Imagination - Kid's don't need much to make them happy. Not at first, anyway.

I wrote this double-ending poem as a look into the creativity of little children and how that creativity dissolves very quickly in our culture of "stuff". I grew up playing Cowboys and Indians, but my grandchildren grew up with video games and computers with high speed internet.

Imagination (Two Poems in One)

There was a boy without a toy,
Folks thought he couldn't play,
But he could run with arms outstretched,
And be a jet all day.

And he could close his eyes and see
The ocean or the stars,
And he could soar through outer space
To Jupiter and Mars.

And he could climb up in a tree
And be the jungle king,
Or turn a stick into a sword
And battle anything.

And he could turn a battered broom
Into his trusty steed,
And overtake the bad guys
With unmatched blinding speed.

The little boy without a toy
Could have such fun alone,
He seldom even thought about
The things he didn't own.

(The storybook ending......)

The lesson that this verse conveys
Is really quite profound,
A child's imagination beats
The greatest toys around.


(The more realistic ending......)

Then he made his first real friend,
They soon became as one,
And less imagination was
Required to have fun.

His friend had many toys at home,
And there it was they'd play,
Erector Sets and building blocks
Helped pass the time away.

Lincoln Logs and G.I. Joes
And cars that raced on tracks,
Electric trains and Tonka Trucks
Amused them to the max.

And so it all continued 'til
They had a spat one day,
The little boy without a toy
Went home alone to play.

And he had trees and sticks and brooms
Just like he had before,
But they seemed unappealing now
And entertained no more.

The hardest lesson of his life
Was sadly realized,
It coldly pierced his child's heart
As tears filled up his eyes.

A child's imagination was his
Greatest gift at birth,
But not until he lost it
Could he understand its worth.
Steven Pein
March 1993
Copyright 1994
.