Rocking Poem by Glen Kappy
Rocking
Boy on a swing
perhaps fourteen?
back and forth
and back and forth
and singing as he does it.
There through summer
and rocking now—
alone—always there alone.
Middle school boy
in class last week—
new to the school
and new to English—
blind boy rocking
back and forth
and back and forth
slight smile on his lips
and listening? or just amused
at his own thoughts?
Outsized Paul
a high school junior
blind and gifted
with voice to awe
his school assembly
and hormones and rocking
that try the reins
of his control.
Rocking babies.
Rocking chairs.
Does our rocking
match our heartbeats?
What do we need
to make us ready?
What do we need
to face the world?
Boy on a swing
perhaps fourteen?
just by himself and rocking
and singing as he does it.
This is a very sensitive poem about boys on their journey to become a young man and the trials and bullying they may meet on the way. There is something about rocking that brings back being a youngster cradled on Mother's lap as she rocks her lad's tears into drying... Exceptional piece.
hi, susan! and thanks. and there are other things—tics, leg shaking, pencil tapping, etc.—which, i think, are related movements. blessings aimed and landing to where you are, glen
Glen, I really like this sketch. Very sensitive and compassionate, as Daniel says. As you know, I'm currently dealing with two adolescent boys and it's challenging, especially not being a boy myself! My heart breaks for the children of this broken world - so many of them unloved, unguided, and worse.
thanks, laurie, for your reading and comments. i have wondered about the boy who opens and closes the poem concerned he might be lonely. i met a boy monday born in vietnam who used to spend much of his time playing video games. he explained he did that because he was made fun of by peers, and in the playing of the games he could be free from that, free from feeling inadequate. but we all have strategies to fight those feelings, yes? how can we ever measure up? and unfortunately, many of us try this in relation to God. o that we all have experience God's acceptance just as we are. -glen
This is a moving poem of compassion for those awkward years of adolescence. The repetition of the opening at the end seems just right to me.Your character sketches in each stanza are sharp and incisive. I know these boys. I was once one of them. And what they need is the sensitivity you display: you can't change their reality; only time and growth will. But you can be that supportive teacher who everyday gives them a measure of hope in themselves.
daniel, your comment gives me words about my own poem! i didn't set out to write sketches of three boys in adolescence but merely to record my train of thought. but, indeed, that's what it turned out to be. and natural enough since i've spent considerable time with students with visual impairment. i particularly related to paul—i so understood the surfeit of hormones in him. i personally related to him well, but he was terrible with the female students; he had bad models for how to treat them and an outsized macho persona... as always i appreciate your comments, daniel. thank you. -glen
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/27/2024 6:21:05 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Despite his handicap, he finds reason to enjoy life! Impervious to all external distractions, he finds enjoyment and companionship in himself! You are not a passive observer here, but one who participates in his joy with a compassionate, understanding heart!
hey, valsa! this just came up in my email, so you're awake and writing in india and i in new mexico! yes, i feel for all three of these boys and wonder about them... i substitute teach during the school year and besides working a lot with visually impaired students, i've worked a fair amount with severely disabled students who help me remember what it is to be essentially human. thank you as always for reading and commenting. -glen