The Artist

A funny poem about being an artist in art class at school. 

From drawing blue bananas,

My marker has gone dry.

I'll use my mouth to moisten it

and give another try.

My marker's working better now.

And wow, I love the taste.

It's surprisingly more flavorful

than crayons, chalk, or paste!

Katie starts to giggle,

so I ask, "What's wrong with you?"

She points at me, then laughs and says,

"Your tongue is colored blue!"

My tongue is blue! How cool is that?

I'm artsy and it shows.

I grab a green, and open it,

then color on my nose.

Then with purple, pink, and gray,

orange, brown, and red,

I color ears and eyes and teeth,

I'm Mr. Rainbow Head!

The teacher looks and throws a fit:

"Why can't you just be good?"

It's hard to be an artist

when you're so misunderstood.

 Visit robertpottle.com for permission to use this funny poem .

The Artist  has always been a special poem for me. It is one of my earlier poems and one of the first poems that I wrote that I knew I had a good poem after I finished.
 
I really don't like to use the word finished, because I never consider my poems finished. I am always learning things as a poet. Every day that I learn or improve as a poet is a day that I can go back and rewrite an old poem to make it better.

In fact this poem, The Artist, has just recently gone through a revision. If you find another version of this poem in a children's book, you can compare it to find some changes.

If I have performed this poem at your school during an author visit, you have heard yet another version. Often times I make small changes in the poems that I perform from their printed version. Some techniques work better in print, while others work better when spoken. I adjust the poem to best fit how it is being shared. 

I like this poem for a few reasons.

1. It has multiple laugh lines. This is rare in poems. Many funny poems for kids have a single line that makes you laugh, usually the last line. This poem has a few lines the bring laughter.
2. It addresses a conflict I always suffered as a teacher. How to balance allowing the children to be expressive and true to themselves  with the need for classroom control. To be honest, I usually was a meanie and erred on the side of classroom control.
3. People send me pictures of their kids covered in marker, or paint, or glue. This is a poem poeple relate to.

I have another version of this poem over at the web site Top Scrapbook Ideas . It is a poem that lends itself well to scrapbooking. If you are a member here, leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this poem.