poem for Fleetville Infant School

I have been working with Fleetville Infant School in St Albans since 2014, as their Patron of Reading. This involves visiting the school roughly once a term, and helping the children develop their writing, reading, listening, and all of those fun things. During my latest visit I worked with a select group of children to produce a poem celebrating their fantastic school. The Caring School Committee is a group of about twelve children from Year 1 and Year 2, who implement ideas to help develop a caring and nurturing environment across the school. During their workshop, I ask each pupil to come up with some ideas about what makes their school special. Using these ideas, we then compiled the following poem. It was such a pleasure to work with the Caring School Committee!

Our School by Caring School Committee – May 2023

We are made of

Kind teachers and a rainbow of colourful books

terrific playground toys and fun cricket coaches

inspiring poetry visits and chatty children

We are made of

fish and chip Fridays and healthy snacks

sustainability and cool school trips

love, happiness and stardust

We are made of

care, respect, responsibility, safety

AND FUN!

written by India, Ava, Harry, Jake, Aria, Hugo, Jake, Safah, Alvin, Sylvia, Adam & Eliza

Victoria Park

A little girl

asks another little girl

how old she is. 

A Siberian Husky

watches two burly men

feed nuts to a squirrel.

Boys play basketball

as mums converse

in foreign tongues. 

Sometimes, you know,

life isn’t so bad. 

a poem for Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Boltin’ Bishop

I’m zipping from the altar.

Yes I’m nipping down the street.

I’m whipping up a frenzy

and I’m generating heat.  

I’m fleeing fast from Satan

and I’m zooming to the light.

My pedal pushing power

sends me off into the night. 

The angels blare their trumpets

and the cherubs beam and sing;

I hurtle down the highway 

with a super zappy zing.

I gotta make my Exodus.

This Act’s my occupation.

The Judges have my Numbers

but I’m quite the Revelation…

(Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,

was fined for speeding in May 2023.)

'RECIPE FOR A GOOD NEIGHBOUR' - poems from Kenilworth School

Ms Alam from Kenilworth Primary School, Herts, recently got in touch to say they had been looking at Christianity in RE. In particular, they had written poems about what makes a good neighbour. The poems were written in the form of a recipe, which in my experience always leads to really imaginative writing. I am delighted to display some of Kenilworth's wonderful poems on my blog. All the poets should be extremely proud of themselves!

SEWAGE

Sewage in the ocean, sewage in the sea

Sewage in the dockyard, sewage by the quay

Sewage in the rivers, sewage in the lake

Sewage in the evening, sewage at daybreak

Sewage in the estuary, sewage in the creek

Sewage from a pipeline, week on week on week 

Sewage in the reservoir, right before our eyes

Sewage as the water profits rise and rise and rise

Sewage in the Commons, spewing out their gobs

There's nothing but raw sewage

When the Tories do their jobs.

[The Tory government are big fans of letting water companies pour sewage into oceans]

CORONATION

Give yourself a coronation. 

Invite friends, colleagues, or even just the cat. 

Stick a plant pot on your head

and declare yourself King of the Capybaras. 

Burp the tune for Sharky and George 

as you goose step in your pyjamas.

Go on, give yourself a coronation. 

Fashion a sword out of empty Pringles cans. 

Eat nothing but tapioca and pilchards for a week. 

Gather up all your belly button fluff

and bury it in your great-uncle’s garden. 

Look the wrong way down a pair of binoculars

as you cluck like a chicken and flap your arms. 

Recite the Mongolian alphabet, backwards.

Crush up a centipede

and write yourself a certificate with the gunk. 

Gargle with turnip juice

then anoint the sofa with your spit.

You deserve this.

Give yourself a coronation, pal.

You know you’re worth it.

Joshua Seigal

Bushey Heath Primary School Poetry Competition - WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Mr Moody from Bushey Heath Primary School recently got in touch to ask if I would judge their poetry competition, which of course I was delighted to do. Each class was tasked with writing a poem based on my world famous piece 'I Don't Like Poetry'. I am delighted to announce a winner, followed by three commended poems. 

The WINNER is... Ethan from Year 4:

An amazing poem, I'm sure you'll agree! Here are the three COMMENDED poems:

Mahad, Year 3

Daniel, Year 5:

And Evan, Year 6: 

Well done everyone, you should all be very proud!!!!

Playgrounds in the Rain

I like playgrounds in the rain – 

everyone indoors, at home or work

or school. Just me and Dad,

him in his yellow raincoat

and me in my big green wellies. 

No queues to use the swings

or slide – I have the whole thing

to myself. Dad sits with his coffee

and his hood up as I play. 

I like the quiet. I like the way

each raindrop sanctifies this place.

Dad smiles beneath his yellow hood;

although the sky is gristle grey

it wraps me in its arms somehow.

I sit on the see-saw; no one but me – 

I wallow in my gravity

and as the clouds converge above 

I take a breath

and know I’m free.

Joshua Seigal