Birthday Poems
by David Darcy
[Note: David Darcy is one of the keynote speakers at the Sept. 2006 "Waldorf in the Home" conference. This article was taken from his website, www.ddarcysview.blogstream.com.]
When I was learning to be a Waldorf teacher, I was taught that I should write a short poem for each student as a gift on his or her birthday. Each student would then be assigned a day of the week, and each week on their day they would speak their poem for the class.
This I did. I believe that the experience of reciting their birthday poem to the class each week was immensely important to many of my students. In addition to the challenge for the speaker, those listening were expected to be quiet and attentive, and this was often a challenge for them. Some of my former students still remember their poems many years later.
I have also been a guest teacher in a few homeschooling groups, and I wrote birthday poems for these students too. The gift of a birthday poem seemed even more magical for them. Since these groups usually met only one day a week, all of the students spoke their poems on the same day.
I encourage homeschooling parents to do this for their children. We all know how nice it is to give a gift we have made ourselves. A poem is even more than that. It is something we have made from ourselves, and from our knowledge of and love for the child.
Perhaps you feel inadequate to create a worthy poem for your child. Hopefully one of your goals as a homeschooler is to help your child become so well rounded, so creative and so confident that he or she will feel quite capable of writing birthday poems for their children. So “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Have that confidence and that creativity. Write that poem. Start with some image, something your child loves, or an imagination that relates to your child, perhaps a breeze or an oak or a comfortable chair. For young children particularly, a definite rhythm to the words and frequent rhymes will help them learn and remember it. A poem of four lines is sufficient, although even first graders can learn longer poems. (Although younger children can and will learn songs, poems and stories by heart, it is best not to place such a challenge as an expectation before the seventh year. By seven, such challenges are healthy even for those students who are reluctant.)
I have found that after I have written a poem, a day or two later I will notice a change that will improve it. And sometimes just as I am writing it on the card I have made for them, an idea for a minor improvement will come. For example, it is important to keep in mind that the child will speak the poem, so although you might originally write a poem to the child, saying you or your, it is often best to change this to I or my.
I have a little book where all of the children’s birthday poems are written. I have found it is important to have a correct copy of each child’s poem to hold as the child speaks the poem, in case they need a bit of prompting.
Although writing birthday poems for the children entrusted to your care is the ideal, it is also possible to find a poem for a child and give it to them as a gift. The expectations for learning and speaking can be the same as for a poem that you wrote.
I believe that by taking up challenges such as this to become creative, we give our children truly powerful gifts. Perhaps you will see this in the form of a birthday poem your child writes for you!
Below are a few of the birthday poems I have written. Many more are in a collection I have made. I hope they will help you see how simple -- or how experimental – these poems can be.
For Philip
I grasp the handle of the pick
And swing with all my might
Deep within the stony cliffs
Lie seeds of crystal light.
Though it has grown for seven years
Deep in the earth’s dark night
The crystal’s splendor first is seen
When it is brought to light.
For Jonathan
The wind blows full and strong
A storm is coming near
But when its force is spent
The day is calm and clear.
For Hunter
The candle in my window
Could shine with glowing light
It needs my hand to bring the flame
So that it can shine bright.
What noble gifts within my Self
Are waiting to unfurl?
When I work with strength and love
They’ll shine into the world.
For Layla
Birds are chirping in the dawn
The fading stars will soon be gone
The breeze is chill, how nice to still
Be warm beneath my covers.
But pastures beckon me to run
Flowers open in the sun
I’m strong! I’m brave! I’ll seek each day
New wonders to discover.
