It's great! No I won't tear it apart now. It needs no work done on it now.
The rhyme structure is great and the subject is perfect.
You're here, that's all that matters.
And the poem is better than I would have expected after having read your little one that you sent me.

Oh, okay I'll "critique" a little. The meter needs work.
It's still a great poem.
I have to go make Glenda breakfast and I'll squeal when your mom gets here, but I'll send you a Private Message in a little bit. You better be here to read it or I'll kill you.

Anybody that Wes thinks highly of is more than welcome here. I never critique a new arrival's first post.
Though I'd not dare use it myself I like the common/somethin' rhyme lol.....stan BTW I speak in a Southern accent so I know how you feel lol

That's a loaded question. I could explain in a workshop or in private discussions with you. Since we just finished a workshop on meter, that leaves talking to you personally. Do you know how to check your private messages? Up on the far right corner there is a box that tells you if you have a message or more. I will send you another, so you can answer me.
In the meantime, don't worry about it too much. It is a large subject. Just find the private message so we can talk alone.

Wesley's workshop on meter, now completed, can be found at
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/meter-workshop
and should be helpful.
All past workshops can be found at Workshop>Find a workshop>Archive.

Firstly welcome to Neopoet..
As a first work and request for strict critique, well it could have been better but we all strive for perfection.
As you have received comments from our best teachers here then I can say little to aid your progress.
Jess or (Weirdelf) has a degree in poetry and our Wesley is one of the best just follow their lead and read up on the things they talk about at all levels and you can't go wrong.
Take care and know that you are in the right plac to learn, Yours, Sparrow (Ian)

Let me try to define meter with a single word..........cadence. Usually in rhyming poetry you will notice an almost song like quality to the poem. This is the "meter" you hear. But I'm not that good at meter myself lol.....stan

What a lovely way of describing imagination.
It's a sort of puzzle poem, a what am I? Revealed at the end in case you hadn't worked it out.
A couple of points - is tare deliberate, or do you mean tear?
I'm not quite sure where lava on the floor comes from. It isn't something I connect imagination with, but that's possibly my lack of it!
You say it's better read with a British accent, well I don't have any trouble there and have a small edit to suggest, which you are very welcome to ignore.

'I am all letters from a,b,c to x,y,z,
as well as the ones you cannot read.'

As we would pronounce z as 'zed' then it would fit in with your rhyming scheme thus -

'I am all letters from a,b,c to x,y,z,
as well as the ones you haven't yet read.'

It's lovely to meet you and thank you for posting your first poem here on Neopoet.
Cheers Jane

What you have written is commonly called a "list poem"; repeating a theme in different contexts.
It is a great way to start, and many of the great poets have used this approach.
This poem is about what you are, and you are everything. This is wonderful, and how you should feel with the whole world ahead of you.
The British accent has it's charm for us the USA, but there are some good reads in our accent as well.Read in your own way. Your poem is bountiful with honesty. Be true to your own language roots.
I would like you to consider reading Rimbaud, a French poet who had a similar young uncompromising exhilaration of his powers. There are many good English translations. His youthful imagination (unfortunately he stopped writing at the age of 20) made him one of the most
popular poets in modern history. You will love his work, you are a kindred spirit to him. If you need any help with it, contact me in the private message service.
Keep writing.
I also love giraffes, I have been fortunate to have been several times to Africa to spend many hours with them up close. One day you will go too!

Ask your friend Wesley about this, that I never lie or flatter about poetry. I'm considered one of the more erudite and certainly harshest critics on this site and he asked me to give you raw truth.

This literally brought tears to my eyes. One of the most wonderfully courageous and intensely beautiful pieces I have read in years.

I promise to do a reading for you to help with some minor matters of scansion but can't right now as I can't control my voice.

Just please keep writing.

hearing it in someone else's voice helps you hear where the meter stumbles as we tend to cover them in our own minds ears.
Two lines I just had to change to read, in English pronunciation for z we say 'zed' not 'zee'
I am all letters from a to z,
as well as the ones you haven't read.
https://soundcloud.com/neopoet/all-of-everything
I would like your permission to post this to our Neopoet.com Facebook page please. It would be cool if you uploaded an image to your profile page I could use with it.

Wow, good start,interesting title, and you kept me guessing what the 'all' was right up till the end. I started writing poetry and little stories when I was about your age, it's fantastic to have your work here, you'll get a lot of good advice and support for sure.
This is a great list poem, with a tonne of interesting images..keep up the good work!

Thank you,

Chris.https://www.neopoet.com/filter/tips

Well, I'll just call you pokey lol. I make it a personal thing to not critique new people's first post. But Wes keeps on telling me to make this exception. So here goes, let's see if i can find room for improvement :
OK first thing I notice is an unbroken "word wall" which might intimidate some from reading this. Solution is simple-stanza breaks. Hmmmm.... Think I'd say "favorite book" in line eleven.....line 17 try needs instead of needed. show that imagination is still needed......delete "shall" in line 18...well that's about all I have to suggest but feel free to ignore any or all as this is very good as is......but please Do consider stanzas lol........stan

Rhythm exists everywhere in nature, tides, heartbeats etc. Meter is that kind of rhythm when applied to a word grouping.

I watched the tide, it swept
across the sands it crept
and over stones it leapt
disturbed where lovers slept.

I watched/ the tide,/ it swept
across/ the sands/ it crept
and ov/er stones/ it leapt
disturbed/ where lov/ers slept.

concerning rhythm.
Meter simply describes this rhythm.