Just finished my first poem in quite some time. I started writing this story for really any kid who sometimes feels invisible, but it kind of evolved into one mostly for kids who feel invisible and also act out in order to get the attention they so want.
And it’s also for people working with these kids (i.e., teachers) to help them understand that many of these kids just want to know that someone cares, even if it means punishing them. So with that, I present version 1 of The Invisible Boy. Let me know your thoughts!
The Invisible Boy
The invisible boy sat alone on his bed.
His hands disappeared, then his arms, then his head.
“No one can see me,” he thought to himself,
”Like a toy that is hiding up high on a shelf.”
Nobody talked to him, asked him his name,
Or welcomed him into their party or game.
He sometimes got angry, his hands in a fist,
“They think I’m not there, that I do not exist!”
But then he remembered, when no one can see,
You can do almost anything, climb up a tree,
Then jump off a limb in a somersault fall
And nobody yells at you, no one at all.
He could paint on the walls and then act like a clown,
Stand on his bed and then jump up and down.
He could just run away, far away from his home,
And travel to Paris and London and Rome.
For trouble can’t come when no one aware,
No one would see him and no one would care.
So he packed up his bag, this invisible boy,
With his books and his hat and his most favorite toy.
And he walked out the door, past his mom and his dad,
Past his brother and sister, and no one was mad.
He continued along, past his school and his church,
He could leave for a week and not one soul would search.
The invisible boy took a last look around,
Then he hopped on a bus on its way out of town.
“Ian, I see you! Get off of that bus!”
Yelled a man to the boy, “We have much to discuss!
Your paper was late and you keep missing class,
With test scores like yours you’ll be lucky to pass!
You have so much potential, you make me so mad!”
His teacher was angry and Ian was glad.
So he laughed and he grinned while his teacher just glared,
For somebody saw him and somebody cared.
So he hopped off the bus, this now visible boy,
And their walk back to school filled up Ian with joy.