APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding  
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing  
Memory and desire, stirring  
Dull roots with spring rain.  
           
   
 

So begins T.S Eliot’s poem,  The Wasteland. Perhaps April was chosen as National Poetry Month in tribute to this very poem?

I wouldn’t recommend reading the entire poem to young children–it is a rather long, dark, and complicated text–but you might read and talk about the first line with children in 4th-12th grades. What does the writer mean by his claim that April is the cruelest of all twelve months? Have you ever thought of a month as “cruel?” What does his poem say? Why does he feel this way about April? Why does he choose these words to  tell us?

This opens doors for discussing what poetry is and does…Poetry captures and expresses a moment in time, an emotion, experience, or feeling or meaning through careful and precise word choices. The poet presents his or her perspective through these word choices, word play, and literary devices.

Simply put, a poet presents the world through his/her eyes.

A Writing Activity:

Choose your own cruel month and create a short poem that captures the essence of why you think so…Here is my stab at this:

February is the cruellest month, Christmas

is in the attic, the snow is grey, a dirty blanket

that won’t come clean. The sun is on holiday, leaving

us dark, cold, and waiting.

________

That was pretty easy…and does reflect my thoughts about February, which is thankfully long behind us!

I’ll give this a try with my kids…