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Poetry Recitation: Judith Viorst

This poem imagines what the speaker would do if they were in charge of the world. Some ideas include canceling things they don't like like oatmeal and Monday mornings, making changes like lowering basketball hoops and brighter street lights, and allowing more freedoms like no bedtimes or rules against hitting siblings. Overall it suggests the speaker would run the world in a more relaxed and enjoyable way if they were in charge.

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363 views6 pages

Poetry Recitation: Judith Viorst

This poem imagines what the speaker would do if they were in charge of the world. Some ideas include canceling things they don't like like oatmeal and Monday mornings, making changes like lowering basketball hoops and brighter street lights, and allowing more freedoms like no bedtimes or rules against hitting siblings. Overall it suggests the speaker would run the world in a more relaxed and enjoyable way if they were in charge.

Uploaded by

aishah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Poetry recitation

1. If I Were In Charge of the World


 Judith Viorst
 If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.

If I were in charge of the world


There'd be brighter nights lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world


You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world


A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.
1. I am me
Everybody has two eyes
Bright as stars they shine
But their color may not be
Just the same as mine.

Brown or blue, gray or green


What difference does it make?
As long as you can see the sun
Shining when you wake

Some folks' hair is very black


Some have blonde or brown
Whatever color it may be
It's a pretty crown

Flowers have so many shades


And I'm sure you know
Many lovely gardens
Where such flowers grow

Children in this great big world


Are flowers in a way
Some are light, some are dark
Like a real bouquet

Did you ever stop to think


How awful it would be
If everybody looked the same
Who would know you from me?
2. I like to listen to…
I like to listen to sounds that I know,
They're all around me, wherever I go.
Some sounds are soft as a passing cloud,
But a jet taking off is a sound that is loud.
 
There are little sounds I like to hear.
The tick of a watch when it's very near.
A crackling fire, and pattering rain,
Or tree branches tapping a windowpane.
 
There are danger sounds that warn me away
The police officer's whistle that I obey.
A siren's wail, a warning shout,
The honking car that says, "Look out!"
 
There are great big sounds that make me feel grand,
The proud, rich beat of a marching band.
And ocean waves crashing on rocky shores,
Or a thunderstorm, when I'm safe indoors.
 
Some sounds can scare me, like a growling dog,
Or a screeching cat, or a grunting hog.
Other sounds are sad, like a cry of pain,
But I listen for happy ones, and I'm glad again.
3. My shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,


And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest things about him is the way he likes to grow-


Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,


And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,


I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

— Robert Louis Stevenson


4. If I were a king
I often wish I were a King,
And then I could do anything.

If only I were King of Spain,


I'd take my hat off in the rain.

If only I were King of France,


I wouldn't brush my hair for aunts.

I think, if I were King of Greece,


I'd push things off the mantelpiece.

If I were King of Norroway,


I'd ask an elephant to stay.

If I were King of Babylon,


I'd leave my button gloves undone.

If I were King of Timbuctoo,


I'd think of lovely things to do.

If I were King of anything,


I'd tell the soldiers, "I'm the King!"

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