ANIMAL EMOTION POEMS from Cranleigh Prep School

This academic year I am very much honoured to be Patron of Reading at Cranleigh Prep School in Surrey. This involves several visits throughout the year, working with various groups of pupils. I am really excited to share a selection of wonderful, albeit quite strange, poems written by students in Year 8. The task was to write about an emotion as though it were an animal. Here are some really imaginative examples:

DONKEY by ALEX

How to describe Donkey?

The eyes full of pain and regret,

enough to last over a lifetime.

The nose, with a slight but consistent drip, 

twitching like it is its own animal, but nay, 

it is a part of Donkey. 

The ears, droopy and dark, 

floppy and unmoving, seeming like they are

not alive, until they move, 

letting me know it is active. 

Its tail and fur, matted and knotted, 

unable to be helped. 

And finally, his knees and feet, scarred, 

bored, knobbled and bent. 

After all, this is the Donkey of Depression. 

THE BULL OF RAGE by Archie

Enter the ring

And it will follow the red,

Its rage will carry from left to right,

Its rage will last from day to night. 

Stay still, and the Bull of Rage 

Will move in for the kill

With its horrendous horns.

The horns within your home. 

The Bull of Rage

Will release its rage upon you. 

The Bull of Rage

Will never stop. 

THE SHARK OF TEMPTATION by Isla

The shark of red,

the fish of blue,

is guilty of temptation

to eat you. 

His teeth clash and scrape

whilst his prey tries to escape. 

But when it’s done

and there is none

the shark of red

becomes the fish of blue,

his fiery eyes turn

to watery eyes of guilt and shame.