Twindependent - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION

Today (April 10) is National Siblings Day. Some may have an older/younger brother or sister or both. Some may not. Some may be from a set of multiples. J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen created a new poetry book that celebrates those who are twins. In fact, J. Patrick Lewis is a twin himself! Sometimes people think that twins are similar in many ways. That can be but, then again, it may not. This poem is about the differences between the twins. You can share this poem with other ones from books like Kristine O’Connell George’s Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems.

POEM

Twindependent

By J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen

I am I,

I am not you.

I live apart.

Do you live, too,

With dreams and hopes

That are your own?

We will be two

When fully grown?

I want to be

an astronaut.

You want to live

Where it is hot.

I long for silence,

You for noise.

You play with dolls,

Planes are my toys.

I am I,

A thing apart,

Although we share

Our mother’s heart,

Our father’s , too,

And in our way

Our genes and all

Our DNA.

But in each

Personality

We are as one

As we can be.

EXTENSION

• Have the children who share their differences and similarities between them and their siblings. If a child is an only child have them imagine the differences and similarities that he or she would share if there was a sibling.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lewis, J. Patrick and Jane Yolen. 2012. Take Two!: A Celebration of Twins. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763637026.