“If You Could Be Anybody in the World,” Friend, Jan. 1973, 48–inside back cover
If You Could Be Anybody in the World
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you be a pet
shop owner with
cages full of
raccoons and skunks,
puppies and monkeys,
kittens and birds,
and tanks of
colored fish?
Or would you be a doctor who sews up cuts
and taps knees
and measures people
and listens to hearts?
Or would you be
a fireman who
has a big shiny truck
and a black and
white dog
and talks at schools
and puts out fires?
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you be a gardener who plants
flowers,
digs up weeds,
cuts grass,
and trims bushes?
Or would you be
an astronaut who
rides in a rocket
to the moon
or to Venus
or even to Mars?
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you be a
policeman who rides
in a fast car
with a siren and helps
people cross the street
and catches bad men?
Or would you be a
teacher who writes on
the blackboard,
helps boys and girls
to read, and knows
about the world?
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you be a pilot who flies a silvery plane
over cities
and forests
and farms
and mountains?
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you be a
builder who builds
houses
and schools
and parks
and stores?
Or would you be a weatherman
who tells people whether
it will rain
or snow
or be sunny and warm?
If you could be anybody in the world,
Would you still be my friend?
Illustrated by Dorothy Wagstaff