KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH BY ANITA HOPE SMITH

Smith, Hope Anita.  Ill. By E.B. Lewis.  Keeping the Night Watch. New York:  Henry Holt and Company.  2008.  ISBN  9780805072020

SUMMARY:  This touching collection of poems, describes a family dealing with the return of their father, who abandoned them. Everyone welcomes him with open arms, except the oldest son, C.J.  For C.J., the oldest of three children, his father’s return is a conflict of emotions.  He must deal with the lack of trust his father’s abandonment has created.  C.J. also feels resentment because during his father’s absence, he became the man of the house.  To complicate this issue, C.J. is also falling in love for the first time.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:  The book contains a Table of Contents, and the book is divided by seasons, beginning with the fall.  The poetry is mainly free verse, but there is also a 26-line poem, each line begins with a different letter of the alphabet, arranged in successive order.  These poems are powerful, and show the emotional toll that a father leaving, even if he does return, can cause the other  members of the family. The color paintings by E.B., Lewis adequately portray the emotions the family goes through.  They are powerful.

I chose the poem “Sticks and Stones,” because it conveys the realm of emotions that C.J. goes through in the book. The author uses such descriptive language that you literally feel the anguish that this teenager goes through.  How can you trust someone that leaves you, and doesn’t explain himself?  The picture on the page with this poem shows a boy holding up a wheelbarrow full of questions. I think most teenagers can relate to either this situation, or at least one where an adult has let them down. 

POEM EXCERPT: 

Sticks and Stones

“Everything was changing,

My voice, my friends.

I needed Daddy.

Momma’s love and Grandmomma’s song

Were warm and sweet, but it wasn’t enough.

Now Daddy’s home and my jaw is set.

My teeth are clenched.

My words are burrowing

Deep down in my throat.

“You’ve never been scared

To ask anything,”  Momma says.

“Talk to your daddy.”

But my questions are brick heavy.

I want to know:

Who are you?

What were you thinking?

Where did you go?

Why did you leave?

How could you do this to us?

These questions could bury him.

His answers could bury me.”(Smith p.8)

EXTENTION ACTIVITY: 

After finishing the book, I would have students think about a time when an adult let them down.  It could be breaking a promise, leaving, not calling on a birthday, etc.  Students would write a page about the incident, how it made them feel, and how it was resolved.  Then, they could turn that writing into a free verse poem.  Students could also write about what makes a good parent or what makes their parent, parents, or grandparents, a good parent.  Students could also duplicate the A-Z poem, and make an acrostic poem about what makes a good parent.

REFERENCES:

Smith, Hope Anita.  Ill. By E.B. Lewis.  Keeping the Night Watch. New York:  Henry Holt and Company.  2008.

Image by Google Images.