Poetry 180

I am in the middle of teaching one of my favorite units (although we're on break this week), Poetry. I am happy to report most of my students can identify instances of personification, metaphor, alliteration and assonance, but they lack the confidence it takes to bite into a poem... They are still worried about whether they are "right." I have tried from the beginning of the year to instill in them inquiry, versus memorization of teacher dribble and regurgitation. For 7 years they have learned to memorize and spit out what is on the state test... what about just thinking, connecting, questioning? Regardless, this has spurred me to take a different approach.

I found the website poetry 180, 180 poems for the 180 days of American High School, or something like that, awhile ago. Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the US, selected the poems for the website. While at Barnes and Noble, I stumbled upon two anthologies based on the website. I'm hoping my delve into contemporary poetry will inspire my students to contemplate the friendly side of poetry... we'll see... Here is one of my favorites from the second anthology (180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every day Life).

POEM
Bill Knott

Fingerprints look like ripples
because time keeps dropping
another stone into our palm.

I would ask my students... can you find the simile? Who might the speaker be?