The week before last I drove from London to Somerset, to spend the day at Martock Primary School. News of the flooding made me feel like I was venturing forth on some kind of mission, but I needn't have worried - to my mum's relief the journey there was not especially eventful.
What was eventful, however, was the day I spent at the school. I ran workshops with four KS2 classes, covering different themes and techniques in each of the sessions. I was especially delighted that Class 8 (AKA Year 5/6) spent their literacy lesson, which took place directly after my workshop, compiling a lovely pamphlet of their poems, which they gave me to take away. I have that pamphlet in my hand now, and I'd like to share some of their wonderful poems on my blog.
Class 8 wrote poems on the theme of Fear. After a warm-up exercise in which I asked them to describe fear using their five senses. I shared a poem, 'Not A Care In The World', detailing some of the things that I myself used to worry about when I was in school. Pupils then wrote their own poems, using ideas generated in the warm up and through having listened to my poem. I was especially impressed with the range of the work generated, from humorous poems about shopping to serious, dark poems about death. The poems I'm about to share demonstrate this range, which is partly why I have chosen them (another reason being that I think they each contain some really interesting ideas and responses to the topic). I suppose it is one of my primary aims when I conduct workshops to allow room for a wide variety of responses to different stimuli; I want to provide a space in which ideas can be taken in a variety of directions. I do not believe there are right of wrong ways to write a poem, or right or wrong things to write about.
Anyway. Let's crack on with the poems!
Fear Is (by Melissa)
Fear is darkness creeping up to me like a tiger on its prey,
You hear people's echoes and screams calling for help as fear
sinks into the mind,
Fear is a phantom, a demon of darkness, a shadow, faceless
but forever watching you,
The smell of rotting flesh blocks the nose,
I see frost and ice from dark coldness
I'm walking on a beach of black sand, every grain is a fear,
The taste of sour fierce fear spreads on the tip of my tongue,
Fear is the end of pain, it ends all pain with death.
My Fear Of Shopping (By Callum)
Bags rustling
Pets squealing
Mums moaning
Dads grumbling
Babies screaming
Break baking
Getting lost
Clothes aisles
Slimy Meat
Cheese like feet
Stinky fish
Smelly dog food
Manky cat food
Little boys groan
Mums still moan
Tesco's prices
Asda's spices
Morrison's slices
Sainsbury's rices
Mouldy jam
Revolting spam
Spicy chickens
Chicken tikka
Uncle Ben's
Bad meal deals
Horse meat burgers
DVDs from the 1940s
Cheap games
Broken consoles
Bad bargains
Terrible fizzy pop
Never shop!
Fear (By Charlotte)
The smell of Fear isn't very nice, it smells of burnt
bacon in the pan.
The taste of Fear tastes like Salt and Vinegar Crisps without the salt.
The sight of Fear looks like a black cloud creeping past you.
The tough of Fear is like a dry desert where it hasn't
rained for years.
The sound of Fear is the sound of a woman screaming
loudly at the sight of a dark shadow creeping towards
her.
All the things to do with Fear are in your head.
Fear (By Josie)
Fear tastes like a plain chip
Death is hopeless it is evil it has broken lots of
hearts and falling tears falling down my face thinking
about her every day and how
she loved me and my dogs
An honourable mention must also go to Jordan, who used what was DEFINITELY the most intriguing metaphor: "Fear tastes like bitter otter bear." Please Lord, don't ever let me taste a bitter otter bear!!!
