Poetry Break #9 - Poem with Refrain

This simple poem reflects the view of a bus driver who has driven the same route, performed the same routine, and how he sees his passengers as nothing but faces floating in and out of the bus. The only constant is the heavy bench on the corner of the Green that it's solidly there at the bus stop, empty now of people (Don't know where they come from / Don't know where they're going).


Bus Stop
By James Stevenson

Don’t know where they come from,
Don’t know where they’re going,
People on the bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

Don’t know what they’re thinking,
Don’t know what they’re hoping,
People on the bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

There’s the bus departing,
Trailing smoke and fumes….
Just an empty bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

Stevenson, James. 1995. Sweet Corn Poems. Illus. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Extension—
This poem is a great introduction to a lesson on different types of jobs. Discuss jobs in which interaction takes place and then where there might not be any. An example could be a gardener, pool cleaner, garbage collector, etc. Ask questions about the type of people who work at these jobs and why these types of jobs may appeal to them. Create a KWL chart to record information.