Q: Stop right there, Corona!

Poems in your Pocket Day was educationally fun! Serious sheet, Mrs. T introduced it to the class while making a quaint remark in which suggested that we might find this activity “childish” but “enlightening”. I couldn’t help but to join in on this celebration of poetry, because this was going to present me with five extra credit points. No harm done, only slaughtered readings of poetry. I carried around “Life’s Brief Candle” by William Shakespeare (an astounding 31 copies!), despite thinking that I wouldn’t use all of them. Unknowingly so, I traded them off for eighteen copies of poems. To my surprise, I saw my favorite one in the pile – “Because I could not stop for Death –” by Emily Dickinson. That was when SamanthaR. stopped me in my tracks for a copy of my poem to be exchanged with hers.

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
- Emily Dickinson

I realized soon after that that there seemed to be a pattern amongst these English majors/minors. Students were nuts about Shel Silverstein. Honestly speaking, I have never heard of him before, but friends informed me that he was considered to be one of the coolest poets around and most of them had surrounded their childhood reading his works.

“Never grew tired of Silverstein. Never!” JoshA. slide a copy of his poem to his right where I comfortably sat unperturbed.

“Teddy said it was a hat, so I put it
on. Now dad is saying, “where the
heck’s the toilet plunger gone?”
- Shel Silverstein

I read “Sick” and “Rain” from two girls later. The dude’s imagination is the real deal! What turn out to be a “childish” day, really lived up to be “enlightening”! Now I’m officially a Silverstein fan!

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda,
Vonnie S.