POETRY BY KIDS

McLaughlin, Timothy P and S.D. Nelson. Walking on Earth & Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at the Red Cloud Indian School. New York. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2012.

ISBN: 978-1-4197-0179-5

Walking on Earth & Touching the Sky is a collection of moving poetry written by Native American Youth from the Red Cloud Indian School. The poetry in this book takes a look at the lives of these Native Americans through the eyes of their young people and consists of poems about their lives from their trials and tribulations to their celebrations and dreams. Readers, especially teens, will relate to most of these poems simply due to the fact that they are teenagers and experience many of the same feelings and emotions as the Lakota youth do. The poems are expressive and deal with subjects such as life, death, alcoholism, feelings of despair, joy and faith. Given the subject matter of most of these poems, this book would be suitable for secondary school students.

The figurative language and expressive use of words by the students in their poetry creates clear mental images in the minds of the reader. The poem “What the Clouds are Saying” is a good example of personification and what the clouds might say if they could talk as they look down on our world and see the people and their actions. The poem “Quiet” is a great example of alliteration with each line beginning with the words “Quiet is.” Examples of similes and metaphors are also found throughout the book. 

  

The book has an index of poets at the end of the book and a table of contents at the front of the book which guides readers to the different sections of poetry the book is organized by. The sections are titled “Natural World,” “Misery,” “Native Thoughts,” “Silence,” “Family, Youth and Dreams,” and “Language.” Each section contains poetry under these classifications and is separated by a title page devoted to background information for each section. The dividing page is a two page spread with the explanation on one page and beautiful paintings by S.D. Nelson on the opposite page. Captions underneath the painting are written by S.D. Nelson himself and describe the painting as well as the thoughts behind them. The pictures perfectly depict the voices of the poems.

SPOTLIGHT POEM:

Racism

Julian Bear Runner

Racism is a strong bullet through a person’s heart.

Racism is like a bank with lots of unkind words.

Racism is like a gun in a child’s hands

loaded with all the words a devil would say.

This poem lends itself well to a discussion or lesson on racism and could also extend to bullying. To introduce this poem, I would begin by asking students if someone has ever said anything that hurt their feelings or made them feel inferior in any way. I would encourage them to share what was said and why they think the person said it. Students would then read the poem and reflect on how this poem makes them feel or what images the poem brings to mind. We would connect this back to the experiences they have had and make them realize that they are not alone and that racism is prevalent across the nation. I would then have them write a poem using their feelings from their own experiences.

Another cross-curricular application would be to connect this poem to lessons dealing with the Nazi regime and the history of slavery in America.