Sometimes when we read poetry, we leave with simply a feeling. The words feel less about meaning and more about emotion; the images conjured are raw and even very subjective. But with Hala Alyan’s poem, "Spoiler,” readers are left feeling some of both.
More than anything, the poem leaves us with a brutal truth as takeaway, a message I seek to elevate in the classroom.
I’m here to tell you the tide will never stop coming in.
I’m here to tell you whatever you build will be ruined, so make it beautiful.
This makes me think about intricate mandala art, sometimes crafted out of sand for hours and hours that then – poof– disappears in an instant. It reminds me of incredibly detailed nail art, that also takes hours to design, only to be chipped and removed before not too long. It elucidates the belief that journey is far superior to the destination; that there’s magic every step of the way.
Hala’s poem for me depicts a picture of truth across the board. There are sadnesses, nightmares, dying; trees planted in infertile soil. But the lingering image is one of building sandcastles so beautiful it doesn’t matter how intense the tide. At the end, she leaves us with the ‘spolier’ that in life, process is more important than the sum of those momentary products.
What Might We Spoil?
This lesson riffs off the idea that we embrace with open arms inevitable change.
With students in upper grades, you might use Hala Alyan’s poem as a springboard for writing their own ‘spoliers.’ To brainstorm, I suggest students draw a three-column chart - one with emotional moments that one might perceive as setbacks, one with life milestones they hope for, and another with potential lines to remix the idea of spoiling. What do we work so hard towards? What moments in our lives felt painful? What goals and life events are we seeking? What metaphors, like water destroying meticulously-crafted sandcastles, can we conjure to highlight the journey, and the idea that the steps along the way are important experiences worth painting positive?
With this mentor, students can organize their staccato sentences similar to Hala’s, maybe even leading with their own question, moving into moments of disappointment across time, to a final, purposeful metaphor at the end. After listening to Hala’s audio recording, I would have students record their pieces too.
There is beauty in ruins. There is beauty in the spoiling.
Further Reading:
Nawal Qarooni is an educator and writer who works in education spaces to support a holistic model of literacy instruction. She and her team of coaches at NQC Literacy work with teachers and school leaders to grow a love of reading and composition in ways that exalt the whole child, their cultural capital and their intrinsic curiosities. She is the proud daughter of immigrants, and mothering her four young kids shapes her understanding of teaching and learning. Nawal’s first book about family literacy with Heinemann is forthcoming in 2023.
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