Poetry with Ralph Fletcher

A few years ago I attended a workshop by Ralph Fletcher. If you want to learn how to get kids writing (and adults) read his work. He's a master at motivating boys to read and write and he's especially engaging as a presenter. At this presentation he shared a technique where you use parts of a published poem and then create your own.

The Good Old Times
by Ralph Fletcher

Sometimes I remember
the good old days,
Sitting on the kitchen floor
with my brothers and sister,
each on our own square
of cool linoleum.
I'm fresh from the bath,
wearing baseball pajamas.
Mom gives us a cup of milk,
two cookies, a kiss goodnight,
I still can't imagine
anything better than that.

We read and reread the poem and then wrote something it made us remember from the "good old days." We shared with a partner and then he had us take the bold lines from the beginning and end of his poem and fill in the middle with our own memory. In looking at my journal I can see all the changes, scratch outs, and edits I was making that day and then I revisited it 10 months later and worked on it some more. Here's how his inspiration became my memory!

Sometimes I remember
the good old days,
sitting on the soft rug
leaning against the hard couch.
Mom scratches my back,
knowing just where it itches.
Dad snores in the La-Z-Boy
while Beau snuggles in next to him.
Wonderful World of Disney on the TV,
a fire flickers and crackles in the hearth.
I still can't imagine
anything better than that.

This instantly brings a vision of a quiet Sunday night in the living room of our house in California. I would have been in elementary school (probably 4th grade). Our dog, Beau, was a major part of my life so I find it funny I picture him in the big recliner with Dad since I think he would have been with me. This seems peaceful and serene. I loved that house and my time in California. My favorite childhood memories always return to that area and that time in my life. I don't believe it really was as idyllic as I now picture (I know it wasn't) but this Rockwell image is one I cherish.

Thank you Ralph for helping me return to this spot through your workshop!