This morning, in the frantic rush to get out the door and get the kids to school before the last bell rings, I pulled a folded piece of black construction paper out of Ryan’s backpack. It was this:

His art teacher went to China, and came back with all kinds of Asian-influenced art projects. When she taught the kids about Haiku, she explained that they are usually about Nature, and are drawn with black ink. Their assignment was to write and illustrate a Haiku about Nature.

Ryan explained that he thought of Fall leaves, and that led him to think about September, and that led him to September 11. Here is the text of his Haiku:

Time to rake the leaves.
Time to remember the brave.
Red, yellow and brown.

For his illustration he drew a flag, and leaves, and the Twin Towers. I think the lines at the top are fireworks.

My mouth dropped open. “Did you come up with this all by yourself?”, I asked him. His eyes were big, bright and shining. “Yes”, he said.

I groped for the right words. I wanted to convey to him how proud I was of him. A third grade boy, asked to write a Haiku about Nature, and he sums up both Fall and what September 11th is about in 3 lines with 5-7-5 meter.

“Ryan”, I said, “that is wonderful. Awwwww!” Not the most eloquest response, but it was the best I could do off the top of my head. When he gets home from school today, I’m going to have him read this, and I’m going to look him in the eyes and tell him I’m proud. And that I love him.