I’m Just a Child

  By Yvonne Terry                           

Stayed up late last night to watch a show

Walked to school in a few inches of snow

Fell asleep in class

Teacher called on me

I didn’t know the answer

So I got mad

I thought to myself I just a child!

I stormed over to the other side of the room

Teacher said come back girl and sit in that chair

She said she was going to call my mother

But I didn’t care, cause I didn’t think none of this stuff was fair

I thought to myself I’m just a child!

I told the teacher that I was tired, hungry and sleepy too

She said I stayed up too late watching the show

She said breakfast was over when I came to school

But that was no reason for me to be in class acting a like a fool

I thought and I thought about what the teacher said for a while

Then I thought to myself I’m just a child

Mama was mad about what the teacher said

She gave me some food and put me straight to bed

I dreamed a good dream that very night

I was a fairy tale princess in a big old house

Mama was there in a pretty gown

Baby brother and sister had a room full to toys

Carriages and dolls and things for boys

I woke from that dream and things were the same

Mama had to work really hard to take care of us

I had to help Mama with sister and brother

Even if it meant I was like a little mother

I thought to myself if I go to school

And remember what the teacher said about acting a fool

I’ll have a much, much better day at school

And Teacher will remember I’m just a child!

Had another dream last night

The Lord God sent an Angel to talk to me

The angel said I was special and precious in God’s sight

Angel said God knows Mama, me and brother and sister

Imagine that little old me a part of God’s plan

Immediately I held up my head and stuck out my chest

Suddenly I felt as if I could pass any test

I finally realized I’m not just a child

I’m a wonderful and precious Child of the King!

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Back To School! But What about the Children

                                   —A Poem for Children

 By Yvonne Terry

It’s that time gain, excitement is in the air

Children have new clothes and all new school supplies

They looking to meet new friends and see the old ones too

Most are hopeful; those that seem scared to death are few

Children want to please the teacher, to get the answer right

They squirm in their sits, ball up paper and make strange noises

You see there is anxiety in being a child

In a world concerned with test scores instead of boys and girls

With teachers so stressed that they forget to smile

Yes there is some anxiety in being a child

Some say by fourth grade our boys are turned off to education

Our boys are smart, some are even brilliant

There’s something we adults do to get them off course

When they are turned off to reading, no way we’re the source

There must be something wrong with these “bad boys” of course

Their pants come down too low, and their shirts are too big

These boys are so tuff, don’t you see that scarf on their head

The girls do a little better in elementary school

But by middle school adults say they too act like fools

Some say it takes a village to raise one child

Well, the village has turned their backs on our children

We lock them up for riding dirt bikes

We charge them with assault for what used to be called a fight

Well, what can we do to make this school year different?

We were all children at one time or another

Would hurt any of us to reach out to our sisters and brothers?

Buy a book for a niece, nephew, cousin or friends’ child

Visit a school and volunteer, I promise the children won’t bite

Children are our future; we all are quick to say

But then many go and do their own thing in the course of a day

These are difficult times for teachers and students alike

Make this year different join in the fight, for our children

Ask yourself, “What about the Children?”

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