I wonder if she’d like me if I stood a little taller.
I wonder if she’d like me if my ears were only smaller.
Or maybe if I brushed my hair and gave her a red rose,
or if I changed my underwear and didn’t pick my nose.
Perhaps if I could ride a mule. Perhaps if I could dance.
Perhaps if I could come to school in polka-dotted pants.
Perhaps if I would shine my shoes and even wear a tie,
or if I wrestled kangaroos or sang a lullaby.
Or maybe if I built a ship and sailed the seven seas
with nothing but a paper clip and tubs of cottage cheese.
I wonder if she’d like me for the reasons I have listed.
I wonder if she’d like me if she knew that I existed.
Text © Eric Ode reprinted from If Kids Ruled the School, published by Meadowbrook Press. Illustration © Stephen Carpenter. Any copying or use of this poem or illustration without consent is unlawful.
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