The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

War

On a boring, stormy morning,
nothing fun to do in sight,
when we’re sick of Mother warning,
and we’re itching for a fight—

WE YELL . . . .

One. Two. Three. Four.
Let’s have a thumb war!

Now our battleground is forming
although we’re the best of chums.
On this boring, stormy morning,
what will save us?
Opposable thumbs!

About the Writer


Helen Kemp Zax

Helen Kemp Zax loves to write poetry, especially poems that rhyme. Her debut picture book Little Witch’s To-Do List will be published by Abrams Appleseed in 2025. She is co-winner of the 2021 YorkMix International Children’s Poetry Prize, the 2018 MG Katherine Paterson Prize winner, and a 2019 Finalist. Helen's poetry appears in anthologies like The Sea’s Song and Chasing Clouds and in magazines like The Caterpillar. She lives in Washington, D. C. with her husband and their crazy Aussie-doodle Huckleberry Finn.