幼稚園
a red backpack
bigger than you
一年生
gap-toothed smile
and mismatched socks
二年生
an uncaged bird
on wheels, not wings
三級
knowing the ropes
brother in tow
四年生
torn shirt and
wounded heart
五年生
solid as a tree
with deep roots
幼稚園
a red backpack
bigger than you
一年生
gap-toothed smile
and mismatched socks
二年生
an uncaged bird
on wheels, not wings
三級
knowing the ropes
brother in tow
四年生
torn shirt and
wounded heart
五年生
solid as a tree
with deep roots
Christine Hanolsy 
Oh I love this! I love the creativity of using two languages to depict different scenes about children
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This initials seems so simplistic, but it is really quite beautiful and left me with an opportunity to explore it several times and create meaning as a reader, a practice I thoroughly enjoy. This is also visually beautiful too.
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I love what the kanji (is that the right term?) does to the English bits here. It formalized the snapshots of children for me and suggested a simplistic form like haiku with deeper meanings underneath, which is exactly what I think you intended.
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🙂 That *is* what I intended.
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Such clear pictures in so few words. I loved “an uncaged bird on wheels, not wings.” I didn’t realize it was about a kid until I read the tags (I thought it was a teenager at first), but then I read it again and it made total sense. The piece “knowing the ropes, brother in tow” stuck out for me because it was less visual than the others, but it didn’t detract from the poem as a whole.
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