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Poetry for Children
Poetry Break #16

A poem for Social Studies

Harriet Tubman
by Eloise Greenfield

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff
Wasn't scared of nothing neither
Didn't come in this world to be no slave
And wasn't going to stay one either

"Farewell!" she sang to her friends one night
She was mighty sad to leave 'em
But she ran away that dark, hot night
Ran looking for her freedom

She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods
With the slave catcher right behind her
And she kept on going till she got to the North
Where those mean men couldn't find her

Nineteen times she went back South
To get three hundred others
She ran for her freedom nineteen times
To save black sisters and brothers

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff
Wasn't scared of nothing neither
Didn't come in this world to be no slave
And didn't stay one either
And didn't stay one either

from Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems;
Harper and Row, 1978

Introduction
Poetry can provide a vivid picture of the past. Award-winning poet Eloise Greenfield creates a wonderful portrait of Harriet Tubman in this biographical poem.

Extension
Invite the children to join in on the first and last stanzas while you read the rest aloud.