'WORDS' - POEM BY YEAR 5, KINGSLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

I became a poet because I love words. The analogy I always use, when discussing poetry with children, is that words are like little Lego bricks, and a poem is like a Lego model made out of those bricks. Basically, making a poem is playing with words. I love the sound and feel of words themselves, and I enjoy exploring the different combinations that words can be put into.

With this in mind, I'd like to share the following fantastic poem, created by a group of Year 5 pupils during my visit to Kingslea Primary School, Horsham, recently. The poem is based loosely on my piece 'Friends', which is published in Little Lemur Laughing and can be read here. The trick to writing a poem like this is to think of a concept, and then to explore which adjectives can apply to this concept. It is important to keep a sense of rhythm in mind too. Here, then, is Year 5's wonderful poem:

Words

Short words, long words, 

Make-a-little-song words, 

Words that make you feel kind of funny,

Happy words, mad words, 

Crazy words and sad words, 

Words that are as fluffy as a bunny. 

Sing-song words, story words, 

Happy, scary, gory words, 

Words that surely scare you in your sleep, 

Quiet words, loud words, 

Modest words and proud words, 

Words that make you want to start to weep. 

Brave words, shy words, 

Your words and my words, 

Scary, happy, crazy sad and mad. 

Feeble words, rhyme words, 

Words that measure time words, 

Words that love me just the way I am