Judith Viorst

cantfindit

Judith Viorst is the author of the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which has sold some four million copies; the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus; the New York Times bestseller Necessary Losses; four musicals; and poetry for children and young adults. Her most recent books of poetry include What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? and Nearing Ninety. Source

If I Were In Charge Of The World

If I were in charge of the world 

I'd cancel oatmeal, 

Monday mornings, 

Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg. 

 

If I were in charge of the world 

There'd be brighter nights lights, 

Healthier hamsters, and 

Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower. 

 

If I were in charge of the world 

You wouldn't have lonely. 

You wouldn't have clean. 

You wouldn't have bedtimes. 

Or "Don't punch your sister." 

You wouldn't even have sisters. 

 

If I were in charge of the world 

A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable 

All 007 movies would be G, 

And a person who sometimes forgot to brush, 

And sometimes forgot to flush, 

Would still be allowed to be 

In charge of the world.

Published:

1981

Length:

Regular

Literary Movements:

Children's

Anthology Years:

2020

Themes:

Humor & Satire

Literary Devices:

Alliteration

the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words appearing in succession

Anaphora

a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences

Anthimeria

the replacement of one part of speech for another, often referred to as a “functional shift.”

Rhyme

correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry