First Grader

inspired by the class I subbed in today

I am a child of wonder and delight

Everything's always "Why?"
I hear a joke and giggle wildly
Then tell it back to you a thousand times
I'm awed by the beauty of a caterpillar
I am a child of wonder and delight
 
I pretend I'm a princess, a fireman, a doctor
But I still want to shoot you with silly string
I feel pain when I fall off my bike
But a kiss and a hug heal anything
Bandaids and stickers are interchangeable
For I am still a child of wonder and delight
 
I try to dance along with Bill Bojangles on the P-board
I read my favorite book until it's memorized
I say, "They live underground for seventy miles an hour,"
Laughing with you because I'm funny without understanding why
I sing "Frere Jacques" with nonsense lyrics I make up on the spot
I am a child of wonder and delight


I understand trust in a way my parents have forgotten:
I have absolute faith that "It'll be okay."
I dream of the days when I'm all grown up,
Not realizing the value of today:
Today, when I still laugh and play
A child of wonder and delight