My Etch A Sketch Brain
My Etch A Sketch brain
is rough around the edges.
But why shouldn’t it be?
It’s just etching sketches.
It maps out my dream home
with walls all askew.
It draws family portraits
that look like a zoo.
Sometimes it draws gems
from memory’s bank.
Or it draws abstracts.
Or it draws a blank.
It’s both mindful and messy
but I like the mixture.
Erase your mistakes
and you miss the whole picture.
So it decorates doodles
with squiggles and blobs,
exploring its canvas,
wiggling the knobs.
When my Etch A Sketch brain
is tickled by the view,
it shakes itself up
to try something new.
is rough around the edges.
But why shouldn’t it be?
It’s just etching sketches.
It maps out my dream home
with walls all askew.
It draws family portraits
that look like a zoo.
Sometimes it draws gems
from memory’s bank.
Or it draws abstracts.
Or it draws a blank.
It’s both mindful and messy
but I like the mixture.
Erase your mistakes
and you miss the whole picture.
So it decorates doodles
with squiggles and blobs,
exploring its canvas,
wiggling the knobs.
When my Etch A Sketch brain
is tickled by the view,
it shakes itself up
to try something new.
This poem is copyright (©) Stefan Karlsson 2025
About the Writer
Stefan Karlsson
Stefan is a poet and artist based in Portland, Oregon. He received his MFA in Poetry from the University of California-Irvine. His poems (for children) have appeared in The Dirigible Balloon, Paddler Press, Little Thoughts Press, and Tyger Tyger Magazine. His paper marbling artwork can be found on Instagram @nautiluspaper, and his poetry for kids can be found on Twitter @stefkidlit and on YouTube @StefanKidsPoetry.
