Wonderful Poem by early stage EAL student.

I am Poet in Residence at a girls' secondary school in Newham, East London. The school has a very high population of EAL students. This morning I discovered a wonderful poem in my pigeonhole, written by one such student. I should confess that I was not directly involved with the composition of the piece, although I have used similar ideas in my work around refugees. I think the poem highlights some ideas that are important for people getting to grips with a new language: its use of repetition, clear scaffolding and sense-data are all interesting. Here is the fantastic poem:

Poem by Sarjitha

I will need my food

People around me are tired and hungry

Babies are crying for milk and water

I will need my food

I will need my clothes

People around me are dripping wet

Shaking, cold and in dirty clothes

I will need my clothes

I will need my book

People around me want to learn

I learn how to read and write

I will need my book

I will need my water

People around me are thirsty

Babies are thirsty

I will need my water

I will need my money

People around me are poor and sad

They need their money so they can

Feed their babies

I will need my money