If I Were in Charge of the World | Teen Ink

If I Were in Charge of the World MAG

By Anonymous

(Apologies to Judith Viorst)
If I were in charge of the world
My favorite flip-flops would never wear out.
There would be no books of poems with the
last page missing,
No hairy spiders to hide in the corners.
If I were in charge of the world
I would have a never-ending string of puddles
to jump in,
And mothers would never scold their children
for tracking mud halfway down the hall.
If I were in charge of the world
There would never be hungry but always satisfied,
Except in the classroom, where
There would be endless shelves of books to feed
voracious minds.
I would find a way to make it easier
For everyone to understand that sometimes the same
stars can make
multiple constellations,
And that Archimedes was right:
You can move the world if only you have a lever and
a place to stand.



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This article has 259 comments.


on May. 9 2018 at 8:03 am
Poetgirl1 PLATINUM, Linesville, Pennsylvania
30 articles 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
You have made it through 100% of your bad days so far. Keep going.

I don't know if this is nonfiction or not but it feels like it is nonfiction. I really admire your honesty and your realness. Keep up the great work. This is a wonderful poem and I love it. Great work.

on Mar. 26 2018 at 8:51 am
TobiasEliot DIAMOND, San Diego, California
53 articles 0 photos 56 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul." -Pablo Neruda

cool, i like it

carol8 SILVER said...
on Dec. 28 2017 at 9:49 pm
carol8 SILVER, Bronx, New York
7 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I have been using poetry to heal my heart and now I'm made out of poetry"- By:Caroline

Love the message of this beautiful poem (:

on Dec. 28 2017 at 9:48 pm
VeryCiya SILVER, Dalton, Georgia
5 articles 9 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"So it goes." Kurt Vonnegut

brilliant ideas with a conversational prose!!

Wow,I love this so much and it's relateable. Beautiful writing :)

on Dec. 6 2017 at 10:33 pm
wednesdayaddams SILVER, Lees Summit, Missouri
5 articles 6 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't know where there is, but I know it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful."
-John Green, "Looking for Alaska"

Lovely and simple.

Eswzem BRONZE said...
on Aug. 19 2017 at 12:20 am
Eswzem BRONZE, New Castle, Pennsylvania
4 articles 9 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
“For I have a plan for you. A plan to give you peace not for disaster, but a plan to give you hope and a future.” -Our Heavenly Father

I love this poem. It was AMAZINGLY written. The way you brought Archimedes into the thought was genius.

on May. 22 2017 at 11:54 pm
GigieSkye SILVER, San Clemente, California
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings." -Always Believe In Yourself

Pretty cool.

on Apr. 8 2017 at 10:05 am
HereSheIs BRONZE, Wellesley, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 187 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." -Plato

I love the way you used the things you did to show that you wanted the world to be a happier, freer place. My favorite sentence was the second to last one: "I would find a way to make it easier for everyone to understand that sometimes the same stars can make multiple constellations."

on Mar. 17 2017 at 7:33 pm
odessasimone GOLD, Mill Valley, California
15 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

I love that last sentence, brought the point home strong

on Mar. 17 2017 at 6:29 pm
eshaansoman SILVER, Hillsborough, New Jersey
8 articles 0 photos 30 comments
A great piece, written in a very clever way!

on Feb. 23 2017 at 12:50 pm
HenriksenM SILVER, Tirana, Other
7 articles 0 photos 14 comments
It was a good poem, I just wish you talked about something more relevant and meaningful

Arti.M BRONZE said...
on Feb. 23 2017 at 6:39 am
Arti.M BRONZE, Tirana, Other
4 articles 0 photos 46 comments
A very well written writing piece

on Feb. 1 2017 at 9:35 am
AJAY.UNIYAL SILVER, Dehradun, Other
5 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
IT doesn't matte how you start, but it matters how you finish

i love the line If I were in charge of the world There would never be hungry but always satisfied, Except in the classroom, where There would be endless shelves of books to feed voracious minds

on Jan. 18 2017 at 4:55 am
LeisurelySketches GOLD, Tricity, Other
10 articles 1 photo 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
Your life has a limit but knowledge has none. (Zhuangzi)

Very well written, the second last stanza is beautifully expressed, and the last one is my favorite.

jromeo BRONZE said...
on Jan. 10 2017 at 10:56 pm
jromeo BRONZE, Los Angeles, California
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Envy is a sign of admiration; Hate is the epidemy of destruction.

great word choice. this is the first poem that i read from the page (i joined today) and it definitely caught my attention

on Dec. 19 2016 at 9:00 pm
writer2005 BRONZE, Wilmington, North Carolina
3 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you're going to make a mistake, make it going one hundred miles an hour." my basketball coach

You have an amazing way with words, and I truly love your work so much.

Patrick82432 said...
on Dec. 19 2016 at 6:06 pm
Patrick82432, Cheektowaga, New York
0 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Where voice had failed
my pen prevailed
and like the winds, became a gale"

~Me

I love this piece, it shows your true character and expresses the wishes that you hold, shared by many.

on Aug. 9 2016 at 11:53 pm
Teagan_Hayes BRONZE, Kalispell, Montana
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I am okay, because I know I am loved" -Me (Teagan)

YES. I LOVE THIS! YOU ARE INSPIRATIONAL

on Aug. 9 2016 at 10:01 am
pineappler03 SILVER, Waterford, Connecticut
6 articles 1 photo 61 comments
This is beautiful. I love this so much!