Let's discuss the poem on turning 10 by Billy Collins. Billy Collins was the poet laureate in 2001 which means he was the official poet or the whole country. Someone, someone reported once called the most popular poet in America. I don't know, Robert Frost I think, get that paddle. Okay, let me read it to you and then we'll talk about those questions again and then we will look at the discussion questions. So here's the poem on turning 10 and after removing my glasses. I'll read to you sideways. On turning 10, the whole idea that makes me feel like I'm coming down to something, something worse than any stomach ache or the headaches I get from reading in bad light, a kind of measles of the spirit, a month of the psyche, a disfiguring chickenpox of the soul. You tell me it's too early to be looking back, but that is because you have forgotten the perfect simplicity of being one and the beautiful complexity introduced by two. But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit. At four, I was an Arabian wizard. I can make myself invisible by drinking a glass of milk in a certain way. At seven, I was a soldier, at nine, a prince. Now here stands the three. But now I'm mostly at the window watching the late afternoon light. Back then, it never fell so solemnly against the side of my tree house. And my bicycle never leaned against the garage it does today, all the dark loose speed drying down to it. This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself. As I walk through the universe and my sneakers, it is time to say goodbye to my imaginary friends, time to turn the first big number. It seems only yesterday I used to believe there is nothing under my skin but light. If you cut me, I could shine. But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life, I skin my knees. I bleed. Okay. So first of all, does this kid seem carefree and innocent or very serious? Well, I hope you say serious. Because serious acting like he's an old man already and he's just turning 10. Why is it a big deal? It's the double digits. Just like people hate turning 30. Back in the 60s, he's saying you can't trust anybody over 30. And a lot of women make a big deal about 30. And that's why you ask them, they go, I'm 29. Why don't you 29 last year? I was 29, three years in a row. Okay. But let's look at the point. In the first stanza, all this talk about illness is he talked about real sickness or is it a comparison? It's a comparison. It's a metaphor. So he's comparing this growing up to being like a sickness. And the second stanza, he says, you think I'm acting silly and being 10, I'm too young to think this way. He says, that's because you're so old and that you don't remember it. I sure don't remember it. I don't remember turning 10. I don't remember thing about one. But he says he does. I remember when I was young, I was one, I was this, when I was two, this, you know, one was very simple. Two, you got the terrible two. It's a very complicated time. At four, I was a Arabian wizard. I can make myself invisible. At seven, I was a soldier at nine. I was a prince. So he clearly has a what? He's very imaginative, very creative. I think that was in a question somewhere too. And he says, but then he gets to the stanza three. And there's a question, what's the tone of stanza three? Is he playing games anymore? No. He's standing at the window looking outside. And he's watching the late afternoon light. The late afternoon light is its evening time. And evening is what literally is the end of the day. So to him, this is a metaphor. He's turning 10 outside the window metaphorically. It's the end of the day. It's also the end of what? Don't say it's into his life. It's not the end of his life. It's the end of his film of blank childhood. And he looks at the sunlight and sees how it is solemn, very serious. And his bicycle is leaning against the garage like it's tired. Like an old man. And what's it doing? All the speed is draining out of it. You know, I get amazed and every old person does to see kids is running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running with full of energy. It's like, where did they get this energy? Well, he is projecting that onto his bike. There's my bike and all the energy is draining out of it. Now, so if you're not sure about any of that, you're like, well, you know, Mr. Skipper, I don't know. Look at the beginning of the full stanza. This is the beginning of sadness. I walk through the universe in my sneakers. I say goodbye to my imaginary friends. This is the big number, the big 10, turning 10. It goes, it seems only like yesterday because I know, you know, my middle school kids, you know, when I was a kid, you're strong. When I was little, you're little. He says, I remember when I just thought I was filled with light and life is some block of liveliness of energy. He says, you know, if you cut me open, I would just be shying. Now, and this is a big metaphor too, when I follow upon the sidewalks of life, I believe. So this is a very serious kid. And he is taking turning 10, not well at all. He thinks, this is it. I'm just an old man now. And then the discussion questions, these are things we need to think about. What does it mean to be a grown-up? I know grown-ups who don't act like grown-ups, and I know kids who act very serious. So does grown-up have something with age, or does it behavior, or is it blood? I don't know. You can leave a video response on Flipgrid. There are two things to do early for this child to miss his youth. Well, it's obviously asking your opinion, but my answer is he's not even experienced his youth yet. He's moving out of, he's still in childhood. He met 10, he's still in childhood. When do you turn to youth? Is that when you're a teenager? To me, he's a little bit young to be getting so serious about things. And then we're three, should we value our youth? And so it says in the context of the pun. So just think about what is the boy like he's losing as he loses his youth. While you're still young, do you value things that you have as a youngster? If you ever see me climb up on a desk and then try to jump off as a youngster, you just jump right off. Now that I'm old, I'm like, hold on, and I won't jump off because I think it's going to hurt my needs. But there's lots of great things about being young. And this old man says you should value your youth. Okay, you got any questions? Leave them in the comments below. Don't forget like and subscribe. Laser cats.