Friday 17 April 2015

Poems 15 and 16 inspired by a two-day schools tour


I have had a busy, but brilliant two days visiting schools in Shropshire helping to promote the wonderful Wenlock Poetry Festival. I am doing a children's show there next weekend launching my new book and first children's collection: My New Teacher Is An Alien (and other little fibs). Ten events including assemblies and workshops in two days reaching over a thousand children promoting poetry and the Festival. Here are a couple of poems inspired by the past two days and I am almost caught up for National Poetry Writing Month.

Keep writing and reciting

Mark x

Absence without a capital A
 

Attendance is important,
especially to this school.
The noticeboard is a heavy hint
dominating the assembly hall,
results and tables displayed
under the legend:
A T T E N D A N C E
A I M  F O R   T H E   T O P !

 
The first two letters however, are missing. 
 

The A and T are outlined in shadows
where the sun bleached the backing paper,
like escaped prisoners
stuffing their bed with pillows.
I hope this absence is genuine, authorised,
explanatory notes from their Mum on file
rather than hanging round McDonalds or
playing in the seductive spring sunshine.

  

Abstract

The primary school students
Had painted their own art:
Coloured rectangles, kind of zen.
 

The caption said “Mark Rothko”.
So I gave him
Eight out of ten.


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