Fantastic poems from St Marylebone School

I recently had the pleasure of working with Year 10 students at St Marylebone School in central London. With a view on preparing them for the unseen poetry unit in their GCSE exams, I thought it would be highly beneficial to get them involved in the artistic side of the creative process. With this in mind, we had a look at Billy Collins' famous poem 'On Turning Ten'. In the light of this, I then asked students to think about the notion of growing up, and what it means to them. With her permission, I am very excited to share two poems written by Naomi. I really like the contrast between rhyming and non-rhyming, and in the rhyming poem I am especially impressed with the rhythm and intonation, which is something that is very hard to do. I'm sure you'll agree with me that some of the imagery is absolutely stunning. Well done, Naomi!

Poem #1 by Naomi

I'm going on 16, the road feels wide

A mix of fear and joy inside

The sky is big, the world feels near

But in my heart I hold some fear

Locks and keys and hearts that race

A mirror shows a changing face

Dreams like stars begin to shine 

Some feel far but some feel mine

Soft words, sharp thoughts, louder days 

Learning life in quiet ways 

Not a child, not quite grown 

But walking paths I've never known

Going on 16

A heart still wide open

Chasing the light

In every words spoken 

Poem #2 by Naomi

It blooms like spring

each petal a promise

each moment layered with dreams 

Time unfurls like a ribbon

leadig me through laughter

and the tender ache of goodbyes

I stand at the edge of tomorrow

the world a canvas

ready for splashes of colour

Joy dances in the corners

hope whispers in every heartbeat

growing up feels like taking flight