Dad reads aloud. I follow his finger across the page.
Sometimes his finger moves past words, tracing white space.
He makes the Moon say something new every night
to his deaf son who slurs his speech.
Sometimes his finger moves past words, tracing white space.
Tonight he gives the Moon my name, but I can’t say it,
his deaf son who slurs his speech.
Dad taps the page, says, try again.
Tonight he gives the Moon my name, but I can’t say it.
I say Rain-nan Akabok. He laughs.
Dad taps the page, says, try again,
but I like making him laugh. I say my mistake again.
I say Rain-nan Akabok. He laughs,
says, Raymond you’re something else.
I like making him laugh. I say my mistake again.
Rain-nan Akabok. What else will help us?
He says, Raymond you’re something else.
I’d like to be the Moon, the bear, even the rain.
Rain-nan Akabok, what else will help us
hear each other, really hear each other?
I’d like to be the Moon, the bear, even the rain.
Dad makes the Moon say something new every night
and we hear each other, really hear each other.
As Dad reads aloud, I follow his finger across the page.
“Happy Birthday Moon” is a pantoum poem that captures a tender moment of a father reading a story with his deaf son.
- Think about the setting and mood of the poem. How would you describe them? If you were to read this poem aloud, in what ways would you adjust your voice to best suit this mood? Try a few different approaches.
- When the speaker asks, for the first time: “What else will help us?,” what do you think they need help with?
- What is a line in the poem you feel most moved by? Why do you think this line affected you specifically?
- A pantoum repeats lines in a pattern as the poem progresses. Why do you think the poet chose a repeating form to express this particular moment?
Writing activity: Figure out the pattern of repeating lines that make up a pantoum (see link below for more about the pantoum) and try to write your own! Start with four independent sentences that describe a daily ritual you do, or have done, and see where the poem takes you.
Useful Links
About the pantoum: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/pantoum
Raymond Antrobus reading “Happy Birthday Moon”: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=231808698502747
The picture book that the poem refers to:https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Happy-Birthday-Moon/Frank-Asch/Moonbear/9781442494008
An Interview with Raymond Antrobus where he discusses his deafness and writing about his father: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/28/raymond-antrobus-the-perseverance-poetry-interview
This is a pantoum inspired by Frank Asch's picturebook Happy Birthday, Moon (Simon & Schuster, 2014; first published by Prentice-Hall, 1982)
Raymond Antrobus, “Happy Birthday Moon” from The Perseverance. Copyright © 2018 by Raymond Antrobus. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Source: The Perseverance (Penned in the Margins, 2018)