Or work out ten times two,

I open up a precious gift

Bequeathed to me by you.

You gave me names and numbers.

You taught me how to spell.

You told me how to hold a pen

And how to write as well.

You showed me how to read aloud

From books of red and blue.

You filled my head with goats and trolls

And tinderboxes too.

You planted seeds inside me

But did not see them grow.

A bell rings at the end of school

We pack our bags and go.

These words I scrawl on paper,

This shape upon my tongue,

Is made from things you gave to me

Way back when I was young.

Steve Turner

High Achievers

High Achievers

We thought we could . . .

We said we would

go on the climb

to Mount Sublime

and we did it! Yes! We did it!

We got to the top! We did it!

They said it was impossible.

They said we wouldn’t last.

They said it was a grown-ups’ walk

and grown-ups walk too fast.

They said you must be big and strong –

The path is very steep

and you have to cross some channels where

the water’s very deep.

They said the climb is difficult

and we’re not old enough

to know you just keep going when

the going’s really tough.

They said there could be leeches and

creepy crawly things

and real explorers don’t complain

of scratches, bites and stings.

They thought we wouldn’t make it but

they let us go along

and we showed them, yes we showed them they

were wrong! wrong! wrong!

Kate O’Neil

Picking Teams

Picking Teams

When we pick teams in the playground,

Whatever the game might be,

There’s always somebody left till last

And usually it’s me.

I stand there looking hopeful

And tapping myself on the chest,

But the captains pick the others first,

Starting, of course, with the best.

Maybe if teams were sometimes picked

Starting with the worst,

Once in his life a boy like me

Could end up being first!

Allan Ahlberg

Best Friends

Best Friends

It’s Susan I talk to not Tracey,

Before that I sat next to Jane;

I used to be best friends with Lynda

But these days I think she’s a pain.

Natasha’s all right in small doses,

I meet Mandy sometimes in town;

I’m jealous of Annabel’s pony

And I don’t like Nicola’s frown.

I used to go skating with Catherine,

Before that I went there with Ruth;

And Kate’s so much better at trampoline:

She’s a showoff, to tell you the truth.

I think that I’m going off Susan,

She borrowed my comb yesterday;

I think I might sit next to Tracey,

She’s my nearly best friend: she’s OK.

Adrian Henri

Oath of Friendship

Oath of Friendship

Shang ya!

I want to be your friend