7Ba

Pain

Pain sharper than the blade of a knife    

Pain sharper than the tip of a sword                                                                                                                      

Pain sharper than the eye of a needle           

 Pain

I stumble back in horror

        Tears mingling with the

                              Patter of rain

My heart is thudding in my chest

                                 As I tear the paper

                                                Curse it bitterly for the news it contains

But it doesn't change the news

                                   The news that

                                               She's gone

                                                           Never to return

Pain clutches me

And doesn't let go

The breeze shook her;

She stood still. Frozen,

Tears rolling down her pale face

Wearing her new, velvet dress.

People were staring, she felt like their prey,

Breathing on her thin palms, she shoved them deep, into her grey pockets.

Trying to get the attention away.

She was too petrified to move 

Standing alone. Alone

On the icy street

In her new, velvet dress.

It was a whirl of Wonder and Excitement,

trees, snow, presents!

                        The food was home cooked and DELICIOUS!

The mince pies were eaten and the milk drunk,

       There was  s n o w  on the ground, so fun!

My stocking was   FULL  FULL to brim,

                            The adults celebrated with wine and were Carefree,

              This is Christmas,               

 Just how it should be.

I stand on the board - heart beating quick, salty tears prick

As the ticks of seconds go by, I don't want to dive

But I won’t cry like those seagulls that fly overhead

I don’t like the Sea and the Sea doesn’t like Me!

I don’t see what’s so great about it -

It’s just water floating, sitting on land

A vast blue nothingness, devouring up the sand

I don’t like its cry of “Come in, come in”

I don’t like its thunders and shrieks when I‘m trying to swim, 

I don’t like the Sea and the Sea doesn’t like Me!

But when I finally take the plunge 

into the lashing, splashing, shimmering shining Sea,

I catch a glimpse - a whole new world

And lunge in deeper, just to see

A mesmerising underwater world where jellyfish bob

their flabby heads glisten in the sunlight,

And where small crabs tread carefully on slimy rocks,

where clown fish give a fright to anyone who comes near their frenemy - the anemone!

where chill turtles and spotted stingrays surf,

And sleek dolphins who just want to play

And bloated puffer fish and sly eels

And grinning shark prying for a meal!

Emerging from the briny deep,

They welcome me to their utopia of peace

A school of sardines pass by me

Glimmering scales gleaming, catching the filtered sun rays like sequins, 

Then parrot fish glide by, gleefully,

Showing off their array of colours…

 lilac, dark green, orange and blue

Yellows and reds and light pink too!

Graceful turtles swim right by,

Bringing a tear to my eyes to see them work in harmony

With the small wrasse to create a beautiful scene,

But it doesn’t matter how big, small, terrifyingly tall, 

young or old they are,

They all work together

Creating something like no other,

An orchestra of harmony and vibrant colour.

And now, out of the blue,

I hear the sea talking to me…

In a soothing, flowing tone she says:

“I consider you my friend”

Before melting away 

in her glorious, meandering robe,

arms rippling her goodbye, she sends a crashing wave to scoop me home

Leaving only a fading ripple echoing, echoing

A salty tear runs down my cheek

I smile and touch it, staring out to sea

And now I know - 

I like the Sea and maybe, just maybe, the sea likes me.

I stop, waiting outside 

In my new blue ivy coat

I hide

A face full of tears 

I’ll have to go in alone

Alone, alone

All by myself for the first time!

No friends, noone to talk to

I sit in the corner  

Alone, alone 

I wish I was at home 

Instead I’m all alone 

The sun is blazing

And skin’s burning

Everyone knows what time of the year it is

Summer!!!

Every kid cheers

Cold drinks and ice-cream by the pool

The beaches getting busier and busier

Day by day 

Minute by minute

Second by second

They flood more than ever

Some families go on holiday

To Spain, Portugal or wherever

Families gather and have a barbeque in the heat

Smiles shared across the globe

Then as soon as you know it school is here

Kids are grumpy 

The happy smiley atmosphere disappears

…

Until the next school holidays

Her foot up to the line,

She looked at the distance ahead of her,

Her head spinning, her hands sweating

Her legs were shaking.

This race could determine her future;

She needed, needed, needed

That gold medal around her neck.

The glories and stories,

Of being the first one to cross the finish line,

The crowd cheering,

Her competitors sneering

ON YOUR MARKS

Wait!

Was she wearing her running trainers…

SHE DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO CHECK

GET SET

OH NO!

She felt a pain creeping up in her lower leg…

SHE COULDN’T BACK OUT NOW

GO…

Young, small and delicate,

Easy to break,

a girl on her sofa shattered,

She lost a part of heart, her favourite place,

a single tear falls down,

she freezes like a statue,

river on her face, she’s started to drown!

Tear after tear,

Her soft, soft, sweet eyelashes, wet and silky.

She felt like she was drowning,

Died and died again,

When she found out God takes men and God takes girls,

But HE lives,

We’re just his toys, his diamonds and pearls.

She takes long breaths.

She puts her hands to her face and covers her eyes.

The grief has not started, the horror, not yet.

She’ll have to live without one more joke,

Wandering aimlessly, round the house,

One less silly prod and poke,

No more laughter, no more jokes.

First time this has happened to her,

First time she could not stop,

Her bag of faith and hope smashed and dropped.

Wet face and tears dripping off her chin,

Her first time of feeling a new feeling,

Good lost, 

today is evil’s win.

I was in the bathroom when I took my first puff

I melted to the floor in my own cloud of fluff

Since then I could not stop spinning

I wish I never started in the beginning 

I felt faint my whole body shaking

My heart so weak it started aching

I tried to stop

But I would always find my way back 

to my cigarette pot.

When you stop and look 

beyond what you see and hear about us 

we want you to see how we are, 

who we are 

and what we really are.

For what a nice dog I am 

I love to be a rocket 

Snuggle up, for treats from your pocket

though people think I’m bad 

for my looks are, well, quite sad 

They leave me at the door 

or say to me “poor dog

no one wants you anymore.”  

Christmas is near

My favourite time of the year

I can’t wait for christmas 

Father Christmas is getting near

I can hear the sleigh bells ringing 

Reindeer are up so high

I can hear the children singing

As they look up at the reindeer, in the sky 

The last leaves flutter from the trees,

All it took was a breeze, so gentle

Autumn had come and now 

it has gone.

I get up with the lark,

The mornings are cold, so dark yet

I feel excited because Christmas is on its way

The roar of the fire crackle

Listen at the door - can you hear a little rattle?

Before I know it is Christmas night,

The thought of seeing Santa is a wonderful sight!

I was lost but now I'm found

In the sky, on the ground

I was blind, but now i see

Was someone else, but now I’m me

I have found my passion within

Don't need to copy, just to fit in 

I walked up on to the stage

Lost and afraid,

Lights burning in my eyes 

I said I couldn't - lies

They burn but make my soul flutter

I took a deep breath…

Butterflies…

My throat spoke for me

I didn't want to flee

The audience was calling me

I WASN'T falling I WAS rising,

The stage was mine. 

Waking up on Christmas morning

Christmas trees shining

everyone smiling 

carol singing

diamonds blinging

Parents grinning 

presents ripping

Icicles dripping 

cold is calling

mums are cooking

children screaming

Lights are beaming

everyone knows what time it is - 

It’s Christmas time!

I am the Indian elephant! 

The cultural icon,

I keep the forest and grasslands elegant. 

I have been killed for your overpopulation, 

We have nowhere to stay that's relevant.

I am the Indian elephant.

I am the whale. 

At the top of the food chain, 

400 of us in the North Atlantic. 

Where we feed and breed,

Your ships hit us, it's tragic.

I am the whale.

I am the mountain gorilla. 

Our lands have been destroyed, 

For your farms and charcoal.

1000 of us left in African mountains,

Before you know it we’ll end up in a pothole. 

I am a mountain gorilla.

I am the black rhino. 

Not enough of us left globally,

As we’re being traded for your little development lease. 

Our horns are wanted by Vietnam and China,

Poaching is killing us, please.

I am the black rhino.

I am the sea turtle. 

I balance the ocean’s ecosystem,

Vehicle traffic stops our nesting.

We are at the top of the endangered list, 

Pollution needs to stop - I’m protesting.

I am a sea turtle.

I am the orangutan.

I am Malaysia’s man of the forest, 

Over half of us have escaped.

For our protected area you illegally log,

Our homes have be relandscaped.

I am the orangutan.

I am the red panda. 

We live in the Himalayan mountains,

I'm one of 10,000.

Why is there no bamboo, 

Or even nesting woodland?

I am the red panda.

I am the tiger.

We are crucial to our ecosystem, 

I have a wide variety of homelands. 

They are all becoming limited,

I hope everyone understands.

I am the tiger.

I am the African wild dog. 

Overpopulation is bringing us down, 

Accidental and targeted hunting too.

Diseases and habitat loss,

Our fierce predators will eat us through.

I am the African wild dog.

When I first touched sand,

Tiny grains tickled my feet.

The silence, the relaxation and the heat.

Every serene sunset,

The soothing of the waves,

Drowned out the worries in my head.

There was never anything to dread.

I buried myself in the sand,

And closed myself off from the world.

I remember the first time it touched my hand,

Some find it bland,

But for me, 

it's my own land.

Bdm. Bdm. Bdm. Bdm.

Her heart was beating, beating fast

Would she make it; would she survive the perils of school?

Would she even make it there at all?

The clock was ticking, stomach butterflies kicking

Buzz, buzz screamed her phone

The sound was startling, scary - she froze

She picked it up, nervous fingers fumbling

“Don’t be late” it read - “I’m outside.” 

Panicking, she was stumbling

And tripped, her phone fell down, down

Down onto the icy, concrete floor of the hallway

Where it lay in pieces

Like her nerves

On this, her first day of school.

I read a poem.

Now I see the beauty in autumn,

The time of the celebration and the harvest.

But, also the time of worry,

The time of preparing for what is worse and yet to come.

The time of the crip and cold is next.

The first leaves are falling,

In many different colours.

But, The world around of nature,

Feels like it’s drifting to sleep.

The wind is howling now,

Shrieking in the sky.

I saw the birds fly south today,

As the sun set,

Now the only birds I will hear are the winter Robins.

Autumn, is the time of darkness;

But also the time of bounty,

The time of hope.

The first leaves are falling,

They crunch on the ground

And I see their beauty.

Deep down

Lurking in the depths of the ocean

       Churning it black, as it moves through

              The only thing you can see are its

                    Beaming red eyes

                           Seeking innocent prey

                                          Swash

                                             Swash

                                                Swash!

                                                 Its fins have enough power to kill

                                             Its prey is within sight 

                                         Ready to pounce 

                                    Soft, sharp, skin is camouflaged in the ocean

                                  WE LOCK EYES

                     Plish, plash, plosh

                          Like dainty ballerinas

                             The bubbles from my diving mask float 

                                Without making a sound

                                    Its body, enormously round 

                                        Oh NO -  I’ve been found!

                                         Soul-piercing eyes look right at me as

                                             I kick my flippers and propel myself to safety

Deep, down.

A crisp fire lights up the nook,

A ball of yarn and a hook.

Stitching and stitching every night of the week,

Until her eyes were heavy with sleep.

Just in time to hear the sleigh bells ring,

She finished cutting off the last string.

Until below,

A wonderful blanket emerges,

Tied up with a bow.