Copy of Veterans Day 2017: Veterans Day 2017

Thanks

Yusef Komunyakaa, 1947

Thanks for the tree
between me & a sniper’s bullet.
I don’t know what made the grass
sway seconds before the Viet Cong
raised his soundless rifle.
Some voice always followed,
telling me which foot
to put down first.
Thanks for deflecting the ricochet
against that anarchy of dusk.
I was back in San Francisco
wrapped up in a woman’s wild colors,
causing some dark bird’s love call
to be shattered by daylight
when my hands reached up
& pulled a branch away
from my face. Thanks
for the vague white flower
that pointed to the gleaming metal
reflecting how it is to be broken
like mist over the grass,
as we played some deadly
game for blind gods.
What made me spot the monarch
writhing on a single thread
tied to a farmer’s gate,
holding the day together
like an unfingered guitar string,
is beyond me. Maybe the hills
grew weary & leaned a little in the heat.
Again, thanks for the dud
hand grenade tossed at my feet
outside Chu Lai. I’m still
falling through its silence.
I don’t know why the intrepid
sun touched the bayonet,
but I know that something
stood among those lost trees
& moved only when I moved.

Veterans Day Lesson Agenda (November 8th or 9th)

I. Watch the Video on Operation Gratitude

II. Watch the Video About Veterans Day

III. Consider the sacrifices our service men and women make. 

IV.  Now it's your turn to share your gratitude!  Write a letter to an active duty military or veteran.

V. Turn you completed letter into your teacher. 

VI. Have a veteran in your family or community you would like to honor?  Complete a veterans ribbon and return it to your teacher.  Ribbons will be on display in the library.  

VII.  If time permits, read over the poem "Thanks."  

VIII. With a shoulder partner, discuss what you think the poet's message is.

What can I do to celebrate Veterans Day?