My Very First Declamation

My previous post brought me into wondering about the piece that I first declaim in front of hundreds of students and teachers when I was still 5 years old. Oh, how I can't imagine where I got the guts to do so without stuttering and messing around. Astonishingly, I still remember some of the lines of this poem which I've read in my Kindergarten reading book back when I was still in Diliman. Hush litte caterpillar as you roll into bed. The first line of this ever memorable poem I've recited

Little Caterpillar

Hush, Little Caterpillar, 

as you roll into bed

Do you dream of pink roses, 

or yellow bells instead?

Be happy, 

for soon you will grow

Into a beauty that I know

Not into a giant ant, 

or a grasshopper

Not into a lady bug or 

a bumble bee

Not even into this fly 

that swims in my cup of tea

Just be patient, 

one day you’ll see

A butterfly you’ll really be