INTRODUCTION
Of the 44 presidents we have had, two stand out—George Washington who helped establish our country and Abraham Lincoln who held the nation together. Both led us through war with wisdom, grace and bravery. In their honor each February we celebrate Presidents’ Day.
POEM
Lincoln
by Nancy Byrd Turner
There was a boy of other days,
A quiet, awkward, earnest lad,
Who trudged long weary miles to get
A book on which his heart was set—
And then no candle had!
He was too poor to buy a lamp
But very wise in woodmen’s ways.
He gathered seasoned bough and stem,
And crisping leaf, and kindled them
Into a ruddy blaze.
Then as he lay full length and read,
The firelight flickered on his face,
And etched his shadow on the gloom,
And made a picture in the room,
In that most humble place.
The hard years came, the heard years went,
But, gentle, brave, and strong of will,
He met them all. And when today
We see his pictured face, we say,
“There’s light upon it still.”
Washington
by Nancy Byrd Turner
He played by the river when he was young,
He raced with rabbits along the hills,
He fished for minnows, and climbed and swung,
And hooted back at the whippoorwills.
Strong and slender and tall he grew—
And then, one morning, the bugles blew.
Over the hills the summons came,
Over the river’s shining rim.
He said that the bungles called his name,
He knew that his country needed him,
And he answered, “Coming!” and marched away
For many a night and many a day.
Perhaps when the marches where hot and long
He’d think of the river flowing by
Or, camping under the winter sky,
Would hear the whippoorwill’s far-off song.
He loved America all his life!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Prelutsky, Jack. 1983. THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN. ISBN 0394850106
EXTENSION
Have books available on both Washington and Lincoln. Encourage the children to work in groups to see what the two men had in common and how they were different.
Of the 44 presidents we have had, two stand out—George Washington who helped establish our country and Abraham Lincoln who held the nation together. Both led us through war with wisdom, grace and bravery. In their honor each February we celebrate Presidents’ Day.
POEM
Lincoln
by Nancy Byrd Turner
There was a boy of other days,
A quiet, awkward, earnest lad,
Who trudged long weary miles to get
A book on which his heart was set—
And then no candle had!
He was too poor to buy a lamp
But very wise in woodmen’s ways.
He gathered seasoned bough and stem,
And crisping leaf, and kindled them
Into a ruddy blaze.
Then as he lay full length and read,
The firelight flickered on his face,
And etched his shadow on the gloom,
And made a picture in the room,
In that most humble place.
The hard years came, the heard years went,
But, gentle, brave, and strong of will,
He met them all. And when today
We see his pictured face, we say,
“There’s light upon it still.”
Washington
by Nancy Byrd Turner
He played by the river when he was young,
He raced with rabbits along the hills,
He fished for minnows, and climbed and swung,
And hooted back at the whippoorwills.
Strong and slender and tall he grew—
And then, one morning, the bugles blew.
Over the hills the summons came,
Over the river’s shining rim.
He said that the bungles called his name,
He knew that his country needed him,
And he answered, “Coming!” and marched away
For many a night and many a day.
Perhaps when the marches where hot and long
He’d think of the river flowing by
Or, camping under the winter sky,
Would hear the whippoorwill’s far-off song.
He loved America all his life!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Prelutsky, Jack. 1983. THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN. ISBN 0394850106
EXTENSION
Have books available on both Washington and Lincoln. Encourage the children to work in groups to see what the two men had in common and how they were different.
Photo courtesy of http://images.google.com.
