Zaro Weil lives in an old farm on a little hill in southern France, and her poetry for children has appeared in many anthologies. She has written several books including a book of children’s poetry. Her book Firecrackers, Troika, illustrated by Jo Riddell, can be bought here, and her book, Cherry Moon is available here! Zaro’s website is here.
Unicorn
don’t go
let me ask you
how long you’ve been here
please
no lies
© Zaro Weil
Thank you, Zaro, for this lovely poem!
Trevor Parsons was born in Parsons Green, London, but, disappointingly, was not the son of a parson. After studying dentistry at London University (he decided it was not for him) he had a variety of jobs including being a postman. He has written poetry since his postman days and for the last twenty years has written for children as well. He has had poems in dozens of anthologies and in 2011 had his first children’s collection, Hear Here (illustrated by Lucy Creed) published – available here! He also writes poems for greetings cards. This is his website.
Lying Around
Lying on the beach
lying in the sun
lying on a lounger
lying having fun.
Lying by the water’s edge
lying in the foam
couldn’t go to school that day
lying ill at home.
Lying in department stores
lying, she was caught
lying in a cell before
lying in the court.
Lying to the magistrate
she was nowhere near the crime
lying she was on the beach
lying all the time.
© Trevor Parsons
Thank you for this excellent poem, Trevor!
Gerard Benson was one very beloved poet and was also a lovely friend to have. He was an actor, poet, raconteur, book reviewer, editor and co-founder of the ‘Poems on the Undergound’ project, former Barrow poet, former teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Sadly he died in 2014, and is much missed.
He was an immensely talented poet – and any poem read in his wonderfully resonant tones was a joy to listen to. Here is one of his poems read by Hannah Evans.
Trevor is a writer and performer of short stories and poems for children and has published lots of other stuff too. His poems are widely published and anthologised. He is also an experienced workshop leader and is well known for his work on creativity and developing the use of ICT in English. His website is here.
A lie
set free
like a fly
where will it settle
where will it go
will it mate
and reproduce
produce maggots
of untruth?
A promise made
Emerging like a butterfly
From its cocoon
Tests it wings
Takes flight
Settles… moves on…
Can it be trusted?
A reminder…
A buzzing fly
banging at the window pane
of your mind
flies off around the room
out of sight, out of mind
And returns
bangs against the pane again
An excuse..
Wriggling
Avoiding the light
A worm
Wanting the haven of deep dark soil
Away from the pecking beaks
Of close questioning
© Trevor Millum
Thank you very much for this great lie poem, Trevor!
Wednesday’s National Poetry Day Week poem is from the wonderful Coral Rumble. Coral has worked as a poet and performer for many years and now specialises in writing and performing for children. She has three collections, Creatures, Teachers and Family Features, Breaking the Rules, illustrated by Nigel Baines, and My Teacher’s as Wild as a Bison, also illustrated by Nigel Baines, and has poems in over 100 anthologies for young people. Her website is here.
Sometimes, the Lie Fox
Races out of my mouth
Before I can stop him.
He’s a sneaky character –
Crafty, cunning, conniving,
Tricking my tongue into action.
Speedily, he darts into ears,
Wriggles into the minds
Of my trusting friends.
He’s sly, that artful Lie Fox,
Always prising open my pursed lips,
Chasing the truth into dark corners.
© Coral Rumble
Thank you for this great lie poem, Coral!
Poetry Roundabout 