School Years 5 – 6 Winner ¡No Quiero Hacerme Mayor! By Analia Elizabeth Romero

Soy una Niña,
Una niña que se encariña,
Que se encariña con quedarse pequeña,
No quiero saber el significado de la palabra arrepentir,
Simplemente me quiero divertir,
No quiero crecer,
Me gustaría florecer,
Me quiero quedar pequeña,
Como me trajo la cigüeña,
No se si seguir a mi corazón,
O si encontrar a la razón,
No lo se.
Siendo una niña, no tengo que preocuparme,
Ni siquiera responsabilizarme,
Únicamente ilusionarme,
Solo quiero soñar,
Solo quiero volar y ver el mundo girar.

Judge Charles Durantes comments:

School Years 5-6 Winner: Analia Elizabeth Romero with No Quiero Hacerme Mayor! We all want time to stand still, to be able to revert to earlier, happier moments. This lovely poem is a plea for time to stop in its tracks, for a postponement of maturity and all the responsibilities it entails. Instead, the speaker would like to remain a child, a little girl, playing (me quiero divertir), thoughts following the dictates of her heart, and possibly avoiding the disappointments of ratiocination. The desire to remain childlike may appear to be a sign of immaturity (how can one ‘florecer’ without ‘crecer’?-but this is just a wish, a passing whim. The mere fact she has this yearning is already a sign of growing up! At a time when young people are so eager to ape grown-up ways and behaviour, it is refreshing to read about someone who is quite happy to remain an innocent child.