The Poetry of Ada Limón Lesson Plan

Do you see the poem “Instructions on Not Giving Up” as good instructions on not giving up? Why or why not?

The instructions in the poem are not overt. Instead, they are instructions through example: the tree, which returns year after year, having endured a brutal winter, having many parts of it die. The tree exercises “continuous living,” suggesting that enduring hardships is worth it for the good times. The final line, “I’ll take it all,” suggests that the difficult parts of life are also worthwhile, especially knowing you’ll return and grow again, as the tree greens every year. These are the instructions: to keep in mind during the hard times that life is cyclical,...