If You Could Be Anybody in the World

by Lee Baldwin

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you be a pet

shop owner with

cages full of

raccoons and skunks,

puppies and monkeys,

kittens and birds,

and tanks of

colored fish?

Or would you be a doctor who sews up cuts

and taps knees

and measures people

and listens to hearts?

Or would you be

a fireman who

has a big shiny truck

and a black and

white dog

and talks at schools

and puts out fires?

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you be a gardener who plants

flowers,

digs up weeds,

cuts grass,

and trims bushes?

Or would you be

an astronaut who

rides in a rocket

to the moon

or to Venus

or even to Mars?

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you be a

policeman who rides

in a fast car

with a siren and helps

people cross the street

and catches bad men?

Or would you be a

teacher who writes on

the blackboard,

helps boys and girls

to read, and knows

about the world?

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you be a pilot who flies a silvery plane

over cities

and forests

and farms

and mountains?

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you be a

builder who builds

houses

and schools

and parks

and stores?

Or would you be a weatherman

who tells people whether

it will rain

or snow

or be sunny and warm?

If you could be anybody in the world,

Would you still be my friend?

Illustrated by Dorothy Wagstaff