Unit IX Part 2 The Cycle of Life
Lesson 3 Elders' Ways

Name ____________________________________________Date ______________

Sandy Hebert LaBry wrote this poem in English and in French to honor not only her grandmother and mother but the tradition of making coffee in a French drip pot or "la grégue," a tradition handed down "without a recipe." She learned this way of making coffee by watching and imitating her mother, who learned it from her mother. This kind of traditional learning and teaching happens in all our lives. Answer the questions about the poem, then write your own poem about something you've learned from an older person. You may also write a poem in a language besides English.

La grégue My grandmother's drip coffee pot still sits on my stove a gift of my mother without a recipe but with an understanding of the ritual of making coffee in a patient manner slowly three teaspoons full of boiling water at a time and then three more until the pot is filled It's just as we have lived our lives we my grandmother my mother and me little by little like making coffee in the "grégue" La grégue

La grégue de ma grand-mère reste toujours sur mon fourneau un don de ma mère sans recette mais avec une connaissance des rites de faire le café dans une manière patiente lentement trois cuillères de l'eau bouillante à la fois et puis trois cuillères de plus jusqu'à ce que la grégue soit remplie juste comme nous avons vécu nos vies nous ma grand-mère ma mère et moi au fur et à mesure comme faire le café dans la grégue

Answer these questions:

Why do you think the poet calls making coffee a ritual?

What values do you think the poet learned from her mother and grandmother?

Do you think the poet's 12-year-old daughter is aware of this coffee pot and the special way her mother makes coffee? What special traditions or "rituals" have you observed in your home?

For a PDF of this page click here.