Module 5: Poetry Break: Refrain

The Tragic Night

By Kalli Dakos

(Poem taken from Don't Read This Book, Whatever You Do!)

Introduction: During poetry month, your Principal has asked your class to present a poem for National Poetry Month. Explain to your class that they will be reading this poem for the student body. There will be one student who reads the refrain (as indicated). All students, including the "refrain reader", will dress in pants, a shirt and socks that are green. They will all make colorful, cardboard tulips to wear as masks during their art rotation. Provide the scripts to all cast members and begin practicing. (All students, except for the flower that doesn't bloom and the "refrain reader", will read the dark green sections, and the "refrain reader" will read the bright green, italicized sections.)

The Tragic Night

(Refrain) Bloom! Bloom!
I was suppose to bloom
When the lights shone
On my side of the room!

I was a tulip,
In our class spring play,
My part was to bloom,
When lights shone my way.

All of the flowers
Were curled up so tight,
On one side of the stage,
In the dark of night.

(Refrain) Bloom! Bloom!
I was suppose to bloom
When the lights shone
On my side of the room!

I waited
For those lights to say,
Flowers, bloom,
It’s a splendid day!

I didn’t open my eyes
Or even take a glimpse,
But it took so long that
My whole body grew limp.

(Refrain) Bloom! Bloom!
I was suppose to bloom
When the lights shone
On my side of the room!

I started to hear
Such a soft, dreamy tune,
Then I fell asleep,
In my flower costume.

And that’s when the lights shone
On my side of the room.

All the tulips
So slowly rose,
Stretched their petals,
Began to grow,
Filled a garden
In perfect rows.

But

One dumb flower
Stayed tucked up tight,
Didn’t hear the sounds,
Didn’t see the lights,
Didn’t bloom at all,
That tragic night.

(Refrain) Bloom! Bloom!
I was suppose to bloom
When the lights shone
On my side of the room!

Extension: Lead a discussion about a time when you (the teacher) made a silly mistake that enabled you to learn a valuable lesson. Have students brainstorm things that may have happened to themselves or someone they know. Discuss what lessons they learned from this mistake. Share several quotes such as:

“The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” Edward J. Phelps

"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little." Edmund Burke

"If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Trying to grow up is hurting, you know. You make mistakes. You try to learn from them, and when you don't, it hurts even more." Aretha Franklin

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts." Nikki Giovanni

"It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers - they help us to learn." John Bradshaw

"The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one." Elbert Hubbard

"So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because that's where you will find success. On the far side of failure." Thomas J. Watson, Sr.



Dakos, Kalli. 1993. Don't Read This Book Whatever You Do! Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Quotes about Mistakes. http://www.wow4u.com/. Accessed April 5, 2009.
Photo courtesy of http://www.alibris.com/