When I was in school, I loved to paint and draw. I even thought I would become a comic book illustrator when I grew up! But honestly… I never got very good at it. My pictures usually came out kind of funny, with lots of imperfections. And that’s okay! Everyone makes mistakes when they’re learning something new. It doesn’t matter if you’re practicing the piano, trying a new sport, baking a cake, learning a new language, or painting a picture; mistakes are part of the process. In fact, they’re not really failures at all. They’re what help us get better. This poem is about a kid who learns that very lesson in a pretty silly way. I hope you enjoy it. This is…
My Family Portrait
I painted a picture this morning,
depicting my family and me.
I made some mistakes on my artwork,
mistakes that were easy to see.
I dribbled some paint on the paper.
My mom ended up with three eyes.
My dad had a head like a pumpkin
and hair like an order of fries.
My brother was partially purple,
with zigzags all over his face.
My sister had curly antennae,
and looked like a creature from space.
The little green blob that I splattered
was meant to resemble our dog.
Instead, it appeared that our puppy
was more like an oversized frog.
I nervously showed them my painting.
It turned out they liked it a lot.
They laughed and proclaimed it was perfect.
I’m better at art than I thought.
— Kenn Nesbitt
