I Did Not Choose: an identity poem for kids and a poem about choices and exploring things we do or do not choose.

I Did Not Choose

I did not choose my day of birth
I did not choose my name
I did not choose my start on Earth
I did not choose my brain

I did not choose my faith or face
I did not choose my schools
I did not choose my human race
I did not choose the rules

I cannot choose the sunshine days
I cannot choose the storm
I cannot choose the people’s ways
I cannot choose the norm

But somewhere in the in-between
From first to final gasp
My destiny of how I’m seen
is held within my grasp

So I will choose: Escape the chains
So I will choose: Be free
So I will choose: Erase the stains
So I will choose: New Me

I’ll choose each day not I but We
I’ll choose and chase the choice
I’ll choose my path and what I’ll be
I’ll choose to hear my voice

Mark Bird

(Written for National Poetry Day 2021. Theme: Choice)

💡 Creative Writing, Drama and Poetry Lessons for Teachers:

As the author of "I Did Not Choose", I wrote this as a powerful poem about choices and personal agency—a reflective, rhythmical reminder that while we can’t choose many aspects of our beginnings, we can choose how we shape our future. This piece works beautifully as an identity poem for kids, sparking rich creative writing, drama, and poetry activities. In class, students can explore what choices they can and do make each day by writing “I choose...” poems in response, or by listing what makes them unique beyond labels and circumstances. Drama lessons can involve spoken-word performance, where pupils step forward on the line “So I will choose…” and voice their dreams aloud. Group discussions and journaling can delve into themes of autonomy, voice, and transformation. This poem invites students to reclaim their stories—and express them boldly.
#PoemAboutChoices #IdentityPoemForKids #ChoiceAndVoice #CreativeWritingForKids


Please see my blog post: https://www.dreambeastpoems.com/post/when-children-become-poets-not-future-poets-but-poets-of-now for how I used this with a class of Year 6 children. Each child wrote their own poem about choices ; their outcomes were outstanding.