"Instructions on Not Giving Up" by Ada Limón (May 2017) public
Author: Ada Limón
Limón, Ada. “Instructions on Not Giving Up.” Poets.Org, Academy of American Poets, 14 May 2019, poets.org/poem/instructions-not-giving.
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me.
When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come.
Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty.
Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.
By Ada Limón
Copyright © 2017 by Ada Limón. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 15, 2017, by the Academy of American Poets.
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Paul Allison is a nationally-known educator and EdTech expert… (more)
Paul Allison is a nationally-known educator and EdTech expert… (more)
Thank you for sharing your excitement about how the poem starts with a burst of color and energy, then slows down as green takes over and life keeps going. You noticed the change in pace and how inspiring that feels! If you want to understand the poem even better, try responding to it creatively first—write or draw something sparked by the poem, then come back and read it again as a writer. That can help you answer your own questions and find new meaning.
Here are three different writing sparks for you to try. Each one is a way to explore the energy, change, and inspiration you felt in the poem. Use these ideas in any way you like: write a story, a poem, a song, or even make a drawing! Each spark includes a “lead line” you can use to start or finish your piece—just fill in the blanks with your own ideas.
Imagine a time when everything around you changes from wild excitement to calm, steady growth. Write or create something about how that shift feels, using any moment or season you want.
You might use this line: After the bright comes…
[quiet growing]
[a gentle beginning]
[a new routine]
[slow healing]
[unexpected hope]
Think of something in your life that keeps going, even after hard times or messes. Tell the story of how it keeps returning, covering up what happened before and starting again.
You might use this line: Covering what was, there is now…
[a new layer]
[fresh color]
[a soft comfort]
[a brave start]
[a hidden strength]
Describe a moment when you—or something in nature—accepts everything that has happened, good and bad, and decides to keep going anyway. Use any form you like!
You might use this line: I’ll take it all…
[the joy and trouble]
[the leftovers]
[the memories]
[the mess]
[the hope]
Would you like to see how I came up with these sparks and lead lines? I can explain what I understood from the poem and how it connects to your thoughts! Just let me know if you want to see my process.
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