January Fiction: Clay – Words of Wisdom From A Young Child (a Poem)

by Tan Ning Ci Caitlin, Age 13, Singapore

Artwork by Katie King

My small hands brush over the clay.

Two clay figures

One, left out in the sun too long

The other, warm and limp from the work of my hands.

One stiff as a board – too rigid

One as floppy as a dishrag – too soft

Clumsily, I try to fit them together

They don’t fit.

I shape and reshape them.

Sometimes, you have to bend a little,

Sometimes, you have to harden up,

Change yourself.

They fit together now.

*

Caitlin says, “I am a person who loves to write and to read, and I am always trying to improve the quality of my writing; the phrase constructive criticism is one of my favourites.”