What Do I Write With?

Do I write with a bloody dagger?
I could write with the atoms of the air.
I can write with a touch of a hand.
I can write with lightning.
I can write with the power of sunlight.
I can write with the water of a sponge.
I can write with an oyster’s pearl.
I can write with God’s hand.
I can write with life.
I can write with my pumping heart.
But what do I erase with?

–Seth Durrant, 8 years old, San Francisco

This poem was first published on the cover of the San Francisco Chronicle Pink (Entertainment) Section on Sunday, March 30, 2008 for National Poetry Month.  The cover illustration was by the famous illustrator, Ward Schumaker.