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Posts Tagged ‘Refugee’

Slice of Life: The Space Between Our Footsteps

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on March 9, 2024| 8 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I pulled out an old library discarded book The Space Between Our Footsteps, an anthology of Middle Eastern art and poetry, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye, published in 1998. Our world news has been so harsh on the Middle East. I don’t know how much my young students know, but I was sure I could find an empathetic poem to share with them. Naomi’s introduction speaks of the prejudice of Americans toward Middle Easterners. She turns the table to tell what Middle Easterners might say about Americans. The truth is we are all humans. We all have thoughts and feelings, love, and tragedy.

The poem I chose for Poetry Friday was “I Have No Address” by Hamza El Din.

I Have No Address 

I am a sparrow with a white heart and a thousand tongues. 
I fly around the globe 
Singing for peace, love and humanity 
In every place. 
I have no address. 

My address is lines ornamented by dreams, beating hearts united by smiling hope 
For people who wish good for other people all the time. 
I sing, smile and cry. 
My tears wash away pain 
In every place. 

Our paths are boats of longing, turning round and round with us— 
One day to the east, another to the west, to tranquil moorings. 
And when the waves go against us and cast us away, 
Then the echo of my sounds at midnight will be a dock at the shore of tranquility, 
In every place. 

The day we join hands with others’ hands, our universe is 
A rose garden blooming in the holy night. 
It contains us, with hope, love and alleluias. 

And I am the sparrow on the branch. 
I sleep, dream and fly happily 
In every place. 
I have no address. 

Hamza El Din

How do we build empathy in our students when the news is anything but? Where do we direct them to find peace and understanding? I believe literature, poetry can do this. But is it enough? I don’t know.

My student Kailyn is a first generation American whose father immigrated from Laos with his family. She has heard first hand from her grandfather what the land of the free means. Currently she is reading Refugee. She saw the title in my classroom and identified with it immediately. I warned her that it’s a tough book. Sad things happen. She took it anyway. Her poetic response to I Have No Address came from her reading.

Freedom

I am free,
I have peace.
I can wander without anyone judging me.

Freedom is a privilege,
One wrong move and,
Boom!

Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud,
Aren’t free;
They’re controlled.

I am free,
I am free from controlling,
I am free from fear.

I 
Am
Free

Kailyn, 5th grade

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