Space Llamas

The beginning of a new school year can be exciting, but it can also be a little scary. You might wonder who you’ll sit with, whether you’ll make new friends, or whether the other kids will think you’re cool. That was one of the ideas that got me started on this poem.

The other idea has been bouncing around in my head for years. Once, during an assembly at an elementary school, I was speaking to about 200 fourth- and fifth-graders. We were going to write a poem together, so I asked for a volunteer to tell me their favorite thing ever… something we could use as the subject of our poem.

I called on one student, and they enthusiastically shouted, “Space llamas!”

I thought that was hilarious and I told them so, though I heard a lot of other kids groan, which just goes to show that we don’t all like the same things and that’s okay. We ended up writing about regular llamas that day, but I never forgot those space llamas. Every so often, they would wander back into my imagination, waiting for the right poem.

Well, I finally found a place for them. Here’s a back-to-school poem about feeling nervous, trying to fit in, and, of course, Space Llamas.

Space Llamas

I dyed my hair green for the first day of school.

I wore my new Space Llamas shirt to look cool.

I stepped on the bus, but then felt like a fool.

It only had one empty seat.

It looked like I’d have to sit right next to him;

The kid who would always get picked first in gym.

My guts did a backflip. The world seemed to dim.

I gulped and looked down at my feet.

My legs turned to noodles. I whispered a prayer.

I trudged to that seat thinking, “This isn’t fair.

Oh, why’d I decide to have neon-green hair?

I’d rather be home with the flu.”

I plodded along for what felt like a mile,

then took off my pack and stepped out of the aisle.

He glanced at my getup, then gave me a smile

and said, “I like Space Llamas too.”

— Kenn Nesbitt