Good Old Days poem

My school was fortunate today to host author Ralph Fletcher. He did several presentations for the students, and our faculty meeting was a workshop on teaching writing.

One technique he spoke about was introducing students to a poem, and letting them use the opening and closing lines as a guide, and then creating the middle content themselves.

He read us his own poem "The Good Old Days" and projected it on the screen, and invited us to try doing this at some point ourselves.

Well, I couldn't wait. I found a piece of paper and a pencil right away, and tried to match the mood of his poem with my own nostalgic memories of cozy, quiet childhood moments.

This is what I came up with:



Sometimes I remember the good old days.  .  .

The soft darkness in my room on winter mornings-

The clunk of the furnace kicking on and
the smell of my flannel pillow case,
fabric softener and familiarity

Car headlights dancing on my walls as mom's car pulls out of the driveway

The low steady breathing of my faithful mutt,
lying on the floor next to my bed.

I let my arm fall over the side of my bed,
to find her shape and feel the fur,
and we share the quietness a moment longer.

I still can't imagine anything better than that.


If you're interested in reading his original poem, you can read it here.

I'm hoping to plan some poetry units for next April using this technique.