John Bernard CroakGrade 6

2010

Art inspired by Deb Murray’s

Children’s Rights Poetry Collection

Poetic Justice

Against the WindWhat should I doTo let you know

When I am hurtingSkin and bones deep?

I know that you love meMore than chocolate ice cream and bananas

Because you tell me every dayBut sometimes even the innocence of the wind scares me

As it flies by full speed aheadWhat should I doTo let you know

When I am hurtingHeart and soul deep?

I know you love me more than all the dollars in the worldBecause you show mw every day

But sometimes even when my heart scares mePounding inside my chest like a drum.

Sometimes I desperately chase the windAs it flies by full speed ahead.

What should I do to let you know

when I am wonderingwhere the wind that I am chasing

will finally take me?

I’m Born Free

I’m born free…As free as the dragonflies hovering above the clothesline…

As free as the sound of happily crashing wavesAs free as the poetry of a babbling brook

And free as the birds that rain down on my own backyard feeder.I’m born free…

As free as changing your mind at the last minuteAs free as a heart beating wild in a race

As free as the beautiful colors on a rainbow palette.I’m born free…

As free as imagination will take meAs free as the winter wind that carries me along

As free as the shadows that chase me behind my backAs free as the beauty of a panoramic, mountain view.

I’m born free and I’m born luckyIf there was a world-wide game of Red Rover

any time soonI’d call you over

from wherever you areso that you could be born free

with me.

What’s Right?What’s right

and what are rights?Some people get up in the morning

not even realizinghow truly lucky they are

they look for good luck in their livesand they have no idea

that they are it.Some people count on miracles

and some doubt that they even existsome people just expect miracles to happen…

I know I do.Some people count their blessing out loud

but other must do it by accident in their heads.In many places in the world there are kids with no family

no home and no last name even.They stare through imaginary windows

dreaming of something other kids like mewatch every day

and may even click the remote to cancel out.I know what’s right

and I know what rights are.I also know that I should be standing in line

with six billion other peoplewho know the same thing.

I Have a QuestionI am shorter than the average kid my agethey say that it’s because of my genes…

will you make jokes about me?I am slightly over- weight

because of medication I need to take…will I stick out like a sore thumb?

I wear glasses that look like bottles…I need them to see the smile on your face…

will there be one there for me?My legs are made of special metal

and I can take them completely off…can I still be part of your team?

I can’t afford to wear brand-name clothingmy foster family is rich, but only in love..

will I blend in nicely when the picture is taken?I know what you are saying to me

but because my voice is sadly locked insideI can not reply…

will I ever be understood?I hear the music through my feet

and know by instinct that the song is beautifully sung…will you ever ask me to dance?

I Have My Rights You Know!You can’t make me do it

I know you can’tI have my rights you know!

You can’t make me clean up after myselfbecause I should certainly know better…

I’m only 4.You can’t make me share my toys with my little brother

just because he always shares with me…I’m only 5.

You can’t make me do my homework right after suppereven through you are always available then to help me…

I’m only 6.You can’t make me put my dirty clothes in the basket

even if I try pretending they are basketballs heading towards the hoopI’m only 7.

You can’t make me turn off the television and go to bedjust because my eyes are wearing hoods of their own…

I’m only 8.You can’t make me brush my teeth every day

and floss to save my beautiful smile…I’m only 9.

You can’t make me keep the noise level downto a nice inside voice for once…

I’m only 10.You can’t make me shovel the driveway in the bitter Cape Breton cold…

I’m only 11.You can’t make me smile when Aunt Myrtle gives me

home-made socks again for Christmaseven if they took her a week to do for heaven’s sake…

I’m only 12.You can’t make me do it

I know you can’t.I have my rights you know…

right?

RainbowI am a rainbow

that your eyes may not open wide enough to see.

Unless you stop exactly long enoughto take it all in,

I may simply look like just another crayonaccidently pulled from a box of life

and pushed back infor being the wrong shade.

I am a rainbowthat your eyes may not open wide enough

to seeUnless you like to color outside the lines

you may not even look for me at all.I am a rainbow

and I am also a box of crayonsthat has been spilled on purpose

right beside youand I am patiently waitingfor your eyes to see me

and to choose meAnd to smile.

Different?Someone told me that I am different

that I don’t belong and that I never will.Well, they are right in some ways…

I am different as marble and sandstoneas different as an ice cube

that dares to try floating in molasses soupas different as yesterday from today.

I am different in so many waysthat I can’t even count them myself.My eyes see wizards in the clouds

and rocks shaped like Japan along the roadside.They see a path left behind as a sparrow flies by

and birch trees breathing inside the bark.If being different is a bad thing

then I do not want to ever belong to a group that marches along like lemmings might do

in a ragged uniform of their own making.We have the right to be ourselves

to plant flowers in the storm of indifferenceto blow bubbles in the winds of change

and to hold hands and skip in the moonlightif we want.

Absolutely InnocentI think the law says I’m innocent until proven guilty so…

I guess I didn’t leave the car door openso the raven could get inside to build his nest

and I didn’t leave the wet towels on the basement floortrying to determine what that awful smell was.

I guess I didn’t leave the fridge door slightly openso that I could find out once and for all

who turns the light off insideand I didn’t tie my kid sister to the swing set

so I could practice for my Boy Scout outdoor skill badge.I guess I didn’t autograph

the underside of the kitchen cupboardsso that we could all laugh about it in years to come

and I didn’t read my comic books till midnightby the light of dad’s emergency flashlight.

I didn’t blame my older brother unjustlyany time, any where, ever

and I didn’t listen in on the extension phoneas mom ordered my surprise birthday gift through Sears

last week.I didn’t track the mud into the living room

after riding through puddlestesting water displacement properties for science class

and I didn’t paint the target on the side of the barnjust a little bit too close to the window.

I think the law says I’m innocent until proven guilty so…You do believe me right?

RemembranceI can remember when I was young…

you would hold my handas I tried to walk on rubber legs.

I can still hear you screaming out for joywhen I let go, even though I fell afterwards.

I remember the smell of powder being sprinkled onand your nose against my belly blowing bubbles.

I sometimes find my feet magically dancingto a tune that comes, not to my lips, but to my heart…a song about a mockingbird and how I should hush.

I can remember when I was young…people staring at me with a toothless grin

and faces like a mask telling you I was a spiting image.I sometimes find my feet magically walking

In rug worn circles as the clock ticks time for sleep.Now that I’m 10 and all grown up to be myself

will you still scream out for joywhen I take a first step on my own?

Because of how you love meI will always remember to love back.

Will you remember too?

Me PromisesThese are some of the me promises I have made:

I will not be afraid to be myselfonce I find out who I am

When I hear things I don’t quite believeI will patiently wait for the evidence I need

to turn my believer’s light on.If I make mistakes a lot

I promise to uphold my rights to do so.I’ll continue to trust you

with my heart and soul wrapped around each otherunless,

for some reason,you cause me to feel differently.

I will grow at my own rate and speedand I will slow down

when potholes in the road of life threaten to swallow me.When I look in the mirror

I will be best friends with the child staring back at meand I will never doubtthat I am as important

as important can ever be.

Tell Me WhenWhen is it ok to put the book away

and run barefoot in the field you are reading aboutor to drop the broom

and play hockey with the dust balls you are sweeping?When is it ok to stop making the bed

and climb inside the blankets to hide fromimaginary dragons and trolls

or to stop taking the garbage can outand use its lid as a well-brandished shield

in a medieval joust?When is it ok to stop washing the dishes

to test the floating capacitiesof an air tight plastic containeror to simply play a game at all

though there is much work yet to be done?When I am really old

like..let’s say..fiftyI hope that I am a still asking these same questions

right out loud!

I’d Rather NotI’d rather not go to school today…

my pet tarantula has a fever…the sky is way too blue…

and my socks have totally squished my toes into a knot.I’d rather not go to school today…

my homework got eaten by gargoyles…the sun is dangerously bright

and my teacher is trying my patience to the limit.I’d rather not go to school today…

my book bag has dissolved into thin air…the wind is blowing in the wrong direction…

and I haven’t got a single thing to wear!I’d rather not go to school today…

my legs are strawberry jelly…the forecast call for especially wet rain…and my freckles are really, really sore.

I’d rather not go to school today…my throat has a hibernating frog in it…

the clouds are painting pictures that scare me…and I’m afraid you’ll miss me too much when I am gone.

I’d rather not go to school today…but I will because somewhere in the world right now

there’s a kid my age who’d love toand cannot!

My Family TreeMy family tree isn’t growing in my yard

like a typical tree doesit’s growing inside my house.

My parents say we are Canadianbut that we are also from places far away

like England, Scotland, France, Ireland and Poland.In my class at school

the trees are a forest of diversitysome kids come from placesI had never heard of before

like: Antigua, Cameroon, Costa Rica and New Guinea.Where in the world is Polynesia anyway?

Does it snow in Montevideo?Is there a drought in Taipei?

The family trees of my classmatesmake a strange orchard

that water itselfthrough tears of pride

and joy.

Want To, Need To, Have To

I want to be a popular movie star…I need to be the best me I can be…

I have the right to dream.I want to ride a shiny, new, expensive bike…

I need to lock my flea market hand- me –down model every night…I have the right to hope for change to happen.

I want to jump and play all day…I need to share the work-load with others…

I have the right to some time just for me.I want to be an astronaut…

I need to be realisticI have the right to imagine

that no matter how farfetched an idea seemsjust maybe I can make it come true.

I want to swim in a secret seaand ride the waves as a dolphin…

I need to be patient as I grow and learn new things…I have the right to believe that miracles ca

and will happeneven to me!