This year, our school has a single teacher for elementary science. He coordinates with classroom teachers, and has his own room where instruction takes place. For the past week or so, he has been incubating chicken eggs. The incubating process wasn’t too interesting, but all that changed when the eggs began to hatch. Everyone in the building has been visiting the newly hatched chicks. Of course I wrote a poem about them.
Bundles of damp down
Tumble into the world,
Cheeping and chirping.
Chicks rise, stumble
On brand new legs,
Spindly and pink.
They wobble back
And forth,
Unfold tiny wings
Then fall flat,
Worn out with effort.
They rest,
gather strength,
Then rise again,
Pause, find their
Footing.
Transformed into
Puffs of smoky down,
They scurry forward,
Ready to greet
the world.
© Catherine Flynn, 2019
Please be sure to visit Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
Chicks are a delight to watch. How lucky you are to have them at school! Your word choice is spot-on in this poem and I could totally envision those tumbling, bumbling cuties!
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There’s much to learn from their example:
“They rest,
gather strength,
Then rise again,
Pause, find their
Footing.”
I would love to visit your newly hatched chicks.
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What fun for your students! I had the same thoughts as Ramona as I read your delightfully descriptive poem: much to learn from the persistence of these babies.
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We did this one year & when they hatched, I had the students take time to hold them, then sketch, then write. They are so darling. I love your poem, a kind of welcome to the world: “Puffs of smoky down,” is perfect.
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You have described the little chicks so well. I hope I will soon be writing about hatching wood ducklings.
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awwwwwwww…..I just want to be there watching the kids fall in love with baby chicks. You have painted a lovely, wonderful picture of a beautiful moment. Happy birthday to the birds with their tiny wings, and pink spindly legs…and gathered strength.
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Such fortitude and perseverance. It made me think about my writing attempts, and how I just have to keep getting up and putting pen to paper. Love your poem and the sweet photo, Catherine.
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Oh, lovely! I like this little glimpse into the life of your school and at the miracle of life, and you have chosen the perfect slice of this experience to highlight.
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Aww…they are so wonderful for students to observe. Your poem captures it all.
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that is lovely. Where do the chicks go when they grow up?
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Our security officer is adopting them.
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