We are stars
We will shine
We live everywhere in space
We are friends
We play with each other
We are looking our best
- Anum Khalid, age 10, Pakistan
Family Love
The light comes through the window
of my grandma's quiet room.
The flower smell is everywhere.
She tells me about the life
of my dad's good times and bad.
Laying there upon her gentle bed,
we spend time bonding
by making cookies and talking.
I say, "I'll love you always."
She says, "I will, too."
- Kelly Root, age 10, 1999
Friends
God has blessed me
With so many friends
He could see
That I needed them
But of them all
There are four
Who for some reason
Mean so much more
Ali and Courtney,
You answered my prayer
For when I needed a friend
You were both there
Brianna and Laurie
You two came along
And filled my days
With your smiles and song.
Y'alls friendship
Has made my day
You guys are the best
Thats all I can say!
- Natasha D. Siegrist
my best friend
my best friend is called emma
shes really really nice
we both luv shopping so much
we go to braehead every night
people say we look alike
they think she is my sister
we both have hair of real dark brown
and are tall and very skinny
emma luvs to go swimming
she swims just like a fish
she wins loads of competitions
and always makes us proud
emma is always willing to listen
even when i've got a really short temper
she really is the bestest friend
a girl could ever have
- lauren, age 12, UK
A Jungle Adventure
I had my homework in front of me,
I was there sitting at my desk,
When mosquitoes started biting me,
The mangy little pests,
And the next thing I know I’m in the middle of a jungle,
Instead of at my desk.
The stuffed monkey hanging from the lamp above my head,
Became a real one hanging in a tree instead.
It grabbed my homework and ran away,
I chased after it all that day.
I jumped cliffs, climbed trees, wrestled crocodiles,
I must have traveled at least a million miles.
But it soon became hopeless and I grew tired,
I found a rock to rest my head,
And in the morning I awoke to find myself in bed,
And my incomplete page of homework right where I had left it.
But you see it really wasn’t my fault, this you should know,
I would’ve had it done if it weren’t for those mosquitoes.
As I had told you I had my homework with me at my desk,
Until I was interrupted by the mangy little pests.
- John Brown, age 16
Homework!
I battled my dog for the paper I wrote
I fell right into the sewage moat
I climbed a mountain and the forbidden wall
It was then and there that I had a great fall
I tumbled and twirled down the wall
Down the mountains and into the mall
I realized I had only ten minutes till school
So I ran and ran like a ridiculous fool
Here I am now I don’t have my paper
I’m bruised and burned but here I am safer.
- Christian Brown, age 12
Haiku
Garbage piled so high
Garbage piled up to the sky
With trash we will die.
- Christian Brown, age 12
Haiku – What a Day
What a day this is
Much like all the rest of His
But this one is more.
- Christian Brown, age 12
Haiku – The Sun
The sun so brilliant
With its glow of mystery
It’s so powerful.
- Christian Brown, age 12
Haiku - Trash
Food deep from our sink,
Collected three times a week,
Such a rancid stink!
- John Brown, age 16
The Bad Day
today is my sister's bad day
she woke up to find out she had gum in her hair
i couldn't dare to stare
at school she smelled a rose
and got stuck in her nose
this is something I did not care
She told me she had forgot to put on her underwear
at dinner we had pork
and broke a fork
at night she went to sleep and dreamed of an ugly terrible monster
stuck in a dumpster.
the next day everything went her way
- Patricia G
Henry Dee
A fish there was, named Henry Dee,
Who once went fishing by the sea;
As birds of cheese flew in the sky,
And all around was apple pie,
"A fisher of men, am I"
Said he, said Henry Dee.
Said Henry Dee,
"The happy Crocodile,
Who loves to wave his tail,
As upon the Nile,
He eats his tea;
Is the one,
Is the one for me!"
And for an hour or three,
Sat Henry Dee;
But none would bite his bait,
And so he'd sit and wave,
To passers by,
Who'd often fly,
Amidst the ebb and flow;
As to his radio,
He'd fall asleep.
"Now as I look,
Upon my hook,
I see I've shaken from the sea,
A man,
A travesty!
Who wears upon his head a hat,
A hat of brie;
Upon his face that's fat.
"What a friendly chap I've caught,
He smiles incessantly!
And looks as though that hat he's bought,
Was washed up by the sea!
"Shall I throw him back again?"
Mused the gentle fisher of men.
"The truth is...
He's not the best,
The best of men,
I've ever caught before."
© Jonathan FeBland, adult
Old Man Picadilly
Old man Picadilly
Sat on a fence
And played a purple banjo
For the ladies and gents.
He played the blues
And a little rock n' roll
He played waltzes and tangos
And a whole lot of soul.
One summer eve
As the people gathered round
He thought he'd surprise them
With a brand new sound.
He didn't play piano
Or a violin so sweet
He didn't play guitar
With bells on his feet.
And he didn't play the drums
Or a horn, or flute
But old man Picadilly
Said with a hoot.
"Tonight, folks listen
You're in for a treat"
And with a whistle on his lips
And a tap of his feet.
He played a melody
So tried and true
But to everyone's surprise
He played a kazoo!
But the people stood back
And looked surprised
They just stood and stared
And blinked their eyes.
"Old man Picadilly
What have you done?
Where is your banjo
Your pretty purple one?"
"We want to hear blues
And a little rock n' roll
And waltzes and tangos
And a whole lot of soul!"
Well, old man Picadilly
Didn't know what to say
He'd thought to make the people
Laugh that day.
But instead, they wanted
What they already knew
His purple banjo
Not the kazoo!
So he smiled and said
"Folks, don't be alarmed
Why, I have my banjo
Safe and unharmed."
"So if you want me
to play my banjo for you
just sit right there
I know what to do."
So he went and got
His banjo
The purple one he loved
And he played for the people
And wore purple gloves.
And he played the blues
And a little rock n' roll
And waltzes and tangos
And a whole lot of soul.
And the people all laughed
And were happy once again
With old man Picadilly
The purple banjo man!
- Marilyn Hilton, adult
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