A few years ago, I read a biography about JFK. The book mentions Jackie Kennedy and her adoration for poetry. She had verses memorized, and on a dime would frequently recite bits for those around her, namely her children. Something about that passage struck me. I later realized that I appreciated her adoration of poetry because one of my greatest childhood memories of my mother stems from an assignment that I brought home in the 2nd grade. We had to memorize and perform “Bear in There” by Shel Silverstein.
For the entire month, my mother filled our hour-long drive to school with practice sessions. I can recall her gentle prompts, make sure you’re looking at the audience, make more eye contact, raise your voice just a bit at that part, speak a bit faster, a bit slower, emphasize this, de-emphasize that. Simple as they are, memories of those moments are some of the fondest that I have of my childhood. And all from a simple school assignment.
17 years later, I decided to re-memorize “Bear in There,” and then I decided to begin memorizing more poems. Perhaps due to my initial association with Silverstein, I enjoy going through his books. Childish though they may seem, he tackles difficult topics with ease. One of my recent discoveries is “She had blue skin, and so did he.” It’s a simple rhyme. I quickly memorized it, but the message is powerful. If you don’t live life to express your unique self, you will miss finding the person and the people to love that self. The message is especially prescient and pressing during this time of social media, the era of filters and photoshop and “influencers.” Often, we are made to feel as if we are insufficient or inferior, when really, we aren’t. We are all extraordinary human beings, and there are people to love our special if only we let our light shine.