Dreaming in Literature: Robinson Jeffers, Page 201
I lie and hear dark rain beat the roof and the night-blind wind...
In my dream, this line of poetry was spinning around in my mind like the last sock in the dryer of the universe. Where was this from? Did I write it myself? There's always a chance, right? Of course the answer was no. So who wrote it? Robert Frost? Nope. Sounded like Robinson Jeffers. I'd look it up.
Except I couldn't look it up. I was working in an elementary school in South Korea, and there were no computers around. There was a library. I'd look it up there! I gave my students a couple of pages to color and some coloring pens. When they got to work, I tiptoed out of the room and ran down the hall to the library.
The library was nice, but there was no computer and the books all seemed to be in Korean. I looked, and finally I found a book about American poetry written in English. I looked at the index. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. I turned the pages to find a single sentence: "Robinson Jeffers was an American poet." I put the book back and returned to my class.
I was trying to teach the children the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain", but I lie and hear dark rain beat the roof and the night-blind wind... kept going through my head. As soon as I got off work, I'd run into the nearest internet cafe. This couldn't wait till I got home. Actually, it couldn't wait another minute. I needed to go back to the library and look at that book again. Maybe I'd missed something.
I told the students: "I have to visit another classroom. Keep singing, but don't sing "whisky" or "alcohol". Sing "buttermilk" instead. Be right back."
Running back to the library, I grabbed the book again and checked the index. Page 201. "Robinson Jeffers was an American poet." I knew that!
Maybe it was someone else. Emily Dickinson? No, I lie and hear dark rain beat on the roof and the night-blind wind didn't scan to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun." It HAD to be Robinson Jeffers. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201.
Someone told me that the principal was on his way to my classroom, and he was mad about the students being unattended. I knew I had to get back, but I couldn't stop myself from checking the book again. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. Robinson Jeffers --
I woke up. It was raining.
In my dream, this line of poetry was spinning around in my mind like the last sock in the dryer of the universe. Where was this from? Did I write it myself? There's always a chance, right? Of course the answer was no. So who wrote it? Robert Frost? Nope. Sounded like Robinson Jeffers. I'd look it up.
Except I couldn't look it up. I was working in an elementary school in South Korea, and there were no computers around. There was a library. I'd look it up there! I gave my students a couple of pages to color and some coloring pens. When they got to work, I tiptoed out of the room and ran down the hall to the library.
The library was nice, but there was no computer and the books all seemed to be in Korean. I looked, and finally I found a book about American poetry written in English. I looked at the index. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. I turned the pages to find a single sentence: "Robinson Jeffers was an American poet." I put the book back and returned to my class.
I was trying to teach the children the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain", but I lie and hear dark rain beat the roof and the night-blind wind... kept going through my head. As soon as I got off work, I'd run into the nearest internet cafe. This couldn't wait till I got home. Actually, it couldn't wait another minute. I needed to go back to the library and look at that book again. Maybe I'd missed something.
I told the students: "I have to visit another classroom. Keep singing, but don't sing "whisky" or "alcohol". Sing "buttermilk" instead. Be right back."
Running back to the library, I grabbed the book again and checked the index. Page 201. "Robinson Jeffers was an American poet." I knew that!
Maybe it was someone else. Emily Dickinson? No, I lie and hear dark rain beat on the roof and the night-blind wind didn't scan to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun." It HAD to be Robinson Jeffers. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201.
Someone told me that the principal was on his way to my classroom, and he was mad about the students being unattended. I knew I had to get back, but I couldn't stop myself from checking the book again. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. Robinson Jeffers. Page 201. Robinson Jeffers --
I woke up. It was raining.
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