I could start by telling you about the beautiful view of Lake Champlain from our corner table. I could then tell you about the endless performances, exhibits, and activities for kids taking place all day.

I could tell you about the throngs of children – of all ages – gathered around our table eagerly awaiting a turn with the magnetic poetry…or about the looks on their faces when they won prizes – like new books (everyone who participated won a prize). I could even tell you that we loved each and every poem we saw – for their earnestness and originality.

But I won’t. Nothing expresses the story of our wonderful experience at Kids Day in Burlington, Vermont like the photos. Nothing captures the beauty of the poems – some short and direct, some long and thoughtful, some silly or nonsense, some kind and heartfelt, some uplifting, some rhyming, some haikus, some created by children whose parents tirelessly dug for the exact word the child desired, some crafted by teenagers, others by infants with a lot of help from mom or dad; nothing fully displays the creativity and sensitivity – and joy – we saw in these kids and their poetry quite like the poems themselves.

So take a look for yourselves and see what made Kids Day an unforgettable event! And who knows – maybe we inspired some new poets…

(Hint: If you click on the first image and select “start slideshow”, you can view a larger version of all images.)