The Tiger
The tiger
He destroyed his cage
Yes
YES
The tiger is out
■
The tiger
He destroyed his cage
Yes
YES
The tiger is out
■
Hello Friends,
Today’s poem-a-day is a Meet Me in 811 first: We are featuring a poem by a 6-year-old.
Several of you may recognize today’s poem from Twitter or Instagram. It’s been enough years that a whole genre of short poems and poem snippets are now designed specifically for these social mediums. But that was not actually the case with today’s poem, which originated in the creative writing program at 826DC and appears in their first anthology You Will Be Able to Say a Thousand Words (2016).
Any of you who knew me in SF know I’m a huge 826 fan! If there’s any number that competes with 811, it might be 826. This non-profit started by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) focuses on free access to writing, tutoring, and publishing for youth 6-18 in under-resourced communities, and each chapter has a storefront theme (The Pirate Supply Store, The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co., Tivoli’s Astounding Magic Supply Co., The New Orleans Haunting Supply Co., Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair, the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute, and so on). I admit, for me, the 826 magic store in DC isn’t quite as magical as the original 826 pirate store in SF — but it did produce this poem, so I think they’re doing good work.
Nael (who was 6 at the time he wrote this poem, but is now 8) manages to say quite a lot with twelve words. What can you say with twelve words? Give it a try!
How is Nael dealing with his viral fame, write-ups and podcasts from famous authors, comparisons to Blake, fan requests to tattoo his poem on their bodies? Read more here.
— Ellen