August 1st: International Friendship Day - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION
International Friendship Day is the first Sunday of August, which for the year 2010 is August 1st! The value of friendship is important to everyone and needs to be celebrated not just one day but also every day of the year. Share these two poems with others from books like Very Best (Almost) Friends: Poems of Friendship by Paul Janeczko and Myra Cohn Livingston's A time to Talk: Poems of Friendship.

POEMS

Oath of Friendship
by Anonymous, Translated by Arthur Waley

SHANG YA!
I want to be your friend
Forever and ever without break or decay.
When the hills are all flat
And the rivers are all dry.
When it lightens and thunders in winter,
When it rains and snows in summer,
When Heaven and Earth mingle-
Not till then will I part from you.

Best Friend
by Judith Nicholls

When there's just one square
of chocolate left...
she shares,
she gives me half.

When thunder growls like an angry bear
and I shiver and shake
beneath my chair...
she won't laugh.

when I'm grumpy or cross
or spotty or sad,
when I whine or boss...
she stays.

When things aren't fair
and I just want to hide...
she's there,
always

BIBLIOGRAPHY
These poems are from:
Nicholls, Judith. 2000. Someone I Like Poems About People. Illus. by Giovanni Manna. NY: Barefoot Books. ISBN: 1841480045.

EXTENSION
Invite the children to share what friendship means to them. Have them write a poem about friendship or about their best friend(s). Also, spread the joy of friendship by creating friendship letters or poems that can be given to everyone in the class, school, or home.