In order to view this poem with the line breaks the author intended, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in landscape orientation on your phone or tablet.

Jell-O

A kid loves a rhyme
like peanut butter loves jelly.
Like the button loves the belly.

A kid digs alliteration
like a dozer digs dirt,
gets a kick out of consonance

like a ball on a roll downhill.
A kid likes a simile, too,
especially if it sounds like a fart.

It’s grownups who forget
the joy of language arts,
learn fear of poetry.

But kids are no scaredy-cats.
They know verse is as fun
as balancing Jell-O on the tongue.

—
Brook J. Sadler, Ph.D., MFA, is a professor of philosophy. She writes poetry, fiction, essays, and philosophy. Her work can be found in McSweeny’s Internet Tendency, South Writ Large, Philosophical Forum, and Ms. Magazine, among others. When she is not at her desk, she is probably out walking the dog.

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