MY DOG

My dog is very valiant,

adventurous and brave. 

He’s climbed the highest mountain

and explored the darkest cave. 

His appetite for escapades

is difficult to sate.

The lure of deadly enterprises

simply won’t abate. 

My dog has battled dragons

and defeated evil beasts.

He’s turned the toughest creatures

into rich and tasty feasts.

The streets are always empty

when he’s out and on the prowl. 

He’ll make you wet your underpants

with nothing but a growl.

My dog is temerarious

and brilliantly bold.

The level of his courage

is amazing to behold. 

He’s mighty and he’s muscular

but here’s the caveat:

there’s just one thing that frightens him

and that thing is my cat.

two very short poems

JOHN MOTSON, RIP

Motty,

You will not be

Forgotty

[Legendary football commentator John Motson dies]

TURNIP: AN ACROSTIC

Totally

Unfit

Rabble

Now

In

Power

[Ghoulish Tory MP Therese Coffey suggests we should all respond to Brexit food shortages by eating turnips, like the peasants we are]

SLOW NEWS DAY

a pigeon landed in the garden

we ran out of coffee

my bath was fairly warm

I caught the train 1 min 34 secs before departure, precisely

that pothole is still there (why won’t they repair it?)

my book is beginning to get to the interesting bit 

I took the butterbean curry out of the freezer 

Jessica doesn’t like the new art teacher 

Tottenham lost again

some politician lied 

the world turned very slightly about its axis

the pigeon came back

I inhaled, slowly

BIRD

A poem is like a bird. 

Words poke their way

through the shell of your brain,

tentatively touching the page

with their baby beak. 

You build a nest for them,

feed them worms

so their bones grow strong. 

Nursing them diligently,

you protect them from harm. 

For a time you mustn’t let

anyone approach,

lest their feathers snap

like twigs or their wings

wither and wilt away. 

Night, however, turns to day

and with a guarded sigh

you watch your fledgling fly.

FOOD LOVE POETRY - fantastic poem from Year 5, JAGS Prep School

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to share a love poem. But it's not a normal love poem! One of my favourite activities to run with KS2 children is to get them to write love poems to their favourite (healthy) food! This results in much hilarity, and often in surprisingly inventive poems. Before setting the students loose of their own poems, I share with them my poem 'Love Letter to a Lychee', which is published in by book I Don't Like Poetry, and which you can view here:

Inspired by this poem, here is a wonderful LOVE POEM TO A CHERRY, written by a girl in Year 5 at JAGS Prep School, where I had the privilege of spending a two day poetry residency last week:

Poems about COURAGE, from Kenilworth Primary, Herts

A teacher has been in touch from Kenilworth Primary School, in Herts, to say I have inspired their puoils to write their own poetry. That's my job! I have read a wonderful selection of their work, and I'm over the moon to be able to share a few of their pieces on this here blog. Ahoy!

Why not have a go at writing your own poem about Courage, or any other attribute. Simply think about some of the INGREDIENTS that might go into making that thing!