4/12-by kids-

There are lots of great poetry sites for kids. When I was young (and the Internet was too) we had a writing contest. The winners' books were "bound" (spiral bound, as I remember) and were invited to attend a writing workshop where you could share and learn more. I wrote a book of poetry one year and won. I was soooo happy. I'm sure my mom kept it somewhere, I just have no idea where it went.

I illustrated it to, which would make it worth finding. Anyway, here's a great poem written by a (presumably) British girl:

I Was Going To Write A Poem Today by Maria English (aged 12)

I was going to write a poem today
But I'm afraid to say I can't.
My mind's as empty as a barrel
And every time the faintest trace of an idea appears in my head
It glides like a fish
And slips and slides its way out of my mind
Before I can grab it.

I'm tired of thinking
All through the day
And my brain has gone to bed
He's curled up in a bundle
Cosy, inside my head.

My intellect has gone a-wandering
Over the wide, blue sea of knowledge
And she's taken my memory as a boat
Sailing over the endless horizon
Bobbing up and down
On the waves.

I was going to write a poem today
But I'm afraid to say I can't.
My tap of words has run dry
And a greedy drought
Has soaked up my pool of thoughts

http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm