Introduction
Heard first began gathering poems after September 11, when asked to do so by the superintendent of district 2 in Manhattan. The superintendent wanted Heard to find "poems of comfort" that could be read to the New York City schoolchildren who had experienced the tragedy. This Place is one of these poems. Booklist
This poem invites us to express our sorrow, to find peace and comfort, to look ahead with hope, and to get strength from things that remain.
This Place
by Eloise Greenfield
There is this place I know
where children go to find
their deepest feelings
they look behind the trees
for hiding wants and angers
bashful joys
this place is quiet
no shouts may enter
no rolling laughter
but only silent tears
to carry the feelings
forward in waves
that wash the children
whole.
Heard, Georgia. 2006. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort.
Illus. by Holly Meade. MA: Candlewick Press.
Extension
Ask your students to recall large or small acts of kindness, compassion, and selflessness that they have performed or witnessed in their lifetimes. How have these deeds affected or changed them?
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