Question

"And for years he has never said a word.
And so twenty-five years later, I write these words
for the little boy in me who still awaits his papa’s knock.
Papa, come home cause I miss you.
I miss you waking me up in the morning and telling me you love me.
Papa, come home, cause there’s things I don’t know
and I thought maybe you could teach me:
how to shave;
how to dribble a ball;
how to talk to a lady;
how to walk like a man.
Papa, come home because I decided a while back
I wanted to be just like you.
But I’m forgetting who you are.
And twenty-five years later a little boy cries,
and so I write these words and try to heal
and try to father myself
and I dream up a father who says the words my father did not.
Dear Son,
I’m sorry I never came home.
For every lesson I failed to teach, hear these words:
Shave in one direction in strong deliberate strokes to avoid irritation.
Dribble the page with the brilliance of your ballpoint pen.
Walk like a god and your goddess will come to you.
No longer will I be there to knock on your door.
So you must learn to knock for yourself.
Knock knock down doors of racism and poverty that I could not.
Knock knock down doors of opportunity
for the lost brilliance of the black men who crowd these cells.
Knock knock with diligence1

for the sake of your children.

Knock knock for me for as long as you are free,
these prison gates cannot contain my spirit.
The best of me still lives in you.
Knock knock with the knowledge that you are my son, but you are not my choices.
Yes, we are our fathers’ sons and daughters,
but we are not their choices.
[30]

[35]

[40]

[45]

[50]

[55]

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1. Diligence (noun) careful and persistent work or effort

2

"Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty. Copyright © 2013 by Daniel Beaty (www.danielbeaty.com). Used with
permission. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

For despite their absences we are still here,
still alive, still breathing,
with the power to change this world,
one little boy and girl at a time.
Knock knock
Who’s there?
We are."

Practice (page 10): Read lines 27–69 of the poem “Knock Knock.” Write a sentence that explains what the author wants readers to do to make society better. Then cite three details from the poem that support your analysis.

1 Sentence Analysis
3 Details from Poem to Support Analysis

Answer 1

One-sentence analysis:
The author urges readers to take action to make society better by persistently breaking down barriers like racism and poverty, working with diligence, and creating opportunities and hope for future generations.

Three details from the poem that support this:
1. “Knock knock down doors of racism and poverty that I could not.”
2. “Knock knock down doors of opportunity for the lost brilliance of the black men who crowd these cells.”
3. “Knock knock with diligence for the sake of your children.”