Friday, March 23, 2012

Poetry Friday--"Shadow Dance"


I have a copy of Piper, Pipe that Song Again: Poems for Boys and Girls selected by Nancy Larrick (Random House, 1965). For years it was looked upon as one of the best anthologies for kids. I believe it could be reissued because it has a exceptional selection of poems perfect for introducing a child to poetry! Until then, you can pick up a good used copy for cheap through AbeBooks.com, which is how I got mine.

Piper, Pipe that Song Again has many oft-anthologized children's poems such as Carl Sandburg's "Fog," and Vachel Lindsay's "The Moon's the North Wind's Cooky," as well as others that are not so familiar, like the one I'm sharing today.
Shadow Dance
by Ivy O. Eastwick

Oh Shadow,
Dear Shadow,
Come, Shadow,
And dance!
On the wall
In the firelight
Let both of
Us prance!
I raise my
Arms, thus!
And you raise
Your arms, so!
And dancing
And leaping
And laughing
We go!
From the wall
To the ceiling,
From ceiling
To wall,
Just you and
I, Shadow,
And no one else
At all.
This would be a great poem for the classroom. Use a spotlight (flashlight) and you've got a science lesson, too! But, the best part is sharing the joyfulness--the dancing, the leaping, and the laughing.

Lastly, I want to share this bit from the introduction by Nancy Larrick, "By itself the printed page is a silent thing. But as you read the words of a poem, it becomes a musical thing." Yes, it does!

A Year of Reading is hosting this week's Round-Up, so dance yourself right over there.

--Diane

Photo by dvs.

9 comments:

Author Amok said...

Hi, Diane. This is your only blog that lets me comments! Thanks for sharing this poem. I love your idea for a classroom activity. It reminds me, of course, of Peter Pan and his shadow.

Mur said...

As a child, I would have wanted to memorize and "perform" a poem like this. Thanks for sharing it.

KURIOUS KITTY said...

Hi Laura, I'm sorry Blogger is so ornery! I've given up trying to figure it out--it's like New England weather--if you don't like it, just wait a minute, it's bound to change.

Barbara said...

I like the musicality of it. (is that a word?) You can sing and dance to it and it just has a joyousness about it!

Diane Mayr said...

Musicality is perfect--it just invites singing.

I'm Jet . . . said...

Love it!

I'm Jet . . . said...

Love it!

niki said...

My sisters Michele and josette and I memorized this poem.and made our own little jingle and we'd sing it all the time when we were kids.we still do after more than.20 yrs we will always love it

Diane Mayr said...

Thanks for visiting, Niki! It sounds like you had a bunch of creative siblings. Sort of like the Alcott family.