A Flower in the Shower

There's a flower in the shower.

It's a rainmaker,

this water lily of ours.

When it's in a good mood,

the rain falls warm.

Ah! What heaven I'm in!

When it's in a bad mood,

the rain hits cold.

Yikes! I jump out of my skin!

-by Lai Wei-hsiang

When Wei-hsiang, our second son, published a collection of poetry, it was reported on in all the major newspapers and magazines in Malaysia. I suppose the interest stems from the fact that it is, after all, rather unusual for a seven-year-old child to publish a collection of poetry. Besides the interviews with the news media, I am often buttonholed by people on the street who ask for advice on child rearing. I always tell them to do whatever comes naturally. I certainly have never made any special effort to raise my children as poets.

My husband and I are both teachers, and we both like to write in our spare time, so our children have always been exposed to a literary environment. They enjoy not only reading, but also writing. Our older son, Chun-han, who is ten years old, passed a test last year that allowed him to skip directly from third grade to fifth. His poetry and essays are often published in student magazines here, and he frequently wins prizes in nationwide children's poetry competitions. Chun-han was named one of the country's most outstanding children of 1996 for the unique way he expresses himself in his poetry.

Chun-han has been a big influence on his younger brother. Wei-hsiang has been around books since a very early age, and with his natural inclination toward literature, he has always had a consuming passion to know all the poetry and children's songs that I've ever taught to Chun-han.

From the time he entered first grade, Wei-hsiang has had an intense desire to create. Every little detail in his environment sparks his fertile imagination, and his poetic impulses find guileless expression in one youthful poem after another.

Wei-hsiang joined his first poetry competition in first grade and surprised everyone by winning four prizes. Because he had written so many poems, we had a poetry collection published. The first two printings each sold out in just two months. Orders kept pouring in, so his book went to a third printing last September.

Children's poetry is a delight to read because it is totally fresh in its perspective.

Many parents ask: "How do you teach children to write poetry?"

Actually, it's not difficult at all. Children have an active imagination and observant eyes. These are the makings of a poet.

It is easier to teach your own children to write poetry than to teach students at school, because you can draw them gradually into the right frame of mind and get them to understand what poetry is all about. Under such conditions, children will eventually come to enjoy and appreciate poetry, and to use poetic devices to express themselves. If your child learns to give free expression to the florid imagination of youth, don't be surprised if he or she turns into an outstanding poet.

The Purse

In a small room at home

lives a troupe of genies.

They're shiny,

and they jingle.

After school,

they change into a bowl of curry

for me to gobble up.

On my birthday,

they turn into a big cake

with candles.

In the bookstore,

they change into reference books

so I can get good grades.

During vacations,

they become an airplane

to fly me to Japan.

-by Lai Chun-han

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Chun-han was named one the most outstanding youth of 1996 in Malaysia.

Publishing a book has been a great pleasure for Lai Wei-hsiang and his mother, Chen Han-li.

Chun-han was named one the most outstanding youth of 1996 in Malaysia.