Date: March 26th, 2014

I Got Carried Away

(to Kyle, from Reuben)

by Joyce Sidman

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce SidmanKyle, I’m sorry
for hitting you so hard in Dodge Ball.
I just really get carried away
in situations like that.
Kids screaming and ducking,
Coach bellowing,
all those red rubber balls
thumping like heartbeats
against the walls and ceiling,
blinking back and forth
like stop lights
(that really mean
go,
Go,
GO!)

See,
I even got
carried away
in this poem.

Copyright © 2007 Joyce Sidman.  From the book This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.  Reprinted by permission of the author.

About this Poem

Ever done something you regret?  (I certainly have!) Ever wished you could apologize in a special way?  Write an apology poem.  Make sure you explain why you HAD to do what you did—why was it so tempting.  Who knows . . . maybe you’ll even be forgiven!  For more information on apology poems and how to write them, go to: http://joycesidman.com/books/this-is-just-to-say-poems/

About The Author

Children's Poet Joyce SidmanJoyce Sidman is the author of many innovative children’s poetry books, including the Newbery Honor-winning Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night and two Caldecott Honor books, Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors.  She also teaches poetry writing to schoolchildren and explores the woods and fields in her home state of Minnesota.  Visit her website, www.joycesidman.com, to find book trailers, poetry ideas, and far too many photos of her dog, Watson.

Where to Buy this Book

Buy at AmazonBuy at Barnes & NobleShop Indie Bookstores