This poem was spotted in a New York City public school on the Lower East Side by photographer Jason Gardner. The school had received a small grant for Gardner to take portraits of families that might not otherwise have the means to do so. While waiting for one family to set up, this poem, penned by a first grader in the after school program, caught his eye, especially that last line — in a crowded city like New York, you cannot underestimate the value of personal space. He took a picture, shared it on Facebook and this mysterious child’s poem is being seen around the world. It’s since been circulated on sites like Jezebel and Yahoo, and hailed as the best poem of the month by NPR. NPR’s Studio 360 shared “Creative spelling aside, this young artist clearly has a gift for creating a scene. I think “We made personal space,” is an especially lovely thought – only all the more impressive, coming from a six or seven-year-old.”

“We did the soft wind.

We danst slowly.

We swrld Aroned.

We danst soft.

We lisin to the mozik.

We danst to the mozik.

We made personal space.”