our connection to these mealworms is anything but
tenuous.
their stage is our stage: child.
we take them from the dark, fearless, though daily we
molest them.
their aim is our aim: grow.
we watch them wriggle out of old skins, wild with
effort.
their change is our change: tough.
then we find them waxen white and frozen on their bran,
pupae.
their wait is our wait: long.
[dedicated to my kindergarten team]
The Poetry Friday round-up is at The Miss Rumphius Effect with the lovely Tricia, down in my hometown of Richmond, VA. See you there all weekend!
Wow, Heidi. Just wow. I love reading poems of significance about insignificant things (mealworms, not kids).
ReplyDeleteI love this, Heidi. I love the words, the meaning, how it sounds to read out loud. When I taught fifth grade, we too studied mealworms. Your poem makes that memory richer.
ReplyDeleteWow, indeed. The connections are powerful.
ReplyDeleteYay for mealworms in a K classroom, Heidi! And what a wonderful connection you've made here between their metamorphosis and that of your students. Love it!
ReplyDeleteYes. What everyone else said. And thanks for bringing back the memory of how magical it is for students to witness this transformation...just as we are witnessing theirs.
ReplyDeleteI love the parallel structure of this poem as well as its subject matter, so significant to children. I'd like to use it as a model for my students.
ReplyDeleteHey, Heidi. Here's a mealworm idea for you (borrowed from the US Science and Engineering Festival). Using gentle tweezer, dip your mealworms in a *little* bit of paint. Put two or three (different colors) on paper. Watch them crawl around. Voila! Mealworm painting.
ReplyDeleteI nominated you for a Sunshine Award! You can see the details here: http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2014/02/sunshine.html
ReplyDeleteNo pressure if you don't want to participate. But your blog does always bring sunshine into my day. :-)