“How do poems grow?  They grow out of your life.”  ―  Robert Penn Warren

National Poetry Month is marching onward almost as fast as the school year is marching onward towards its terminus!  Since testing season is in high gear in many states and districts, it can be a little difficult to push through longer units because students are coming and going from various testing sessions.  Thus, I have found poetry resources to be particularly useful during this time, and even more so these micro-poetry units highlighted below.  

Each of the these resources are designed to take only one or two days, and they include the text of the poem and a little author biography introduction to help simplify things.

For the most part, these poems are easy for students to understand and work with, but much too short for them to grow bored or fatigued with.

“A Man Said to the Universe”  –  Stephen Crane

I especially like this poem because in our current narcissistic culture, it helps bring one back to reality, hahaha.  Students don’t necessarily relate to it on a personal-themselves level, most haven’t quite honed their self-awareness to those heights yet, but they are always able to relate someone they know to Crane’s quick and witty verse.  

This resource includes a fun comparison with the 90’s Animaniacs song, “It’s a Great Big Universe.”  It’s an engaging activity for students and late Gen X or Millennial teachers alike!

“Dreams”  –  Langston Hughes

With short and simple metaphors, Langston Hughes’ “Dreams” is a classic addition to any poetry unit.  It helps to remind students of the importance of having a goal, a dream, and working toward its achievement.  

“A Total Stranger One Black Day”  –  e.e. cummings

Known for his unconventional use of mechanics, e.e. cummings explores the darker side of oneself in a mere six lines.  “A Total Stranger One Black Day” is a great poem to get students thinking about their own total stranger within.

“Figs from Thistles”  –  Edna St. Vincent Millay

Using symbolism, and a biblical allusion, for the title, “Figs from Thistles” doesn’t always seem readily relatable to its four-line content—and yet—there are connections to be made!  There’s a little bit of the fast and furious lifestyle motif here, which can also make this poem fun to tie in with a novel like S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders or another poem such as Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool.”

“Risk”  –  Anais Nin

I find “Risk” to be a highly underrated micro poem.  It’s easy for students to read, understand and relate to, yet it’s rarely on anyone’s poetic radar.  When many students are becoming more and more risk adverse, whether it’s not wanting to risk failure, error or safety, Nin’s poem is a brief reminder that personal growth requires risk and stepping outside of one’s comfort zone.  

Poetry resources needn’t be long or daunting, especially during such a busy time of year (as if there are slow times of year, haha).  Give students some bite-sized lessons, that can help them learn some life lessons, and grow some of their own poems, for years to come.

These two probably appreciate poetry on the same level as many adolescents, but at least they keep their thoughts to themselves.  X)

Happy Teaching!

M.D. Saints
Reading the Rapids
Liberty Dog Writing Co.