Porter turned twelve today and blew out the candles on a plate of lemon bars.
Here is part of a poem he wrote last year (with a little help from Judith Viorst):
If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel tomatoes
Wednesday afternoons
Gross medication, and also
A certain middle-schooler.
If I were in charge of the world
There'd be visible leprechauns,
Smarter guinea pigs, and
Ladder trees.
If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have ouch.
You wouldn't have dirty.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or, "Time for lights out!"
You wouldn't even have lights.
If I were in charge of the world
Coffee ice-cream
would be a vegetable.
All video games would be E
And a person who sometimes forgot to eat,
And sometimes forgot to think,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.