TS#10 Anka

I met with Anka at Strozier with the idea in mind that he could write a poem for his wife. From what Anka has told me, he has not seen his family in about six months, and there is no possibility any time soon of them coming to see him in Tallahassee. Since last session I learned that his wife understands English fairly well, and since he has shown an interest in poetry I thought it might motivate him to use English in both a practical and a personal way. I had previously had Anka try to do a writing assignment that was advertisement based, but that seemed to garner little enthusiasm for any new vocabulary use or any attempt at communication. It might’ve been that Anka simply didn’t see the use or had no interest in doing the activity. He is a graduate student after all, and trying to get into FSU Law, and so I thought that he might care more about writing if it was attached to something he cared about. To do this, I printed out an exercise worksheet that showed step by step how to write a sonnet. He was immediately intrigued by the idea, and I’ve noticed that he is not only very serious and hard working, but an idealistic romantic who loves to talk about things in a positive light. While he did have some of my help in editing the sonnet, the ideas, intentions and comparisons were all his doing. He learned a great deal of vocabulary that he actively used, such as the words: vow, strife, deserted, and spilling. Although he did write a sonnet and followed all of the rules, I did not stress the ten-syllable count or iambic pentameter, since I felt that it would be a bit too strict of a guideline to encourage communication. Anka has given me permission to show his poem to others, and so here it is.

May Our Parting be Broken Up

I miss you like the birds fly south.

But we need to stay separated for now.

I remember our laughs spilling from our mouths.

The camping trips, the barbecues, my vows.

I left for our future, for a better life.

And I can only do that by improving myself.

I must study hard and overcome my strife.

But God knows, I feel deserted by myself.

But one day, we will sit together again as a family.

We will see our sons grow up

as strong as lions, and happily

will our parting be broken up.

But for now, let us count the days and nights,

hoping that one day soon we’ll be together, whether in daylight or in moonlight.