My Turn

They tell me I am a child
That I can't do anything
Well, what do they know?

I stand in front of the giraffe
Sucker in hand--strawberry--my favorite flavor
Hoping to reach as tall
As the animal before me

What do they know?
I learn-ed from Mrs. Peabody at school that giraffes eat leaves
And their height works for them
That gots to count for something

Can I? I can!
Be a zookeeper--a vet?
A poet
A artist--Mrs. P. always says my drawings rock her world --
Teacher
Doctor
Fireman
When I grow up
When I grow up
When I grow up
I hate those words

I can also be a mommy too.
Can I save lives?

This scarf is scratchy.
So is this hood.
Why did sissy make me wear this jacket?

They say "Hush Child."
They say "Go Play."
But it's not about "Hushing" and "Playing"

They know that.
But what they don't know
Is that I know too.

Lies and the Future of Joey Kid

If you can hear me
Clap once
Touch your nose
Clap twice
Touch your toes

If you can hear me
Wiggle your fingers
Clap once
And place your hands in your lap
Then listen to me

Lies
All lies

My hands say I need to wash them
My feet say I need rest
My arms say I need to workout more
So does my stomach, for that matter

My head thanks me
For taking my medication today
My mouth tells me I need
Water
Maybe a beer too
Maybe

Virtual batteries
Need to be recharged
Daily
Momentarily

If you can hear me
Clap once
Touch your nose
Clap twice
Touch your toes

If you can hear me
Wiggle your fingers
Clap once
And place your hands in your lap
Then listen to me

We say these things that don't mean anything
But children seem to listen to us
They seem to trust us
I know I did
This is my past and future
This is your future, kid
If you can't listen now, you will never be able to

Get into high school
Get good grades
Get into college
Get a job
Settle down
Find a wife or partner or husband
Be successful
Be kind

You are a failure in first grade
If you don't respond to:

If you can hear me
Clap once
Touch your nose
Clap twice
Touch your toes

If you can hear me
Wiggle your fingers
Clap once
And place your hands in your lap
Then listen to me


Why should I?
Give me one good reason.
Because I said so.
Why should you say so?
Because I'm an adult?
Question mark.
End of discussion.
End of future.

Wishful Wednesday (on a Sunday)

Active hands
Mean
Active minds
Active minds
Mean
Thoughtful souls
Which
In turn
Mean
The future
Is looking
brighter and brighter
by the
Minute.

(You have to see the picture I have this captioned by to have it make sense, but it's a group of my six-year-olds at the Children's Museum in South Carolina looking out of the window on a sunny South Carolina summer day while drawing on it with erasable window markers. Very cool. At least I felt inspired enough to jot down some notes when looking at the photo again.)

Maybe at some point we can have a photo theme on the blog too...just sayin'.