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Benjamin Zephaniah
Dr Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, England. Amazingly, he is dyslexic, and when he left school at 13, he couldn’t read or write; but by 15 he had a strong following in Handsworth for his accessible poetry, strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls ‘street politics’. His poetry book for children, Talking Turkeys, illustrated by The Point, was an immediate bestseller. He has also written several novels aimed specifically at teenagers, as well as several collections of poetry. Benjamin Zephaniah’s website with all his books on is here, and he is available through United Agents.
Here is a brilliant poem, reproduced by kind permission of Benjamin Zephaniah. It appears in his book Wicked World, illustrated by Sarah Symonds, published by Puffin Books.
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PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE
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To walk to
To talk to
To cry and rely on,
People will always need people.
To love and to miss
To hug and to kiss,
It’s useful to have other people.
To whom will you moan
If you’re all alone,
It’s so hard to share
When no one is there,
There’s not much to do
When there’s no one but you,
People will always need people.
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To please
To tease
To put you at ease,
People will always need people.
To make life appealing
And give life some meaning.
It’s useful to have other people,
If you need a change
To whom will you turn,
If you need a lesson
From whom will you learn,
If you need to play
You’ll know why I say
People will always need people.
.
As girlfriends
As boyfriends,
From Bombay
To Ostend,
People will always need people.
To have friendly fights with
And share tasty bites with,
It’s useful to have other people,
People live in families
Gangs, posses and packs,
It seems we need company
Before we relax,
So stop making enemies
And let’s face the facts,
People will always need people,
Yes
People will always need people.
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© Benjamin Zephaniah (This poem is taken from the book Wicked World, published by Puffin Books. Reproduced with the permission of Benjamin Zephaniah.)
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