When You Grow Up Poem by Jim Yerman

The teacher stood in front of the class,
"I give this same assignment every year! "
"Please write what you want to be when you grow up...
and remember:
there's no wrong answer here."

The answers were predictable
doctor, fireman, astronaut...
Super hero, secret agent,
owner of a yacht.

The teacher read with interest
as their grammar she corrected
until she came across one paper
with an answer unexpected.

It was written by a shy little girl
who didn't want a super power.
When I grow up, she wrote in capital letters,
I want to be a wild flower.

Because bringing beauty to the world
is a flower's livelihood
and I want to grow in places
no one ever thought I would.

‘You already bring beauty to my world', the teacher wrote
‘And I know you'll find a way...
to grow anywhere you want to."
and she graded it an A.