Hi everyone,

We’re more than halfway through National Poetry Month so I thought I’d pull something from the files that I haven’t used lately. Here’s one that was funny when it came out in THE MOUSE WAS OUT AT RECESS in 2003. It was funny to teachers and to those students who understood the joke with grammar. It’s not funny anymore. Too many students sit with blank faces, failing to understand the humor. I haven’t read it in a class for quite a while.
Have It Your Own Way Poem for Two Voices (Isabelle) (Teacher) Me and Sally are pals! Sally and I are pals. I didn’t know you knew her! I don’t. Then why did you say, “Me and Sally are pals?” Sally and I are pals. You said it again! You said, “Me and Sally are pals!” Sally and I are pals! Have it your own way. You and her are pals. But I don’t believe it, And Sally won’t neither! (c) 2003 David L. Harrison Over these past nineteen years, Sally has become a staple in conversations around our house. When one of us doubts something, we are prone to say, "I don't believe it and Sally won't neither." Or, "I'll need to check with Sally about that." As the rules of using our language become more and more relaxed and entirely ignored, "me and Sally" can talk anyway we want to. Who cares? Who's to know?