My very famous feet
Are walking down the street
Goal-scorers
Crowd-pleasers
My very famous feet
My very famous feet
Strangers to defeat
Penalty-takers
Boot-wearers
My very famous feet
My very famous feet
In trainers looking neat
Ball-dribblers
Cup-winners
My very famous feet
My very famous feet
Are rushing through the gate
Playground-pounders
Classroom-visitors
My very famous feet
My very famous
Very famous
My ‘Sorry I’m late, Miss’ feet
In honour of World Listening Day today, which has the theme of listening to water, I am adding this poem of mine originally posted on poloroidblipfoto on 1 June 2015.
Stop, for a moment
Look how the rain sweeps across our view
Listen to the wind crashing against our window
Listen to the swoosh of tyres on the road below
Look at lucky us, warm and cosy with our mugs of tea
Stop for a moment, listen, look
UK’s National Poetry Day, the annual mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical, will mark its 21st birthday on Thursday 8 October 2015.
This year’s theme is LIGHT. Lesson plans and resources can be found on the National Poetry Day website here: http://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/national-poetry-day/resources/lesson-plans/
Here is one from me on that theme.
you’re bright
white hot
turned on
tuned in
it’s a moment
of wonderment
and fulfilment
your filament
alive with electricity
you tingle
and something
goes ping
in your brain
This place is full of scenery.
There’s not a shop in sight.
I need to buy a burger.
There’s nothing here I like.
There’s nothing here I like.
It’s all hills and trees and lakes
and oldies who love hiking.
I need to phone my mates.
I need to phone my mates
and tell them what I’m going through.
I have to trek for hours
just to admire a view.
‘Just admire that view,’
is all my dad can say.
He’s driving me round the bend.
I’ve got to get away.
I’ve got to get away
from fresh air and greenery.
I need noise and traffic.
This place is full of scenery!
It opens daily.
The day.
You could visit.
Be part of it.
Or, better still,
why not be there
at the start of it
and stay till
it’s over.
No, no, I’m not
the host of it.
I’m just here, like you,
hoping to make
the most of it.
Back to school after the Christmas break?
Finding it hard to stay awake?
The Head’s in her office, head on the desk
All she needs is a little more rest
But now’s the time to raise a smile
Into the hall, the kids all file
And though half term seems a long way off
There’s still cake in the staffroom that you can scoff
Bernard is available for workshops in schools, particularly primary age (KS1/KS2). He is based in Manchester, but happy to travel further afield. Over the years he’s also worked successfully in partnership with Road Safety officers combining the road safety message with creative writing. To book Bernard for a workshop in your school, see Contact page.
Image credit: “Luxembourg Vianden Nut-fair 10” by PlayMistyForMe – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luxembourg_Vianden_Nut-fair_10.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Luxembourg_Vianden_Nut-fair_10.jpg
Will you be driving home for Christmas, Eddie
On a dark and dismal day?
I hope you make it back, Eddie
And that everything’s ok
You might be someone’s daddy, Eddie
Yes, you might be someone’s dad
Not a fuddy-duddy daddy
But the sort that makes kids glad
That Dad’s at home for Christmas
And adding to the fun
Delivering hugs for all the children
And big kisses just for… Mum!
“You look like a poet
who’s expecting rain,”
said the photographer
I bumped into
down Woodbrick Lane.
It’s a tough job being a poet.
I’m surprised it’s not better paid.
Perhaps there should be guided tours of workshops
so non-poets can see how poems are made?
There’s no respite if you’re a poet.
You’re working all the time.
You have to get on it if there’s a call for a sonnet.
And people expect you to rhyme.
It’s more demanding than being a surgeon.
It’s harder than digging a road.
We deserve much longer holidays than teachers.
It can be stressful writing an ode.
We sometimes work until lunchtime
if we need to complete a quatrain.
Yes, it’s a tough job being a poet
but you’ll never hear us complain.
Remember a poet can be an enthusiastic inspiring addition to your classroom all year round, not just for National Poetry Day. If you’d like to know what I can do in your school, please contact me.
5th October is World Teachers’ Day. Here’s a poem for all the teachers out there.
Every night Mr Miller dreams
of the day he will retire.
There’ll be a small party
in the staff room
during the lunch hour
and at final assembly
he’ll receive a major gift
from the whole school
plus presents
from individual pupils
who will be heartbroken
to see him leave.
Children, past and present
(some now grown up)
will file past to thank him
for being so inspirational
– for changing their lives.
In the evening
a large group of colleagues and friends
will take him out for drinks
and a meal.
There will be speeches
charting his impressive career
and praising his achievements.
He can’t wait.
Day two. Week one. First job.
A long way to go.
Every night Mr Miller dreams.
Bernard Young Poet 
