Daniels’ poems make holy ordinary moments. They are snapshots of everyday life--brushing your teeth at the sink with your sister, a pair of workboots left to dry in the sun, reading in bed with your littles close--written in beautiful, simple language, and they reveal a hidden beauty that is there simply if you pay attention.

Lead your students in an exercise that will help them pay attention to something ordinary and paint a still life in words:

Choose an inanimate object in your bedroom or home that has some significance behind it: that pair of shoes you always reach for, the old hoodie, the stuffed animal you can’t bear to pack away.

Make a two column chart in your notebook. In the left-hand column, describe what you see in plain language. Like a painter, look closely, making your way around the entire object, seeing it from multiple angles. What’s there that you’ve haven’t noticed before, even though you’ve likely looked at it thousands of times? A tiny rip at the seem, some dried chocolate smeared by little hands?

In the right column, make a list of “deeper meanings”: think about what this object means to you, where you’ve used it, or worn it, memories associated with it, etc.

Use Jim Daniels’ poem to think about how you might pair each description with a deeper meaning. Play around with interesting and unexpected similes and metaphors that breathe life and story into this inanimate object.

Consider borrowing Daniels’ syntax in the last three lines: A ____________ reveals a ________, a __________, the ______________ to tie it all together.

Offer the option of bringing in a picture of the object and pairing it with the typed poem for a beautiful still life gallery walk in your classroom.

Further Reading




Allison Marchetti is co-author with Rebekah O’Dell of WRITING WITH MENTORS and BEYOND LITERARY ANALYSIS (Heineman). She is the co-founder of Moving Writers, a blog for secondary writing teachers. She lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia.

Analytical Questions

1. How does the lack of punctuation affect the way you read the poem? Why might the author choose to do this?

2. Why do you think the author chooses to specify the gender of the birds?

3. Why do you think the author chooses such irregular line breaks? Is there any sort of pattern to them that you can detect?


Thematic Questions

1. How would you characterize the author’s relationship with the white dove?

2. Is the white dove better off with the speaker or in the wild?

3. How might this relationship mirror that of a parent and child?


Writing Prompts

1. Is it better to be safe or free? Why?

2. Pretend you are the white dove. What would you say to the speaker of the poem?

Further Reading:



John Waite is a teacher at Downers Grove North High School in Downers Grove, Il. He is a licensed Reading Specialist and National Board Certified Teacher. He also creates Trojan Poetry, a web series in which he and a colleague (Mike Melie) attempt to discuss poems on a weekly basis. Find it on YouTube and Twitter. Reach John at jwaite@csd99.org.

by Mike Melie

Before students read the poem "Enlightenment" by Natasha Tretheway, have students consider and discuss the following quote from Winston Churchill: “History is written by the victors.”

What does Churchill mean? How has America been a “victor” throughout its history - who has it defeated? What would America’s history look like if its history was told from the point of view of one of the groups that it had “defeated”?

After reading the poem, discuss the title: What is the “enlightenment” referred to in the title? Who is enlightened during the course of this poem, and what is the nature of his/her enlightenment?

Next, choose one or more elements of the poem to explore with greater depth.

Paradox: A paradox is a joining of two things that are seemingly impossible to connect together, which forms a contradiction. Example: “I can resist anything but temptation” -Oscar Wilde OR “All [men] are equal, but some are more equal than others” -George Orwell. What examples of paradox or contradiction do you see in this poem? What is the author’s purpose in including these seeming impossibilities?

Analysis: The speaker states, “For years we debated the distance between word and deed...as if to prove a man’s pursuit of knowledge is greater than his shortcomings, the limits of his vision.” Compare Jefferson to the speaker’s father. What were their “pursuits of knowledge”? What were their “shortcomings”? Does one outweigh the other, and is it fair to judge someone’s legacy in these terms?

Tone: Briefly research Sally Hemings here and here. Consider the speaker’s tone (attitude towards the subject matter) when discussing Hemings in the poem. How would you describe this tone? How would you describe the father’s probable tone when discussing Hemings? Support your answers with evidence from the text.

As a closing activity, ask students to reflect on the poem and to apply Churchill’s quote above. As a “victor” in American history, how is Jefferson traditionally portrayed in elementary and high school history classes? After researching more about Sally Hemings, does her story change your view of Jefferson’s accomplishments? Why or why not?

For a post using another one of Natasha Tretheway's poems, click here.

Further Reading:



Mike Melie is an English Teacher and Instructional Coach at Downers Grove North High School in Downers Grove, IL. He is one half of the Trojan Poetry web series with his friend and colleague, John Waite, in which they make poetry accessible for students through conversation (and laughter). You can find Trojan Poetry on YouTube and Twitter; you can also follow Mike’s blog on equity issues here and contact him at mmelie@csd99.org.