I feel old when I can’t run super-duper fast cuz I’m tired

I’m always tired cuz I have to wake up so early for school

I feel new when I’m at a new school

I’m so shy until school gets out

I feel old when my problems are like only having one birthday a year

I wish you could have 3 million birthdays a year

I feel new when everybody knocks on my door to see me

I feel old when I’m at the same school for 3 years

I feel new when I meet celebrities like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, and Jennifer Lopez when I sneak into Hollywood

To be new is impossible when my brothers punch me

To be new is possible when I can erase everyone’s mind

And I can win something like be president

When I’m president I will put Donald Trump in a straightjacket and send him to Mars and make him explode

Then I’d give all the kids and moms a $30 discount to any store

I’d be the best president

 

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This poem is published in The World in Me, a compilation of original poetry written by young people ages 8 – 17 who stayed with their families in housing at Solid Ground’s Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing for women and children. The young authors who contributed to The World in Me are not identified by their real names, and some details have been changed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of them and their families. The authors retain copyrights on their individual works.