Poetry Break - Poem Without Rhyme

And If the Moon Could Talk

   by Kate Banks

Introduction
Turn the lights out. Have students put their heads down on their desks and close their eyes. Ask them to imagine the items mentioned in the poem as you read it softly.

Somewhere a pair of shoes lies under a chair.
A window yawns open.
Twilight blazes a trail across the wall.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of evening
Stealing through the woods
And a lizard scurrying home to supper.

Someone hums quietly.
A clock ticks. A light flicks on.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of stars flaring up one by one
And a small fire burning by a tree.

Papa opens a book and turns the pages.
A story unfolds like a banner
Wandering across the sky.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of sand blowing across the desert
And nomads crouching by the dune.

On a small table sits a glass,
A wooden boat, a starfish, too.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of waves washing onto the beach,
Shells, and a crab resting.

Music chimes from a small box on a shelf.
A mobile stirs the air.
On a chair, a rabbit sits listening.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of the wind rocking a tree
And a bird safe in its nest.

Mama hands her child the rabbit.
She hugs her and pulls the blankets
Tight under her chin.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of a faraway den
And a lion licking her cubs.

Eyes close. There is a drowsy hush.
Darkness swells into a colorful dream.
And if the moon could talk,
It would tell of a child
Curled up in bed wrapped in sleep.
And it would murmur
Good night.

Extension
Have students think of something in their room at home or in their house. If that item could magically talk to you, what would it say? What emotion would it be feeling? Why?

Banks, Kate. 1998. And if the moon could talk. New York: Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux.