Here is a short poem for class analysis like others I have posted. I like to teach with short poems or songs as they are snack size literature suitable for a 50 minute class period.

Boy with a Sling

A stone arcs through the sky.
A bird drops from the air,
flutters in the grass.
Chicks starve in the nest, then decay.
Can there be a god?
Ah yes, the boy.

This non-rhyming poem deals with serious subjects (god, cruelty, nature, pointless killing) and will give a sensitive child a lot to think about. Most of the vocabulary is easy. Go through the analysis steps described in my earlier postings and this time ....
Ask the class for synonyms for arc, drop, sling, flutter, chick, grass, starve, nest, decay, child.

Then ask students orally for their impressions line by line.

Notice the poem starts with an image of the boy and returns to him in the last line. This is a common feature in some poems, stories and song: circularity.

This poem is suitable for esl adults as well.