I recently came across some poetry written by a class of second-graders. You’ll find a handful of the poems below. But, more important, you’ll find my feedback on each poem. You’ll agree: these little kids are just plain adorable, but it stops there. Poets they are not. You should’ve seen their faces when I told them that!

Anyway, enjoy, and happy National Poetry Month!

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What’s Inside The Briefcase?

What’s inside the briefcase?

Could it be a mouse?

What’s inside the briefcase?

Could it be a house?

What’s inside the briefcase?

Could it be a box?

What’s inside the briefcase?

Could it be a fox?

What’s inside the briefcase?

Guess we’ll never know.

What’s inside the briefcase?

Could it be my toe?

This poem is cute on so many levels. Unfortunately, all of the levels are named ‘Hack.’

First of all, what’s going on in this poem? That’s a good question. But a better question might be, What’s not going on in this poem? And still even better would be to ignore this poem altogether.

Let’s look at the line “What’s inside the briefcase?” Obviously, this question is rhetorical. It’s impossible for the reader to actually guess what’s inside the briefcase. The author himself can’t even figure it out. He keeps asking the question, but he’s getting nowhere. Do you want to go nowhere? No, of course you don’t. I think it’s clear that the most telling line is “Guess we’ll never know.” It’s the only line in the poem that doesn’t have a question mark, perhaps indicating the author lacks self-esteem. ( Read more )