for Jack Wise
A Night or two in April, then no more
They call in the latest twilight from the skies,
Migrants who fly between the stars and foam
Now come to this hard ground where dark abides.
And when the moon illumines each chill bloom
Of dandelion and violet and flag
Still trembling in a latent winter gloom,
The birds sing their own name so clean and clear—
Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will —then
Swooping to scoop up insects on the wing,
Mayflies and ladybugs in those wide mouths,
They feed and fly away to nesting-grounds
Remote from those the Caddo once had known
Deep in the virgin stands of silent pine.
And yet in the gold October they return
Ghostly over uplands’ folded wolds,
Riding the ancient flyway as they climb
Into a dawn where centuries ago
Their ancestors had crossed without a cry
Green kingdoms of the oak and tupelo
Unbroken from Ozarks to the coast.
And pausing there upon the last chenier,
Made voiceless as they gaze beyond the Gulf
Toward some catholic South their flight implies,
They listen with intent for one who calls
Each creature in the language of its name,
And when they hear they pass through silent skies
Toward Adam and earthly paradise.
David Middleton
from his book Beyond the Chandeleurs
Louisiana State University Press, 1999
reprinted with permission of the poet
and with special permission from LSU Press
LESSON PLANS
For a Science Class
Lesson Plan for David Middleton’s “Louisiana Passage: The Whippoorwill”
by Laurie A. Williams
Pass out a copy of the poem to students. Read the poem aloud and have students mark the scientific facts of the whippoorwill that are mentioned in the poem.
Have students then research the migration paths of the whippoorwill.
Why do migrate?
What changes occur that “tell” the whippoorwill when to fly south? and when to fly back?
What natural phenomenon disrupt migration patterns?
What man-made occurrences disrupt migration patterns?
What is the life-cycle of the whippoorwill?
Where do whippoorwill mate and raise their young?
Did Katrina affected the whippoorwill?
What is the biggest threat to the whippoorwill?
Have students choose another bird that resides in Louisiana and migrates. Research that bird and then write a poem that has scientific facts about that bird.
For a Geography Class
Lesson Plan for David Middleton’s “Louisiana Passage: The Whippoorwill”
by Laurie A. Williams
Pass out a copy of the poem to students. Read the poem aloud.
Have students then research the migration paths of the whippoorwill.
Working in pairs have students map where in Louisiana the whippoorwill nest and then where they migrate to.
What is the climate difference from Louisiana to the migration destination of the whippoorwill?
What geographical locations does the whippoorwill fly over during its migration?
What other parts of the U.S. does the whippoorwill inhabit?
Have students choose another bird that resides in Louisiana and migrates. Research that bird, create a map of its migration, and then write a poem about that bird and its travels
For an English Classroom
Lesson Plan for David Middleton’s “Louisiana Passage: The Whippoorwill”
by Laurie A. Williams
This is a good poem to explore metrical rhythms.
Here are some terms that students will need to have on hand as they explore the meter of the lines in this poem.
Foot—a unit of measure in a metrical line (like measure in music but the foot uses syllables instead of notes)
∪= unstressed syllable
— = stressed syllable
Common Meters
Two syllable foot
iamb—an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable ∪ — (arrange, to be)
trochee—a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable — ∪ (tiger, catch a)
pyrrhic—two unstressed syllables; in English this must be two words as no multi-syllable words have all syllables unstressed ∪ ∪ (in a big town)
spondee—two stressed syllables — — (hushed crowd, skulls crack)
double foot—two metrical feet in combination, most often a pyrrhic foot followed by a spondee (with a blank look, the absurd fact)
Three syllable foot
anapest—two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable ∪ ∪ — (unaware, in the house)
dactyl—a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables — ∪ ∪ (harmony, this is the)
Number of feet per metrical line.
monometer—one foot
dimeter—two feet
trimeter—three feet
tetrameter—four feet
pentamenter—five feet
hexameter—six feet
heptameter—seven feet
octameter—eight feet
elision—the slurring together of vowels in adjacent words to delete a syllable
After giving students this list of the above terms, pass a copy of the poem* out to students. Have them work in pairs or individually.
*It will help for this activity to have the poem double spaced
First have them number the lines on the left-hand side.
Then have them determine the number of syllables in each line. (This step works best in pairs as it helps students check to see if they have the same number and if there are any possible elisions in the line)
Assign certain lines to two or more students or pairs. Have those groups see what rhythmic feet they can find in the lines. Remind students that lines may have multiple types of feet. And that lines can have an extra unstressed syllable at the end and cal also drop a syllable for variation.
If students need practice, you can use a few lines from Shakespeare. These are my favorite to use for this activity.
I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked. (Macbeth)
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (Macbeth)
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny (Romeo and Juliet)
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks (Romeo and Juliet)
After students have scanned their lines for rhythm, have students come to the board and write their lines with the scansion marks on the board. Have the class as a whole see if the scansion works. It takes practice to be able to hear how a line scans, and those rhythms can vary from person to person.
For writing, have students practice writing various types of feet and metric lines. After have students choose a line length and main foot type and write a poem following those parameters. Or they can write a specific form of poem that requires a specific foot and line length such as a sonnet or a double sonnet.