A serious Poem "DEATH"

Introduction

I open by telling how it has been a year since my dog played to rough with my guinea pig and killed it. I don't really know what to do today. I found this poem about death that I'd like to share it with the class.

Anniversary—Jesse

It’s been a year.
What can I do
to mark the date?
Death’s not a thing
To celebrate,
but something special
should be done.
I burn my drawings
one by one,
take the ashes
to his grave
and say goodbye
at last,
and wave.

Grimes, Nikki. WHAT IS GOODBYE? Colon, Raul, ill. New York: Hypero Books for Children, 2004.

Extension

Read the poem again and after a moment of silence, ask the students how the poem made them feel. Did it remind them of anything that has happened to them? Explain about Jesse's brother death and how Jesse and his sister expressed their grief in poems. Read more of the poems from WHAT IS GOODBYE? Let the children experience the silence after each poem. Invite the children to write poems to share with the class which they can do as homework.