Poetry Break!: A Serious Poem - Playing With Fire by Ralph Fletcher

Introduction:
Keep the intro brief - it is about love and loss. Ask students to define love.

Playing With Fire
By Ralph Fletcher

You said you
loved me
that afternoon
behind the woodpile
but when your father
collapsed at work
and died
without a hint
without a goodbye
your face
got all blurry gray
and I knew enough
to stay away.

All winter your ma
burned the wood
he had stacked
in the garage
to keep you warm
the wood so dry it
burned without smoke
until all the wood
was gone.

You said you
loved me
but when
I saw your face
I understood
we were just
playing
with that word.

(from Room Enough For Love)

Extension:
Ask follow up questions from Patrick Groff’s poetry talk questions (Vardell 2006, 144) such as: “Did the things in this poem ever happen to you? Where or when?”, and “Is this poem honest or true? Do you believe what it says? Why or why not?”. Re-read the poem. If students do not want to speak aloud, allow them to journal instead.

Reference:
Fletcher, R. 1998. ROOM ENOUGH FOR LOVE: THE COMPLETE POEMS OF I AM WINGS AND BURIED ALIVE. . New York, NY: Aladdin. ISBN 0689819765.