Monday, March 16, 2020

Somewhere In Between

Today I am reminded of a favorite A.A. Milne poem titled Halfway Down, written from the perspective of a child who has found a particular step that isn't upstairs or downstairs, but somewhere all its own. I often carry that poem on Poem in Your Pocket Day, (April 30th this year) because middle school is one of those places. 

Sixth graders come to us as children, some with more innocence than others. By the end of eighth grade not only are they physically larger than their sixth grade selves, but also they have grown a lifetime inside and they are ready to take on the world, or at least high school. On any given day middle schoolers can be children or young adults, or both, like a pendulum swinging back and forth continually.

But right now, in this moment and place, that poem has another meaning to me. This is uncharted territory. This place of waiting, wondering, doubting or fearing on a daily basis has new rules and expectations. We are not yet up or down, healthy or sick, but somewhere in between.


Halfway Down
by A.A. Milne

Halfway down
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.

Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!

1 comment:

  1. This poem not only captures middle school life, but the life we are currently living. Your last paragraph is the perfect summary of what many of us are feeling. Thank you for sharing this. I want to keep this to share with my students and to put in my notebook as I document this historical moment.

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