Poem: Art of the Children

I like this part of the hallway.

Here is the 6^th and 7^th grade art room

And on the outside wall

Near the door

Are little artwork designs drawn from

Those black thin-tipped sharpie markers.

One of them

Reminds me

Of the soft flowing tresses of a willow.

Another has the thick oily swirls

That resemble

Those in Van Go’s paintings.

A third has sharp etchings

Like rain.

Next door is the high-school classroom

Where they hang up still-lifes.

Last marking period it was

Glasses and bottles

With well-done highlights.

This time

It’s staplers and chess pieces,

Preferably knights.

Some of them are drawn with precision

And shaded

But some are the

Contours with warped grids inside

That I hate.

Now there are

More walls down the hallway

With student art.

This bulletin is light-bulb themed.

Here’s a creative timeline

Depicting a sketched bulb

Then cracking

Shattering

Until there are only pieces of glass.

Another has a rainbow

Floral

Design clasped inside.

A third is my favorite:

Five sunshine yellow bulbs

Saying “Light the World”

Held by a grayish human hand.

Even farther,

In the recesses of the school hall

Are paper projects,

Somewhat messy and not that good landscape paintings,

Sketches of jars

Containing pebbles,

Collages of colorful

Elephants,

Zebras,

Butterflies,

Giraffes.

But never

Have they chosen my art to display.