Way To Win: a feeling embarrassed vs feeling proud poem about being 'Star of the Week' in the school assembly.

A child looks down at his shoes which look like beetles.

Way To Win

Standing up at the front
Just me
'Star of the Week'
in Friday’s assembly
Two trembling knees
below a belly
of buzzing bees

Nearly grinning
Holding it in
I trap the whopping smile
trying to stretch across my face
like a cat in front of the fire

Radiator cheeks
Laser-blazing stares
I look down at my shiny shoes
which shuffle like shy beetles
beneath my trouser legs

Everyone claps
At last
I can breathe again
and laugh
But not too much
or they'll say I’m a big head

Shining like a sore thumb
Standing out like a star
Popcorn bursts in my belly
until finally
Miss Cloud mouths,
"Sit down."

I try to hide
the stars in my eyes
and the pride in my smile
as kids eyeball my prize
But really I want to rewind time
and do it all again

©2010 Mark Bird

💡 My feeling embarrassed vs feeling proud poem for kids explores which emotion wins out in the end. What memories do you have of receiving a prize or certificate in assembly or about a class assembly you did? Did you feel proud or embarrassed or both? Why do we sometimes feel embarrassed to be proud? Can you write your own feeling proud poem about a time your pride was mixed up with other emotions?