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Children wonder about everything, and this spring 96 of them wrote to tell us what. Where the birds go, whether fish sleep, why the moon comes out in the daytime, what is on the other side of space, how many stairs there are in the Empire State Building (somebody's grandmother, please tell that young man to look it up at the library and then come back and write a poem about counting them). We kept no honorable mentions this time because the six below stood so clearly apart, and we didn't want to pretend otherwise.
Ages 6 to 8
FIRST PLACE
Where Do the Birds Go When It Rains
When it rains
the birds go somewhere.
I looked in the bushes.
I looked under the slide.
I did not find
one bird.
They must have a house
we don't know about
with a TV.
George, age 8, Oregon
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SECOND PLACE
Wondering
Do fish sleep?
Do worms have a mom?
Why is the moon
out in the day
sometimes
when it is not
its turn?
Leslie, age 6, Illinois
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THIRD PLACE
My Dog
I wonder what my dog thinks
when I go to school.
I think he thinks
I am never coming back.
Because when I come back
he acts like
it is the best day
of his life.
Every day.
Adam, age 8, North Carolina
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From the judges:
George did what scientists do. He had a question, he went and looked, and when he didn't find the answer he came up with a theory. The TV is what won it. Leslie's poem is three questions, and Mary, who taught second grade for thirty-one years, says that is exactly how a six-year-old thinks: one wonder leads straight into the next. We love that the moon has a turn. Adam, your dog is right. It is the best day of his life, every day. (Leslie, fish do rest, though most of them can't close their eyes. You can look that up at your library. Ask for the children's librarian. We love that question.)
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Ages 9 to 12
FIRST PLACE
Before
I wonder what my mother was like
before she was my mother.
There is a picture of her at fourteen
on a bike, laughing at somebody
I will never know.
Her hair is long. She doesn't look
like anybody who would ever say
"because I said so."
I wonder if she wondered
what I would be like.
I wonder if I'm it.
Lisa, age 12, Montana
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SECOND PLACE
Space
If space goes on forever
then where does it stop?
And if it does stop
what is on the other side?
A wall?
Then what is on the other side
of the wall?
My teacher said that is a good question.
That is what teachers say
when they don't know.
Thomas, age 10, New Mexico
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THIRD PLACE
The Man at the Bus Stop
Every morning there's a man at the bus stop
by the bakery, with a newspaper.
He never gets on a bus.
I have watched for three months.
Buses come. Buses go.
He turns a page.
Maybe he is waiting for one bus
that only comes once a year.
Maybe he just likes the bench.
I'm going to ask him.
Not yet.
Robert, age 11, Pennsylvania
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From the judges:
Lisa's poem made all three of us call our mothers, or wish we could. "I wonder if I'm it" is as fine a last line as any grown-up poet could hope to write, and Roy, who doesn't hand out compliments lightly, said so twice. Thomas, your teacher was right, it is a good question, and you are right about teachers too. Roy taught for twenty-eight years and admits it. Robert's poem is a mystery story in eleven lines, and we would all like to know what happens. If you do ask him, please write us a poem about it.
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