Legacy II by Leroy V. Quintana
Grandfather never went to school spoke only a few words of English a quiet man; when he talked talked about simple things planting corn or about the weather sometimes about herding sheep as a child
One day pointed to the four directions taught me their names
El Norte
Poniente Oriente
El Sur
He spoke their names as if they were one of only a handful of things a man needed to know
Now I look back only two generations removed realize I am nothing but a poor fool who went to college trying to find my way back to the center of the world where Grandfather stood that day
The Child in Him by Jean Gabor
I loved the child in him so innocent and sweet
The mischief in his eyes the blush upon his cheek
The tender way he spoke that showed me that he cared
The touch of his warm hand that gently touched my hair
The smiles that we shared that filled my life with glee
For when I was with him
I found the child in me
The Courage That My Mother Had by Edna St. Vincent Millay
1 The courage that my mother had
2 Went with her, and is with her still:
3 Rock from New England quarried;
4 Now granite in a granite hill.
5 The golden brooch my mother wore
6 She left behind for me to wear;
7 I have no thing I treasure more:
8 Yet, it is something I could spare.
9 Oh, if instead she’d left to me
10 The thing she took into the grave!—
11 That courage like a rock, which she
12 Has no more need of, and I have.

The Courage That My Mother Had by Edna St. Vincent Millay
1 The courage that my mother had
2 Went with her, and is with her still:
3 Rock from New England quarried;
4 Now granite in a granite hill.
5 The golden brooch my mother wore
6 She left behind for me to wear;
7 I have no thing I treasure more:
8 Yet, it is something I could spare.
9 Oh, if instead she’d left to me
10 The thing she took into the grave!—
11 That courage like a rock, which she
12 Has no more need of, and I have.
Write your own poem! Use the SAME grammar structure as Edna St. Vincent Millay, but use your own thoughts and feelings for the content.
Begin your poem by stating an admirable character trait and who possesses it.
First Line Example: The _____________ that _______________ has/had
In the next three lines, describe in what way this person has that quality.
In your second stanza, describe why you would wish to have that person’s character trait and why it is important to you.
Write a poem that follows the pattern above.
Illustrate your poem.
You might choose to make an elaborate illustration of one line of your poem or you could create a simpler picture that covers a few different lines.
Write your poem neatly on a white piece of paper, labeling the parts of the pattern.
The illustration and the written poem are due Friday, at the end of the hour

1 The courage that my mother had (article, noun, possessive pronoun ,verb)
2 Went with her, and is with her still: (verb, preposition, pronoun, conjunction, verb, preposition, adjective)
3 Rock from New England quarried; (noun, preposition, noun, verb)
4 Now granite in a granite hill. (adjective, noun, preposition, article, noun, noun)
5 The golden brooch my mother wore (article, adjective, noun, possessive pronoun, noun, verb)
6 She left behind for me to wear; (noun, verb, preposition, pronoun, preposition, verb)
7 I have no thing I treasure more: (noun, verb, pronoun, noun, verb, adverb)
8 Yet, it is something I could spare. (conjunction, pronoun, verb, pronoun, noun, verb)
9 Oh, if instead she’d left to me (interjection, noun, preposition, subject, verb preposition, noun)
10 The thing she took into the grave!—(article, noun, noun, verb, preposition, article, noun)
11 That courage like a rock, which she (noun, adjective, noun, noun)
12 Has no more need of, and I have. (verb, adjective, verb, preposition, conjunction, noun, verb)
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick,
Till rising and glidi ng out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
Read this poem aloud in your group. Notice the pattern. Read it as many times as you need to in order to find all of the elements outlined in the pattern below: dependent clause (S-V-ADJ-DO) dependent clause(S-S-V-prep.phr.-prep.phr.) dependent clause(S-V-DO-DO-inf phr w/V-V-V-DO) dependent clause(S-participle-V-DO) dependent clause (S-V-prep.phr.-prep.phr.) adverb, adverb, independent clause(S-LV-PA-PA) preposition-gerund-gerund, S-V-prep.phr. prep. phr(P-ADJ-ADJ-OP) and prep. phr.prep.phr.
V-prep.phr.-prep.phr.
Write a poem that follows the pattern above.
Illustrate your poem.
You might choose to make an elaborate illustration of one line of your poem or you could create a simpler picture that covers a few different lines.
Write your poem neatly on a white piece of paper, labeling the parts of the pattern.
The illustration and the written poem are due Friday, at the end of the hour

Discussion Questions about the sample poems:
First Thoughts
1. Which poem do you like better? Why? Consider the feelings and ideas expressed by the speakers and the rhythm you feel in each poem.
2. What do these poems have in common?
3. How many stanzas does each poem have?
4. Each stanza in the poem “The Courage that my Mother Had” can be named a….?
5. What is a legacy?
6. What legacy did the speaker of each poem receive? What legacy does each speaker want instead?
7. What do you think the speaker of “Legacy II” means when he says that his grandfather stood at the center of the world that day?
8. In “The Courage that my Mother Had,” what quality does the speaker wish for?
9. In “The Courage that my Mother Had,” what would the speaker give up to have this quality?
10. What does Millay compare her mother’s courage to? What does her comparison suggest to you about the nature of courage?
11. Why is a rock an effective metaphor for a courageous woman?
Extending the Text
12. Do you think it’s possible for qualities like courage and wisdom to be handed down as legacies? Why or why not?