Just Me
Nobody sees what I can see,
For back of my eyes there is only me.
And nobody knows how my thoughts begin,
For there's only myself inside my skin.
Isn't it strange how everyone owns
Just enough skin to cover their bones?
My father's would be too big to fit-
I'd be all wrinkled inside of it.
And my baby brother's is much too small-
It just wouldn't cover me up at all.
But I feel just right in the skin I wear,
And there's nobody like me anywhere.
-Margaret Hillert
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. Selected by Prelutsky, Jack. 1983
What a cute poem! This is so good for children who are at that akward stage of trying to figure out who they are. I know when I was little I wanted to be "grown up" so bad. I would have really liked to have read this poem to find a perspective on being happy with who I was. This poem is written in an AABB format and is easy to follow. It has a flow of rhythm that makes it easy to read aloud. I think it is fun to imagine a child in their father's skin, kind of like a huge sweater that would swallow him whole. And the baby brother's skin, that would be like a shirt that is way too small. What great imagery for children. The imagery in this poem stands out more to me than the sound or the form, even though the flow in the rhythm and rhyme makes it fun and appealing to read.