On the Train
I think
Of the time my students
Wrote about Old Man and the Sea
From the perspective of the fish.
I think
How would this story go
If the man sitting across from me told it?
He's a boy, really.
He might say:
I am exhausted.
I was up so late,
Talking into the night
With my pretty girlfriend.
She wants me to get her a ring.
I'm not sure I'm ready.
Today I have to work.
So momma and I can eat.
I'll put a little aside.
Just in case I need a ring.
Then I think
Today is his day
The boy's, and everyone else's too
Who has ever felt the weight of the world
On their shoulders.
Reminds me of the Simon and Garfunkel song as they imagine possible back stories of those they encounter. Teaching kids to write from another perspective can be very powerful. Empathy is an added bi-product to it being done well.
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