Friday, July 24, 2015

TOO LITTLE!: An Original Poem


I have been away from posting at Wild Rose Reader for FAR TOO LONG! I made the decision recently to give up writing for legal/political blogs and to concentrate once again on writing poetry for children. I thought I'd post one of the poems that I had written in recent months for Poetry Friday this week. It touches on the frustrated feeling young children often get when they are told by parents, other adults, and older siblings that they are TOO LITTLE to do so many of the things that they would really love to do.



TOO LITTLE!
by Elaine Magliaro

THEY say
I’m TOO LITTLE for this…
I’m TOO LITTLE for that.
I’m too little to do SO MANY things.
DRAT!
I wish I were big like my sister and brother.
I wish I were big like my father and mother.
I wish I were BIG—as be as can be…
Like the giant blue whale who lives in the sea.
There wouldn’t be ANYTHING bigger than me!
Then I’d shout and I’d spout, “Make way, make way!
I’m going to go where I want today.
I’m going to do what I want to do.
And you can’t say no ’cause I’m bigger than you!”

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Margaret has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Reflections on the Teche.


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21 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2015 at 12:48 PM

    Oh, I like it! That will become some child's favorite poem. And I enjoy your poetry, glad we'll be seeing more of it.

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  2. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 1:01 PM

    Thanks, Monica! I hope that I can keep my creative juices flowing while caring for my two young granddaughters.

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  3. LindaJuly 24, 2015 at 2:40 PM

    It's so great to see you posting your poems again, Elaine. Congratulations on the birth of your second granddaughter and on your forthcoming poetry collection! What an exciting time!

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  4. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 3:24 PM

    Linda,

    Thanks for stopping by. It's great to be back really focusing on writing poetry for children again. I have also missed my Poetry Friday/kidlitosphere friends.

    FYI: I just finished polishing off one of my manuscripts a few minutes ago. It's a seasonal collection of mask poems written in the voices of both plants/trees and animals.

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  5. CatherineJuly 24, 2015 at 3:46 PM

    Glad to see you again, Elaine. I've missed your poetry posts! This is adorable, and captures perfectly the frustrations little ones feel when they are "TOO LITTLE!" Congratulations on your upcoming book!

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  6. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 4:21 PM

    Catherine,

    I got the idea for this poem from a mask poem that I had written years ago about a blue whale boasting about his size.

    I can't wait to see my first poetry collection in print. it has been five years in the making! I sold the manuscript in 2015. It took a while to find an illustrator--but I'm glad my editor spent so much time looking for the right artist. I LOVE the illustrations that Catia Chien did for my book

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  7. laurasalasJuly 24, 2015 at 4:43 PM

    Welcome back, Elaine. I have missed you and your work! When does your book come out? And I thought you sold it a couple of years ago? Was it *really* just this year?

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  8. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 5:54 PM

    Laura,

    Oops! That was a typo. I sold my manuscript in 2011. I'll have to edit that comment.

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  9. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 5:57 PM

    I guess I can't edit comments on Blogger. I could on Wordpress.

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  10. Linda BJuly 24, 2015 at 7:41 PM

    It's wonderful to see you posting and sharing again Elaine. I still have some of your mask poems in my files and have shared them with students often. Congratulations on your book coming out!

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  11. Elaine MagliaroJuly 24, 2015 at 8:06 PM

    Linda,

    I LOVE writing mask poems! My second grade students wrote some excellent ones themselves. I still have all the anthologies of their original poems that I compiled over the years.

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  12. Mary LeeJuly 25, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    Welcome back, Elaine! I've missed your voice here! You are my mentor for writing mask poems!!

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  13. Elaine MagliaroJuly 25, 2015 at 9:39 AM

    Mary Lee,

    Thanks! it's good to be back. I have missed being a part of Poetry Fridays--as well as connecting with my "cyber" friends who are advocates for poetry and children's literature.

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  14. DoraineJuly 25, 2015 at 11:04 AM

    Welcome back, Elaine. You've done such a great job capturing this frustrated voice!

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  15. Elaine MagliaroJuly 25, 2015 at 11:25 AM

    Doraine,

    Thanks! It's so good to be back--and to know that I haven't been forgotten.

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  16. Margaret SimonJuly 25, 2015 at 4:41 PM

    This poem expresses that too little frustration in more than just words. Your use of capitals creates the mood. Welcome back to PF. I look forward to more fun poems from you.

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  17. Elaine MagliaroJuly 25, 2015 at 7:02 PM

    Margaret,

    I guess I felt that frustration myself when I was a child because I was the younger sister--by four years.

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  18. Irene LathamJuly 26, 2015 at 7:02 AM

    I'm sitting here trying to remember a time when I was told I was "too little" -- I'm sure there were times as I am a middle child, but I'll need to think on it a little longer. :) Thank you for sharing your poem!

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  19. Elaine MagliaroJuly 26, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    Irene,

    I can remember times years ago when I was told that I was too thin. Ah, if only I could return to those days once again.

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  20. Charles WatersJuly 31, 2015 at 4:07 PM

    Welcome back, Elaine! I missed your blog posts and your poems. Big fan.

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  21. Elaine MagliaroAugust 1, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    Thanks, Charles! I have certainly missed connecting with my friends in the kidlitosphere--especially on Poetry Fridays.

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