Three Days Without You Activity

Three Days without You Poem

Description:

This is a sequence poem that will help students transition from one setting and time into another.  Pacing will also be another aspect to this poem. Comas will be used as pauses in the poem. Each setting will be divided into separate stanzas or sequence. There will be a total of three settings in the poem. Color, smell, sight, touch, taste, and hearing should be included in the poem. The stanzas can be separated by dates like in Anne Sexton's poem. The objective in this poem is to imagine someone you love is no longer with you. Imagine how those different settings would look and feel like if your loved one was not there. This poem was inspired by Anne Sexton's Eighteen Days Without You. The poem must start with Without you, only in the fist stanza.   

I Wonder What My Life Would Be Like

                                   Without You

Living Room 

Without you, it's grey and black in our living room

Dust in the air fogs up my eyes

The stench of old diapers fills the air

A broken baby bottle is right next to our

Last family picture

The beer and soda stained sofa

 Is leaning against the cob webbed, plain

 White wall

Sounds of silence float around the specs of dust.

The television is no longer the center of attention

Its static sounds make its way towards my ears

Whispering "Fix me...Please."

"Ok that's enough son pay attention to the movie."

The TV flashed blue then red then grey pictures.

I glimpse at my mom's honey glazed eyes,

And she looks back at mine

She says, "I like this part"

I smile and says, "I like it too."

Kitchen

I smell the sweet aroma of the freshly made cake

A chocolate cake, dressed in snow white frosting

Its strawberry filling sprays the kitchen

With tongue tingling madness.

My taste buds seemed eager to get to know the cake

A little bit better. 

You're hands are a work of art

The way you turn plain ingredients into masterpieces

Let me tell you, I am addicted to your food.

Yellow and orange flowers light up the room

The colors reflect the sun, like these silver spoons

Reflect the moon

Without you, this reality wouldn't be true. 

These flowers you gave life too would turn blue

Plain white tortillas,

Would be the only thing I would know how to do.

The illuminated room would look like the inside of a cave

Cold breeze gliding across my skin.

Front Yard

It's morning, spring has arrived

The dew drops are sprinkled across

The uncut lushes green lawn

They glimmer in the daylight

Dark brown soil holds the lawn in place

The smell of fresh air inflates my soul

With pure energy

This energy that consumes my mind

I ask my mom "Why are we alive?"

She smiles and pulls out her cross

And says "Imagine if I wasn't alive,

You wouldn't have asked this question."

She looks at the lawn and says "The lawn would be just dirt,

No dew drops, no fresh soil, and no life."

She rubs her cross gently and then looks at me

And says "Without me you wouldn't be here to share spring."

She smiles once more and says "Everyone has a purpose,

And once you complete that purpose you simply become

A part of this earth."

- Sergio Peralta