Unplug the Children

Summer days
watch clouds
running to nowhere
hop scotching driveways 
rubbing grass stained hands
cool water hitting bare skin
from backyard sprinklers

Autumn swishes
through piles of leaves
to be pressed in books
taking in smoky smells
of fires unknown
skipping down lanes
just because

Winter weather
dares red mittens to
grip sleds
catching snowflakes
on tongues while
skating across 
frozen ponds

Spring teaches
baby bird lessons,
mud puddle jumping
throwing coats aside
to twirl and feel the
breeze turning back
into summer

                   -Joan Ramseyer

Analyzing poetry:  My eleven year old granddaughter read this poem and I asked her what she thought the title had to do with the poem.  Her idea was that the poem explains what children do and adults need to unplug that inner child.  It was not what I meant when I wrote it, but her interpretation is another layer and so good.  Her analysis reveals that poems can be read on many different levels.  We bring our own experiences to poetry and that is what makes a poem sing to us.