Right now,
The whole world is “Mr. Yuk.”
The little children know to stay away
When they see the stickers and
the signs.
The big people don’t see them though,
But that’s because they close
Their own eyes… you know.
They don’t want to see the
Warnings and poisons of war.
How it kills our children,
Our people, and earth.
They have “reasons” for fighting
Anyplace, Anywhere.
They have “reasons” for killing in
Bosnia, Iraq, Zaire.
They fight about God
And how people pray.
They fight about fighting…
They just fight and fight
And fight, Everyday.
There is anger in families
And even in schools.
People don’t want to follow
The laws and the rules…
Unless they made them or like them.
But that is not right.
That just isn’t right.
That thinking just poisons
Respect and responsibility
and life.
Poisoned thoughts
Turn into poisoned actions,
Which causes the war and fight.
And so,
Even though we should see
The warning signs Everywhere,
We don’t look with our hearts,
And the whole world is “Mr. Yuk.”
-Mattie J.T. Stepanek March 1998
For Mr. Thompson
The people who like poetry are special.
They are the same people who hear
Lullabies and wind chimes
When the birds are noisy together.
They are the ones who see
Star-gifts in every season-
Tree-stars in the fall,
Snow-stars in the winter,
Dandelion-fairy-stars in the spring, and
Lightning-bug-stars in the summer.
They are the ones who have
Favorite colors that are wonderful gifts
Like sunset or rainbow or treasure.
They are the ones who have
Songs in their hearts and
Words in their minds that
Come together and slip out
Into the air or onto paper as a gift
To someone else, or even themselves.
The people who like poetry are probably
The ones who really like life,
And who know how to celebrate
Even when things are sad or happy.
We remember that sometimes,
Even if we don’t understand why,
That the rain falls for a reason.
We remember how important it is
To play after a storm, just because
We need to keep playing and living.
And, we are the people who remember
To say thank you to God for our gifts.
-Mattie J.T. Stepanek May 1996