Young Poets

Today I attended a poetry slam in my son's fourth grade class. All the kids stood up and read poems that they had carefully crafted, each one more beautiful than the last. The best were the kids' "I am from" poems, where they told about all of the things that make them who they are. It's amazing what kids will pick out of their own lives that they feel shape them. My son had some beautiful lines, mixed in with some totally invented ones about fracturing a rib while doing some athletic event and waking up in the hospital (no, this never happened). He makes shit up, wonder where he gets that?

His teacher also asked the parents to write a poem for their children that she would keep a surprise. She then read them out loud to the class and each kid had to guess which poem was for them. Nate was pretty adorable when she read mine, total embarrassment mixed with delight. So super cute. I totally cried. I am not a poet by any stretch of the imagination but here's my poem for my boy:


Mother’s Day Gift

He came to us on Mother’s Day,

His big brown eyes took my breath away,

A beautiful baby I could only dream of,

One quick glance and I knew it was love.

At first his breathing wasn’t right,

In the ICU he spent his first night,

But soon I held him in my arms,

And first was weakened by his charms.

He holds my heart tight in his hands,

Even now with all his demands,

X-box, iPad, and TV,

Sleepovers, junk food, play dates please?

Now as my boy turns to a man,

And grows up as fast as he possibly can,

I love him and I tell him so,

He takes my heart with him wherever he goes.

My boy that came on Mother’s Day,

Is the greatest gift that I could say,

I’ll take his anger, spunk, and joy,

For me there is no other boy.