“The Day the Earth Ceased to be Round”: A Poem for Children

Today I woke up in the morning and found…

That strangely, the Earth had ceased to be round

It seemed the heavens in their wisdom decided

That circular shaped planets were quite misguided

A square setting is the way it should be

All the occupants living in a box-like TV

I tried rising from bed but immediately fell down

Rolling on the floor, I felt quite the clown

Holding the bedstead, I managed to stand

My morning adventures had never been this grand

If I could stand easily when the earth was round,

then in its square state, why must I fall to the ground?

This question played uppermost in my mind

as my mother entered the room to begin the day’s grind

A rope tied ‘round her waist, the end held in her hand

This contraption it seemed, was helping her stand

Feeding me a tall glass of milk was her mission,

No matter the circumstances, she wouldn’t change this tradition

“Mum!” I said, “what’s happening here?!”

Pulling the rope tight, she replied, “don’t worry, my dear!

This happens every ninth year, on the fourth Saturday of January.

Us grown-ups are used to this- it’s really not scary.

There’s a rope beneath your bed, tie it round your waist,

It’ll help you move around. Quick, make haste!”

Apparently with a heavy binding tight round my core,

This new Earth’s convoluted gravity wouldn’t make my head sore

As an 8-year-old, I’d never seen this wonder

Never known of Earth’s quirky, phenomenal blunder

“In that case, is there a holiday from school?”

I hoped against hope, playing the fool

“Of course not, my dear! Today is your English test

No matter the situation, you must give it your best.”

I groaned, inwardly thinking, “this just isn’t cool!

What’s the point of the Earth being square, if we don’t get off from school!”

Struggling with the rope, I asked mom to help me

Instead of tying it up, however, she began to shove and shake me

“Wake up! It’s past 7 am. Wake up, Gul!

You’re once again going to be late for school!”

As I rose from that delirious dream

I realised my mind had designed an elaborate scheme

To skip the dreaded English test today

But no dream could keep harsh reality at bay

Secretly though I was happy, as I stood with my feet on the ground

That the Earth was still firm and steadfastly round!

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I hope you enjoyed my attempt at creative poetry from a child’s point of view. Do share this poem with others that may enjoy it and read it to your little ones too!

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This post is a part of Blog Anniversary celebrations of Thoughts by Geethica Turns 3 co-hosted by Zainab and Ashvini. I have written on the prompt “Today, I got up in the morning and found….”

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