Despite being so young, a 7-year-old student whose been going to virtual school for the past year wrote a poem about the pandemic we can all relate to.
Everyone has struggled in some way since we started social distancing and most of our tasks moved online in March 2020.
Though we've talked about the struggles of parents suddenly thrown into working from home and taking care of their children full-time... we haven't talked a lot about how the kids are doing.
But one 7-year-old wrote a poem this week about their experiences that all of us can identify with.
A babysitter took a picture and posted it to Twitter, the poem written in a little kid's scrawling hand:
"Boring online school"
"Today is just another day"
"in a long line of days"
"staring at a dumb screen"
"Just booring boring"
"online school that's the"
"only thing that did happen"
"it's the only thing that is"
"happening that's the only"
"thing that will happen"
POV you’re seven https://t.co/T7fNu1pn5Y— Julia🤳 (@Julia🤳) 1612801398.0
All of Twitter was immediately alight with how relatable the poem was.
@McWrinkleDinkle he says "it kind of turned into a poem"— Julia🤳 (@Julia🤳) 1612812096.0
@bugtypepokemon Since I don’t and can’t have children of my own, I’ve always wondered how the young ones have been… https://t.co/9bDNUK1THe— Navi_ (@Navi_) 1612850760.0
@bugtypepokemon *sending immediately to all my grad school classmates and work colleagues* someone has finally capt… https://t.co/cc8VDF1CxI— jay Daves (@jay Daves) 1612850206.0
@bugtypepokemon @silvergelpen "It's the only thing that's happening it's the only thing that will happen" Ooof bud I feel you on that one.— Joe Biden cumtribute band (@Joe Biden cumtribute band) 1612818247.0
@bugtypepokemon Great job writing about his frustration. He is expressing what a lot of others feel too. Just retir… https://t.co/Jk8iTelSVu— Regina Occhiogrosso (@Regina Occhiogrosso) 1612887208.0
Not to mention how good some readers found it.
@jakewinter @bugtypepokemon @buggingmetoday “that’s the only thing that did happen, it’s the only thing that is hap… https://t.co/be1x4bfPke— mikey fucking way (@mikey fucking way) 1612881752.0
@monopSonny @bugtypepokemon i was going to say low key this is a work of art— geena (@geena) 1612851286.0
@monopSonny @bugtypepokemon This Is one of those things you bookmark to later use in character writing— Egginier (@Egginier) 1612885088.0
@monopSonny @bugtypepokemon i was hoping to see something like this… this kid has some skills— 🦇🥀 (@🦇🥀) 1612889321.0
A t-shirt of the poem has already been created, featuring Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen.
All proceeds from the shirt go to the aspiring young writer.
you can now buy this on a shirt thank you @hotgoof 100% of profits go to the little dude, who is very flattered t… https://t.co/ArBDn3y5MR— Julia🤳 (@Julia🤳) 1612894771.0
@bugtypepokemon @hotgoof i teach 7 year olds and i just bought this. thanks !— yente lips (@yente lips) 1612930365.0
@bugtypepokemon @hotgoof I just ordered this because it’s a masterpiece.— Rey Skyliner 🚡 (@Rey Skyliner 🚡) 1612905600.0
Despite the fun, some also expressed concern about the student's well-being and the current state of the education system.
@bugtypepokemon On-line schooling is a waste of everybody's time. It achieves nothing. If they again close schools… https://t.co/3X8tA7cH2x— grandtout (@grandtout) 1612816744.0
@DayGloFreak1 @bugtypepokemon Maybe its not online school thats the problem but school itself. Just being browbeat… https://t.co/xIJb48bquh— CHADINVICTVS (@CHADINVICTVS) 1612822567.0
@bugtypepokemon All work and no play makes jack a very dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy. A… https://t.co/VuXhSRr8UJ— Listening to the Michael Wave (@Listening to the Michael Wave) 1612843471.0
For those who were worried, the babysitter assured the child was fine and we've all had our struggles during an almost-year-long pandemic.
"A lot of you seem very worried about him. I promise he's healthy and very loved, and this is a rough time for everyone."
lol a lot of you seem very worried about him. I️ promise he's healthy and very loved and this is a rough time for e… https://t.co/UBHsYaQVcC— Julia🤳 (@Julia🤳) 1612816074.0
Also, we might have a future writer on our hands.
The babysitter explained:
"It's an assignment for class he wrote and read out loud to be snarky."
"He has a breadth of hobbies and interests and is a brilliant, deliberate, and prolific writer."
lol it's an assignment for class he wrote and read out loud to be snarky. he has a breadth of hobbies and interests… https://t.co/f9OcUkq7xe— Julia🤳 (@Julia🤳) 1612829975.0
Creative writing is such a great vessel for getting our feelings out, and it's clear this student had a lot to say about the past year.
Inevitably, all of our students are feeling as rough as we are, being almost a year into this "new" way of living.
Many people identified with and loved Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb," at the Inauguration, and now the folks on Twitter are loving this poem about the state of the pandemic. It just goes to show that poetry can be accessible to everyone, big with feeling, and good.