MPR’s Chris Roberts presents a story about the birth of a poet. 10-year-old Josh Tane of St. Paul would probably be the last to tell you that he deserves the title of "poet." But last year, to the amazement of his teacher and parents, Josh discovered his muse and wrote some remarkable poems.

Tane has even been recognized by the American Association of University Women for his abilities.

Transcript:

(00:00:00) Nature is nature is the even layer of snow that comes every winter 10 year old Josh tame the poet nature is not the brown black snow on the sides of the roads splashed with slush that comes every winter nature is the sound of the birds chirp chirp chirping or your breath trying to escape on a cold morning and getting out and feeling the cold and tried to get back in it. Nature is not the loud honks of horns for the gasoline heaters nature is the sunlight creeping in your drapes trying to wake you nature is not the street lamps trying to be brighter than the sun all in all nature means a lot to me to find the Wellspring of a ten year olds imagination. You might sit in his room for a while when Josh Tain lies on his bed and reads or crafts his poems. He surrounded by a Room stocked with his own Creations. There's a box full of musical instruments. He's made in art camps over the years and almost life-size drawing of the British Explorer Sir, Francis Drake and an unintentionally abstract picture of a face with a tornado and moon on it, which he drew in the second grade. Josh tane is a young pak-rat. He keeps everything. Where is my major keepsake box and here's my poem. There's tons of stuff in here like our projects like here's a it's my name. This was a fun thing. We did in school. No, here's a question for you. Why would you want to keep all these things? So it's really means a lot to me because A lot of stuff. I'm just thinking I want to show them my kids and they just remember lets me remember how fun stuff I did was and if his keepsake box is a treasure chest full of memories Josh views his poems as a way to document the thoughts and emotions which accompanied and enrich those memories. He discovered his talent like many writers in the classroom in Josh's case at the Capitol Hill Magnet School for gifted children in st. Paul but fewer writers have that kind of Revelation as Early as the 4th grade and find their work far transcends what most nine-year-olds can produce it was a spelling assignment and you either wrote a short story or a poem I chose poem. I don't really know why but it was the night before it was due. I had a small piece of paper and a pencil I I wrote I crossed out and if it sounded good I dried it. If it didn't I'd cross it out and a lot of people say how can you do that? And I don't really see how hard it is. All right, this one's rotten ideas. And I was just thinking about how people criticize and how you can feel pretty bad when someone says, oh that's not right rotten ideas. I wonder who said There are such things as rotten ideas that are maybe strange ones. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ones but no rotten ones. There is probably interesting ones. Big ones small ones, even out-of-this-world ones but no rotten ones hard ones soft ones or maybe flat ones but no rotten ones long ones short ones almost impossible ones, but no rotten ones. There are all different kinds of ideas, but no rotten ideas. But whoever said there's such thing as rotten ideas is probably the only one full of them. Maybe the two reasons. I think a poem is a poem is because you can bend the rules of how you write. You can put a period anywhere. However, you need it to be and and then the Rhythm the way it sounds good is what the words you use and how the Rhythm goes a long while Josh A believer in the power and mystery of a good poem he tends to demystify his own ability people had their different gifts and I guess I get have poetry and other people's have others. So it's easier for me like drawing II can barely draw at all, but it's so easy for other people the do you see yourself as having a gift for poetry? Well not kind of because just because of how people say but II think if you just get started on the right track and people teach you what you need to know. You can basically do anything Josh's Masterpiece is called Lakeside and elegy for a northern Minnesota lake which one Josh a first place award in a Twin Cities poetry contest sponsored by the American Association of University women his fourth grade teacher Jane McKim Remembers Josh calling her over to have a look at it when he transcribed it to his computer screen. I sat down and I think I started getting tears in my eyes. I mean I was so odd, bye-bye this and it the the phrasing that he had the the descriptions were were so beyond what a normal fourth grader would ever write it was so It was like I said, it's in him Ms. McKim called Josh's Mother Catherine tane to come in immediately and perhaps added the poem so she could enter it in the poetry contest, which I thought was an unusual request that a parent needed to come right into school and possibly edit their child's work. So I wasn't sure what that was all about, but I went in and it was still on the computer and she had me read it and I was awestruck. I couldn't say anything and I just thought don't touch it leave it just like it is I wouldn't presume to know even what to do to it. It was just spectacular I made up a lot of it. I I've been to lakes that were in the city. I didn't really learn much from there. But my I went to my neighbors cabin on a lake one time and that gave me a little bit of feeling so I knew what to ride and what not to right. Right, but a lot of this is just how I imagined it being like side down like side where I love to watch the Pebbles skip over the water like the frogs jumping from lily pad to Lily Pad playing hopscotch floating under the shade of the old oak tree listening to the laughter of the children splashes in their faces or to the Dives of the Blue Heron straight to the bottom or the fish. Listen to the silent brush of the seaweed. gazing up the hot warm sun while the hypnotizing little by The Loon is trying to put the sun to sleep the moisture on my face the mosquitoes buzzing trying to scare me away the bass and the rainbow trout jumping into the light of the sun glistening every so often the sunbathing snapping turtle on the rotting log the darker analogy so delicate and so scared of us the vast cities of things so small not a The same then the cold days push the warm away the light turns into an old cold creaky dangerous sort of place Frozen in the blur of a thing called time all the while fish and frogs and sweet sweet Slumber waiting for the flourishing spring a day like to come waiting in the crystal clear of shimmering water waiting for spring and sweet sweet slumber. I just want to write poetry all my life and the value of it would probably be just seen how I grow and the Poetry is kind of like it's basically me but in writing and I just I want to do it as just kind of a pleasurable thing all my life. I don't really want to change it into a work kind of thing. During the summer months Josh's writing slowed down as he labored on a poem dedicated to a disabled boy who tormented Josh and third grade but became his friend last year. Once again, the title alone is rather ambitious and provocative for a ten-year-old kid. It's called overlooked souls for inspiration Josh might turn to the poem. He says got him hooked on poetry which is called staring staring at my window watching the rain like tears. Watching the world unfold watching us destroy it I coil up in my blanket like a royal king hoping a layer of powder snow would come and cover up the room. I wish to dream of a voyage to try to reach the top the top of the mountain of life and encounter danger beyond belief then climb back down down below to feel the moisture of the forest beneath. Slide dream then wake up staring staring out my window watching the rain like
(00:09:39) tears coiled up in my blanket like a royal king staring staring for Minnesota Public Radio. This is Chris Roberts.