The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Relativity Explained

Listen to Piu DasGupta reading her poem
Clocks are stupid with their hands
snipping time in equal strands.
It’s not too tricky to explain
to anyone with half a brain
that time depends on where you stand.

If I’m in the classroom, say
a minute feels like half a day.
But if I’m hanging out with friends
an hour rushes to an end
with hardly any time to play.

If I watch a plane whiz past
it seems to flash by really fast -
but if I’m sitting in the plane
it’s motionless, though in my brain
I know it’s racing like a blast.

A super-clever guy, Einstein,
figured out this trick of time
and wrote it down - I can’t recall
the detailed ins and outs, but all
I know is, time is not a line,
time’s a squishy, spongy ball.

Clocks are stupid, with their hands….

About the Writer


Piu DasGupta

Piu is a British/Indian/French writer living in Paris, France. She has written and published adult books and is currently working on a children's novel. She writes both adult and children's poetry and her children's poetry has been published in magazines such as The Caterpillar and Northern Gravy.