As a child, she
had stolen tomatoes
from her neighbor's
garden. Her mother
discovered the theft,
hit her, and shouted:
"You stupid thing!
You good-for-nothing!
You are a silly prat!"That's when she decided
to become a poet,
because she mixed up
the words "prat"
and "poet."She sat down at
the kitchen table,
took a pencil and
a piece of paper
and wrote:"Dearest child,
now go to school.On your way, stay
brave and cool!Sit on chair and
learn for life!Eat sandwichesand do survive!"Her mother found the
note and destroyed it.
She threw it into the fire
of the coal stove that
stood in the kitchen.
Social criticism
was not welcome.
This was the birth
of her poetic activities.*