Janitors Are The Best
By: Allegra Calabrigo Smith
I wrote a poem last night,
I thought it was pretty tight,
Took it to my teacher, She said,
"It just doesn't look so right."
Admittedly it didn't rhyme so good.
But I'm not so sure, who said it should.
And I suppose it's also true,
My spelling could've been better...
And it seems that here and there,
I kinda left out a letter.
I also tried alliteration,
But that came with complications.
And then there's the part about the grammar,
The correct way to use a word.
I've just never been so good at knowing, the difference,
Between an adjective and a verb.
When to capitalize is important, too, I guess,
Whether it's upper or lower case.
She said that not knowing this, was kind of a disgrace.
She added that style is important, too,
And so is punctuation.
The right symbol, and symbolism, for every situation.
Finally, she said the truth, that she must confess.
This poem I wrote last night -was really quite a mess.
I thanked her for her insight
And then after class ...
I wadded up my poem -
And threw it in the trash.
Well as you can see
This poems not at end.
There's a verse or two left to my story.
There's someone's honor - there's some glory
On the day that followed
When I opened up my desk, with typical dread, stuck in the ridges in my head.
There was my poem on pressed paper
With a note from the janitor that read:
"Mister Kilmer, This musta been tossed away in error...
I put it in your desk for you to decide.
I liked your poem when I read it.
Made me feel warm and good inside.
Especially this part about the tiny bumblebee,
and you should know that this poem, well to me, is as lovely as lovely a poem can be."
