The best day of my life would make me cry.
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My cousin, Ivan, really helped me when I was five. My dad got really sick, and with my mom always at the hospital with him, Ivan took care of me, and I really looked up to him. Last year, he died in combat. He in combat for four years, and in his last year, he was shot.
If I saw him again, I would start crying and just run into his arms, telling him to never leave again. It would be in the mall, and he’d have a beard and long hair, and man, that would seriously be the best day of my life.
—Orlando from Ojeda Middle School
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My Name is Bob
I live in a small house. I get paid a fortune for playing the piano. I am in a band with my friends. I have about three-hundred-fifty friends, but only thirteen of them are in my band. When I have enough money, I will buy a house with thirty rooms. But I am not the most famous player. I wish I was.
It is really fun playing the piano. I really admire Beethoven. He is really awesome. Sometimes, but only sometimes, I lie. Usually, it’s when I want my brother’s money.
—Nathan, from Blake Manor Elementary
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Happy
I am happy because I am wearing blue jeans. I am happy that China is on earth.
I am happy because we have water.
My sister has hair like the sun.
Do you feel happy because of the sky?
—Brandon from Creedmor Elementary
Read more poetry by kids in this series.
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—Photo credit: The U.S. Army/Flickr
Something I really love about Nathan’s piece is, I mean it’s impossible not to love this line: “Sometimes, but only sometimes, I lie.” It calls into question everything he’s already written. It’s honest and funny and seems to come out of nowhere with a sense of urgency.
One thing that kind of devastated me about Orlando’s piece about his cousin is that tiny mention of the beard. Orlando’s grief is huge. But when he thinks about Ivan, when he sees him in a future that can’t exist, Ivan has a beard. There’s something about that detail that makes my heart hurt.