"My Shadow" From Child's Garden of Verses
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.
He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.
He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
-Robert Louis Stevenson
I chose this poem to write about because it was one of my favorite poems as a child. I have many memories of my parents reading this to me at night. I thought that the poem was interesting and silly as a kid and some of the stanzas still stick with me.
Vocabulary:
Proper: Acting in a good manner or with manners.
Notion: an idea or clue.
Arrant: completely or thoroughly.
Coward: A person who is timid and scared.
Shame: dishonor or embarrassment.
Dew: The mist that is sometimes on plants and grass in the morning.
vocabulary activity: Find the vocabulary words in the word search below.
| C | Q | V | W | Z | J | L | F | Y | A | Q | D | B | X | L |
| T | T | W | O | Q | E | C | X | N | T | O | Y | E | B | L |
| Y | D | C | U | A | B | D | L | C | H | B | M | X | F | N |
| U | Q | H | O | N | V | E | R | O | Y | C | F | S | R | Q |
| D | W | R | P | U | V | R | O | W | V | T | S | E | H | A |
| T | U | Y | Z | H | T | Q | P | A | H | D | P | K | M | N |
| V | J | O | A | B | E | E | X | R | W | O | T | S | O | S |
| E | M | A | H | S | L | G | D | D | R | O | E | I | Y | W |
| F | S | Q | D | S | Y | E | X | P | I | N | T | E | M | Y |
| R | I | I | F | J | W | J | K | N | H | O | H | H | Z | A |
| S | G | O | X | F | L | C | X | B | N | G | Q | A | D | Y |
| N | I | K | M | A | T | U | F | C | D | Q | P | L | Y | X |
| K | Y | P | Q | N | M | A | R | R | A | N | T | V | Y | P |
| T | A | W | J | A | A | I | N | I | T | A | I | M | U | O |
| O | Y | F | E | J | D | B | T | C | R | K | P | E | F | N |
| Arrant Dew Coward Shame Notion Proper | ||
| Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that describe nouns (persons, places or things.) Find the adjectives that are used in the poem. Grammar Activity: Find and circle each adjective used in the poem. Then write down how the word is being used and what it is helping to describe. |
