     If you are intrigued by the idea of giving to your students an assignment to express themselves through a narration of verse, first lay a foundation. Put young children in touch with a variety of poems now-and-again for some years.
     Are you starting narration with older students and haven’t got years? Months of familiarity will do.

     I finished hooking my chair pad with wool yarn this winter. While I wait for my budding flowers to bloom I have spring poems to console me.

     I also gaze upon the flower on my chair pad. It might be a pink dogwood or a plum blossom.  

     See how they clothe the branches gray

     In dresses of freshest pink, all day

Thank you, E.G., whoever you are.

Until next time,

Karen Andreola