In READ's Poetry issue, we asked you to write a few birthday poems using the first line from Billy Collins' poem, On Turning Ten. Here are just a few that we received.
10
-Esther Yan
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like recovering from the flu.
Like playing outside on a summer day,
splashing through water on too-hot weekends,
sitting beside the fire on a chilly-cold night.
It makes me feel all giddy and fickle,
like seeds growing toward the earth's warm sun,
shopping at the mall with 10,000 dollars.
If I could choose between heaven and this, well
well, I would choose this.
I want to know why others don't feel
like me? and what is their reason?
For all I know about turning ten
is balloons, and parties, and cake, and
candles, and friends, and sleepovers, and
Turning ten means DOUBLE-DIGITS!
I love to feel much older,
'cuz grown-ups listen to you more,
little kids think you're cooler,
and people say I am better.
It gets me a year closer to going to middle school.
Oh boy, oh boy! I can't wait!
But then
I go down,
down,
down
down the stairway of life,
and I ask God,
"Well... what are you waiting for? When's my 11th birthday?"
--------------
Thoughts on Turning Ten
- Vivek Shankar, Grade 6
The whole idea of it makes me feel,
A little uncertain and strange,
As my birthday draws closer,
I close my eyes and whisper.
“Who am I? Who am I?
Ten years have passed so quickly,
I don’t understand,
The silent, ceaseless nature of time.
More is expected of me,
Than ever before,
Shocked am I,
As the day passes on.
I look back to remember,
The meandering course of life,
The times of happiness,
And the times of sadness.
Each memory plays a part,
In the twisting life of a human,
I look back and wonder,
What is there to live for?
I am a speck,
In the vast painting of life,
Looking back to remember,
The decade that has passed.
Who knows? I say,
But what I know,
Is to work your way through hardships,
And enjoy the pleasure of life.
--------------
Turning Twelve
-by Joseph Farhat, of the International Baccalaureate Baker Middle School
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm about to explode
in a happy little fireworks display,
for that turning older
is the best thing
you can feel in your lifetime
Twelve might not be as great,
as your other birthdays you remember.
The day you turned one,
the fifth celebration of your life,
the great double digits of ten,
your sweet sixteen,
your fun twenty-one,
and any other birthdays you favor.
But I will not forget,
my twelfth birthday,
for to me it was very important,
because there at the big one two,
I felt I could do anything
If i could put my mind
to the task
Now as life slowly passes,
right before my eyes,
I reflect on my favorite B-day,
my wonderful twelfth.
Now as my poem comes to a close,
I want you to think,
about your wonderful birthdays,
and compare it to
your twelfth.
