Mari Uscategui
Tampa Bay Area Writing Project
2011

“Abandoned Farmhouse ” by Ted Kooser
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes on a pile of broken dishes by the house; a tall man too, says the length of the bed in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man, says the Bible with a broken back on the floor below the window, dusty with sun; but not a man for farming, say the fields cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn.

“Abandoned Farmhouse”, continued…
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves covered with oilcloth, and they had a child, says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.

“Abandoned Farmhouse”, continued…
Something went wrong, says the empty house in the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste.
And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard like branches after a storm--a rubber cow, a rusty tractor with a broken plow, a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.
"Abandoned Farmhouse" from Sure Signs: New and Selected Poems , 1980

Both poems highlight concrete images that provide information about the subjects of the poem.
Taking their cue from the poem, students can identify concrete images from literature to determine the truths about the characters they encounter.

• “She is an adulteress, says the A on her bosom as she stands before her accusers” ~ Kira P. Gr 10
• “He is smart and scientific, say the round spectacles he adjusts as he creates a sundial to tell time– weak as well, say the same spectacles broken in two” ~ Michael S. Gr. 10

• Think about a character either in your own life, or from literature that you feel a strong connection to. This may be your mother, grandmother, or George from Steinbeck’s Of
Mice and Men
• Consider the CONCRETE things that help you to understand the abstract truths that make this character who they are.

“Abuelito Who” by Sandra Cisneros
Abuelito who throws coins like rain and asks who loves him who is dough and feathers who is a watch and glass of water whose hair is made of fur is too sad to come downstairs today who tells me in Spanish you are my diamond who tells me in English you are my sky whose little eyes are string can't come out to play sleeps in his little room all night and day who used to laugh and like the letter k is sick is a doorknob tied to a sour stick is tired shut the door doesn't live here anymore is hiding underneath the bed who talks to me inside my head is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes who snores up and down up and down up and down again is the rain on the room that falls like coins asking who loves him who loves him who?
“Abuelito Who” from My Wicked, Wicked Ways, 1987.

• “George who loves rabbits and all things soft, who is questions and loyalty” ~ Haley H. Gr. 8
• “Anne who is a pen and a journal, adolescence and innocence” ~Andrew K. Gr. 8