Sing a Song of People is a heartwarming poem written by Lois Lenski and illustrator Giles Laroche. The book has various relatable illustrations that we see in our day to day life. They depict city life, the crowd, people walking in a hurry, and people going to the subway. The poem describes the hastiness of city life. The city life is rapid, and no one has time to rest. Every person is hurried to reach their destination. Every individual is on the run either up or down, some on the subway, on buses, metros, sidewalks.
Detailed Summary of Sing a Song of People
The poet describes that people are passing, and wherever we look, back or front, you will find people. If you take a spin, then you will not notice a single person resting. But no person is talking or greeting each other. All you find everywhere is people moving and passing by you. This resembles the real-world scenario where everyone is so caught with work that no one has time to talk or have a moment for another person. We never value the time when we have everyone around us, but after time has flown away, we regret it.
People are riding taxis, going on subways, trying to catch their buses. Every person is in a hurry to reach their destinations. They are well dressed in all formal clothing, hats on their head, and arriving to do their jobs. People are prepared for any inconvenience in their way; their ultimate goal is to reach their vocational place and work. Some people are carrying umbrellas if it rains. They are dedicated to performing their jobs irrespective of climate change. All everyone cares about is working and moving. The rain has been used ironically to show that the movement of people is unstoppable. Nothing stops people from moving and working.
The poem says there are people in tall buildings, moving up and down through the elevator. There are people in small stores as well. Every person is going and reaching to their jobs. Some work in small stores and some work in tall buildings. Some people are walking alone, and some people are walking in a crowd. Some are laughing, some are talking, and some are grumpy. Sing a song of people describes various types of people you will notice while walking in the city. But despite their workplace or state, they all are in an equal hurry. Despite being separated by their work, all are united together as a crowd.
Conclusion
The poem is stressed on the fact that city life is expeditious but try to be aware and enjoy this life. We pass hundreds of people each day and do not know any of them. We are in such a hurry that we do not even notice others. The poet insisted on seeing the pleasures of city life and try to feel how connected we are to each other.