I sit here in the lunchroom,
And chomp my ham and cheese.
I smell the scent of mushroom.
The gang begins to tease.
“Your spring rolls have sprung.
Your bean curd’s a turd.
Your dumplings are dung.
And you’re such a nerd.”
Her name is Ming Ma Wong.
She’s eating egg drop soup.
Her eyes look sadly woe begone.
Her shoulders start to droop.
I catch a waft of Parmesan.
The gang has smelled it too.
They soon devise a master plan.
While watching Tony chew.
“Cannelloni, minestrone,
Fettuccine and linguine,
Pannetonne. Tell me Tony,
Do you think you’re Mussolini?
Tony looks so devastated.
Garlic fills the room.
That smell cannot be understated.
Taunting will resume.
“Paté de foie and basilic,
Les Crèpes and croque monsieur …
You call this food? It makes me sick.”
Martin exclaims, << Mon Dieu! >>
There soon arrives an odor,
A smell I can’t define.
No matter what the flavor,
The gang will realign.
The new boy’s called Masaki.
He loves to eat his Nori,
His Sushi and Shiitaki,
And Tofu Yakitori.
The gang surrounds Masaki.
I watch as they regroup.
“Teriyaki, Sukiyaki.
What the heck is Miso Soup?”
The foods all smell so good to me.
The gang is so unkind.
I really have to disagree.
I’m of another mind.
So …
Tomorrow I will ask my mom,
To hold the ham and cheese.
I’d prefer …
Sauerkraut, Moussaka,
Baklava, Tofu,
Strudel and Frittata,
Couscous and pistou …
I won’t be in a hurry.
I’ll look them in the eye,
While savoring my curry.
They will not make me cry,
If that gang should come along,
I’m ready. I’ll be braced.
They will not faze me with their song.
I’ll ask them, “Want a taste?”
by Andrea Wilson
Topics For Discussion:
- This poem is about inter-racial bullying. Why is being different perceived as a bad thing? What is prejudice?
- Verbal harassment can hurt every bit as much as a punch or a kick. What can be done about it? What attitude does the narrator propose to take if harassed? What is likely to happen if a bully doesn’t get the reaction he is seeking?
- What qualities does the narrator display?
Classroom Activities:
- Make a drawing to illustrate an incident of inter-racial bullying, either personal or global.
- Taking a stand when you witness an injustice takes courage. Write a brief account of an incident you witnessed which you found to be unfair or unkind. What could you or did you do to intervene? When would it be ill-advised to intervene? If you can’t remember an event, feel free to invent a story.
- Imagine a world in which everyone is the same. Write a brief description. Would you like to live in that world?
I’m not a big fan of poetry with endrhymes, but I like the way this piece works, and I like the message you deliver with it. Nicely done.
Thank you for your comment, Gabriel. I appreciate the feed-back.
I was inspired to write this piece several years ago when I was providing after-school child-care to a boy from France. Very often he would recount to me the teasing and taunting he received at lunch because his lunch-box contained food foreign to his peers. Initially, I wrote the poem out of empathy, but I soon found I was having great fun playing with the foods and rhymes. I too find end-rhymes restrict the message and often sound contrived. I also have noticed that children (my chosen audience in this endeavour) respond really well to this form of poetry.
Once again, thank you for responding,
andrea
I agree: the end rhymes work well, given the target audience. It lends the piece a sing-song quality.
realy loved the poems you have written i am a youth worker [voluntary] from belfast n. ireland studying for a group session on bullying and hope you dont mind used the lunchroom one thought it was great will read it to the kids on friday nite hope it creates a lot of discussion thanks keep up the good work
Thanks for your positive comments. I would be very interested to learn if the poems had the desired effect with your kids. Any suggestions would be welcome.
andrea
I can tell that this is not the first time you mention the topic. Why have you chosen it again?
I’d like to respond to your comment however, I am unsure what it is you are asking. If you mean that I keep returning to the issue of bullying, I agree.This is the subject of this blog and I feel I have something to contribute. If you are wondering why I address the issue in the lunchroom it is simply a space where children gather and therefore social interactions such as bullying abound. The same could be said for the play-ground, a locker-room, etc. Does this answer your question?
andrea