This poem sprouted from the thought that pets often comprehend more than we think they do. A few months ago, I read MAKING ROUNDS WITH OSCAR by Dr. David Dosa and was moved by his story of a nursing home cat understanding which patients were close to death and staying with those people through their last hours. It's interesting to trace back a poem idea to a book read some time ago.
Students - you will notice that this poem is written in free verse; it does not rhyme or follow a distinct metrical pattern. I admire this style of poetry very much, and it is a writing challenge for me. This poem feels risky because I am most comfortable in the cradle of rhythm and rhyme, and it's more difficult to know when to stop tinkering. But just as we need to strengthen a weak eye by covering our strong eye, we can push away our "writing safety nets" and stretch into new (sometimes scary) territory, hopefully growing along the way.
For a celebration of free verse, check out the Free Verse Project at poets.org. What an incredible classroom project this could be. I want to take a poem, a camera, and make tangible my own favorite lines of free verse, this one from our new Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin in "For the Anniversary of My Death".
Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
When the last fires will wave to me
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