The bitter, gorgeous paradox
for 2nd graders.
The Day (after "The Year" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox)
Did you have a good day, dear?
What happened today?
Chocolate milk spilled on my desk.
It got inside. It was a mess.
I made a card for Kim's sick mother.
She looked happy so I made another.
At recess Chris wouldn't play with me.
I went off by myself and discovered a tree.
My math was hard, so hard I cried.
Ms. P explained it. She was proud I tried.
My day was good but also bad--
the most normal day I've ever had.
draft ©Heidi Mordhorst
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Now you can enjoy this song (and my personal day will be more gorgeous if I'm introducing it to someone who's never heard it) while you head over to the Roundup Downunder with Kat Apel.
Apparently the yellow dragon fruit is the sweetest of them all ... but it is also covered in prickles! (The other varieties are not.) I'm hoping my flowers bear fruit so I can test it for myself. I've not tried a yellow one before.
ReplyDeleteWow. I came back and just reread my comment (made very late last night!) and it probably looks like it's totally unrelated to your post!! Not so - it was my reflection on the good/bad balance your poem is about, in the one piece of fruit. (And yes, I still have those pitaya flowers on my mind. :P) Just in case you were wondering...
DeleteYeah, I'll admit I was confused for a moment, but I worked my way there, also late last night. That liminal moment before sleep is so freeing, isn't it? : )
DeleteI love your poem. I wrote about normal days too. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou and Ruth are on the same page today! I really love this, Heidi.. the good and the bad. It's all part of the mix that makes a day. xo
ReplyDeleteWell done. Hearing the truth can be hard or can be a relief.
ReplyDeleteI had heard the Bittersweet Symphony before, but never seen the video. Fascinating!
A wonderful visit with the self of a second grader. This is a gift you give and I love. Paint me delighted to be one of the folks introduced to this great song!
ReplyDeleteYou nailed this poem form. I love everything about it, especially being the listener to the most normal day for a second grader.
ReplyDeleteMy life in a nutshell! And the lives of our students, too. You are so smart to help your second graders recognize and come to grips with life's "bitter, gorgeous paradox." I may have to borrow this idea.
ReplyDeleteNew song to me. (Yes, i kinda live under a rock.) I appreciate the lyrics more than the visuals in the video!
ReplyDeleteLove that you are STILL stewing on the Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem!
Love this and striving to figure out that paradox in my own experiences. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI came here straight from Ruth's post - wow. Very poignant, to read both like that!
ReplyDeleteLove this - a kid's normal day, perfectly described.
ReplyDeleteAh, I love this, Heidi. This year has started off with me constantly quoting Anatole France: "The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter, and that is everything."
ReplyDeleteThe honest rings true in this jolly-bittersweet poem–Charming Heidi.
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