Two Perfect Poems by a Third-Grader Named Darius

I taught my first college class yesterday, and it made me think about all the times I’ve ended up teaching almost accidentally, like when I stumbled into an amazing gig doing weekly creative-writing workshops for third-graders, through Writers in the Schools in Houston. One of my students, Darius, was super quiet, and he consistently turned out these lovely, clear, absurdist poems. Here are two of my favorites: this first one was prompted by the green colors in the Cy Twombly painting to the right.

The Strangest of Them All

There I lay, strangest
of them all. I don’t
have anything, not even a
little ball. Oh, I forget, my name is
Caesar. I’m the strangest
alligator. When people are
talking I don’t mind but
when they leave me out
for a party, that is unfine.
They overlook me
because I’m small. But
what when we leave, out
the door, they slam my
face and now it’s
sore. There’s nothing
anymore.

Football Game

The smallest
player ran
a touchdown.
The unruly
coach laughed.
When he looked
up he was in
the back of a
police car. He screamed,
“I’m 60 years old. I’m too
young to go to jail.”