Change is hard. Author and poet Nikki Grimes gives voice to the strange time in a child’s life when their outside, and inside, begins to change. Change does not wait for us to understand or agree, but comes to all of us. Grimes poem reminds us of this universal change, and evokes an empathy for our fellow humans in a moment of great change.
New Math
By Nikki Grimes
Up till now,
the math of my life
has been pretty simple:
friends
plus family
plus sports.
What more
could I ask for, right?
But lately,
my outside has been changing
and my inside keeps telling me
more is on the way.
Trouble is,
I’m not sure
I’m ready.
Nikki Grimes, “New Math” from Planet Middle School. Copyright © 2011 by Nikki Grimes. Originally republished by the Poetry Foundation.
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