Like almost all of my poetry for children, each poem is written from a child’s point of view —-the point of view of the child it came from. If it was a grandson, or another boy, you’ll find the poem is written from a little boy’s perspective. The same is true if it came from a little girl.
Here’s a poem written from a boy’s point of view, my Grandson, Will. When he was growing up, his dad was a Marine sniper and often away for deployments. It was devastating for Will. He missed his daddy. I wrote this for him and framed it for his bedroom wall.
Daddy's Boots
Daddy left his boots for me
and here I have to stay,
'cause daddy is a soldier,
I'm in charge while he's away.
In daddy's boots I can pretend
that now I am the man,
who does the things that daddy does
as only daddy can.
I help with little brother,
I help with folding clothes,
I help to set the table,
and I hope daddy knows
that every day I wear his boots
so I'll feel close to him
and I try to keep mom happy
till he comes home again.
I know that he's protecting us,
that's what soldiers do,
but his boots are WAY too big for me,
and my job, being him, is too!
Oh, when is daddy coming home?
I miss him all the time!
Mom said daddy's proud of me,
and his boots ... fit me just fine.
I love children and I love being with them. I also love writing for and about them. They keep my inner child alive and alert, but then I have the worst time keeping her out of trouble. She doesn’t care how old this outer body is, she pulled a Peter Pan years ago and never grew up.
The thing is … she still expects me to act her age.