LAMDA Verse and Prose Anthology: Volume 20

Solo Introductory: Stage 1

Flippin’ Eck

by Brian Bilston

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

by Emily Dickinson

From Aliens Stole My Underpants

by Brian Moses

Sugarcake Bubble

by Grace Nichols

Night Thoughts

by Li Bai, translated by Amy Lowell

Hurt No Living Thing

by Christina Rossetti

Flippin’ Eck

Brian Bilston

This Speaker writes a poem using the method of making a pancake. Turn your book upside down to discover their recipe.

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Emily Dickinson

This Speaker considers what it is like to be an outsider.

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

From Aliens Stole My Underpants

Brian Moses

This poem explores the Speaker’s relationship with aliens.

To understand the ways

of alien beings is hard,

and I’ve never worked it out

why they landed in my backyard.

And I’ve always wondered why

on their journey from the stars,

these aliens stole my underpants

and took them back to Mars.

Sugarcake Bubble

Grace Nichols

This poem describes the bubbling of a sugarcake.

Sugarcake, Sugarcake

Bubbling in a pot

Bubble, Bubble Sugarcake

Bubble thick and hot

Sugarcake, Sugarcake

Spice and coconut

Sweet and sticky

Brown and gooey

I could eat the lot.

Night Thoughts

Li Bai, translated by Amy Lowell

This poem portrays the Speaker’s longing for home.

In front of my bed the moonlight is very bright.

I wonder if that can be frost on the floor?

I lift up my head and look at the full moon, the dazzling moon.

I drop my head, and think of the home of old days.

Hurt No Living Thing

Christina Rossetti

This poem communicates the importance of looking after all living creatures.

Hurt no living thing:

Ladybird, nor butterfly,

Nor moth with dusty wing,

Nor cricket chirping cheerily,

Nor grasshopper so light of leap,

Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,

Nor harmless worms that creep.

Group Introductory: Stage 1

The Laugh

by Joseph Coelho

From I Am/I Say

by Sabrina Mahfouz

Jungle Noises

by Nick Teed

The Laugh

Joseph Coelho

This poem explores how infectious a laugh can be.

It started as a tickle

as a wriggle on my lips.

It turned into a giggle,

a wiggle of the hips.

It turned into a jitter,

a titter of the teeth.

My face is turning red

and it’s begging for release.

It gasps into a guffaw!

Into a great big belly laugh.

If I whoop any louder

‘Call the security staff!’

Now it’s spreading to my friends

in snickers, chuckles and snorts.

If we roar any louder

we’ll get a school report!

Now our sides our splitting!

We’re on the floor laughing!

We cannot stop!

We will not stop!

It’s threatening to choke!

And all because of the telling

of a wonderfully silly joke.

From I Am/I Say

Sabrina Mahfouz

This poem celebrates and protects the natural world.

We are part of the heart of the world

Don’t break it

Don’t break it.

We don’t have the power to make it turn

But we have the power to learn.

Don’t shake it

like a fizzy drink,

Too much up and down

Too much throwing around

The pressure mounts

The insides explode

Goes all over your clothes

No!

We all have the power to learn

To turn it all around

Care for the earth from below the ground

To the rumbles of clouds

I say

I say

I may be small

But I want more than sweets

Give me a world that beats

With the beauty it was given

Before any of us were living.

We are part of the heart of the world

Don’t break it.

Jungle Noises

Nick Teed

This poem explores the sounds and noises of animals.

What’s in the jungle?

Let’s go explore!

Look, there’s a tiger!

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

What’s in the jungle?

Let’s take a peek!

Look, there’s a jungle rat!

Squeak!

Squeak!

Squeak!

What’s in the jungle?

Let’s take a walk!

Look, there’s a parrot!

Squawk!

Squawk!

Squawk!

What’s in the jungle?

Let’s look at this!

Look, there’s a snake!

Hiss!

Hiss!

Hiss!

What’s in the jungle?

No time to nap!

Look, there’s a crocodile!

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

It’s great here in the jungle,

Bathed in the sun!

Seeing all the animals!

Fun!

Fun!

Fun!

Solo Introductory: Stage 2

There’s a Shark in my Tea!

by Leo Alderin

Gibberish

by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

Cold Toast

by Claudine Toutoungi

The Storm

by Sara Coleridge

Let Thine Eyes Whisper

by Ameen Rihani

Bird, Bell, and I

by Misuzu Kaneko, translated by Sally Ito and Michiko Tsuboi

There’s a Shark in my Tea!

Leo Alderin (Runner-up in LAMDA Learners’ Poetry Prize 2023)

This Speaker sees something suspicious in their cup of tea.

There’s a shark in my tea!

How did it get in there?

It’s bobbing up and down

Giving me quite a scare.

I’m so glad I saw it

Before I took a sip

Otherwise it might have tried

To bite me on my lip!

I can’t believe my eyes

It is a great big fin…

Oh dear… I need to tell Mum

That she left the tea bag in!

Gibberish

Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

This is poem of nonsense, where birds blossom and flowers sing.

Many a flower have I seen blossom,

Many a bird for me will sing.

Never heard I so sweet a singer,

Never saw I so fair a thing.

She is a bird, a bird that blossoms,

She is a flower, a flower that sings;

And I a flower when I behold her,

And when I hear her, I have wings.

Cold Toast

Claudine Toutoungi

In this poem, the Speaker sends some toast in the post.

I made you some toast

It went in the post

I mailed it first class

with jam on one half

When it lands on your mat

it should be quite flat

if a little bit burnt

(though I scraped off the worst)

Cold toast it will be

but if you chew vigorously

and drink some hot tea

it will slip down wonderfully

The Storm

Sara Coleridge

This poem depicts a raging storm, before it clears into a brighter day.

See lightning is flashing,

The forest is crashing,

The rain will come dashing,

A flood will be rising anon;

The heavens are scowling,

The thunder is growling,

The loud winds are howling,

The storm has come suddenly on!

But now the sky clears,

The bright sun appears,

Now nobody fears,

But soon every cloud will be gone.

Let Thine Eyes Whisper

Ameen Rihani

This Speaker provides comfort to someone struggling with grief and regret.

Grieve not, for I am near thee;

Sigh not, for I can hear thee;

Wash from thy heart all memory of past wrong;

Doubt not that doubts besmear thee;

Speak not, for I do fear thee;

Let thine eyes whisper love’s conciling song.

Bird, Bell, and I

Misuzu Kaneko, translated by Sally Ito and Michiko Tsuboi

This poem celebrates difference and individuality.

Even if I spread my arms wide,

I can’t fly through the sky,

but still the little bird who flies

can’t run on the ground as fast as I.

Even if I shake my body about

no pretty sound comes out,

but still, the tinkling bell

doesn’t know as many songs as I.

Bird, bell, and I,

We’re all different, and that’s just fine.

Group Introductory: Stage 2

Hopaloo Kangaroo

by John Agard

The Last Shot

by Kwame Alexander

Wallaby Trouble

by Monika Johnson

Hopaloo Kangaroo

John Agard

This poem playfully describes the movement of a kangaroo.

If you can jigaloo

jigaloo

I can do the jigaloo too,

for I’m the jiggiest

jigaloo kangaroo

jigaloo all night through

jigaloo all night through

If you can boogaloo

boogaloo

I can do the boogaloo too

for I’m the boogiest

boogaloo kangaroo.

boogaloo all night through

boogaloo all night through

But bet you can’t hopaloo

hopaloo

like I can do

for I’m the hoppiest

hopaloo kangaroo

hopaloo all night through

hopaloo all night through

Gonna show you steps

you never knew,

And guess what, guys?

My baby in my pouch

Will be dancing too.

The Last Shot

Kwame Alexander

In a competitive basketball game, the team take their last shot of the match.

They DOUBLE-team me

I’m in DOUBLE trouble

Trying not to DOUBLE dribble

Gotta get out the DOUBLE trap

So I juke one

But number two follows

So I QUICKLY

DOUBLE cross (and it works)

And he f

a

l

l

s WHOOPS!

Hits the Splits,

I wanna shoot baaaaaaaaaaaad

But I. Don’t. Know.

If. I. Can. Make. It.

If I can shake this

F E A R

Plus it’s only

Seven seconds

On the clock

And if I miss it’s

C L E A R

This. Game. Is. Over.

But if I s.c.o.r.e.

We win

And I’m the HERO!

(Don’t screw it up, Charlie)

Roxie’s at the free-throw line

(I once saw her make like fifteen in a row)

I shoot her

The ball

And it goes over

Her head almost, but

She snatches it

Out the air

Plants her feet

On the line

TOP of the key

No one on her

She’s FREE

Ready to SHINE

Like she’s a STAR

Like she was made

For this shot

FOR THE LAST SHOT

And she was

And she is

And she shoots

And she

misses.

Wallaby Trouble

Monika Johnson

This poem follows the Speaker’s relationship with their new pet: a naughty wallaby.

I had a brand-new wallaby

I got him from the zoo.

He just looked kind of lonely

with nothing much to do.

So, whilst my teacher and my mates

saw the big baboon,

I popped Wally in my lunchbox

between my yogurt and my spoon.

Wally liked adventures

he didn’t miss the zoo.

I made him all domestic

like all good owners do.

On Monday we played football

we were winning 7-2

but then Wally jumped the goalposts

and gave the referee the boot!

Ouch.

Last Friday we went skating –

we whizzed past George and Lou!

Then Wally bounced and broke the ice

and soaked us all wet through!

I think having a pet wallaby

is harder than it looks.

They don’t like eating pancakes

and they chew up my school books.

I know that I’ll miss Wally

when he goes back to the zoo.

But wallabies aren’t made for pets

So, I’ve got a kangaroo!

Solo Introductory: Stage 3

Dis Breeze

by Valerie Bloom

The Slime Takeover

by Joseph Coelho

Ariel’s Song

by William Shakespeare

I am angry

by Michael Rosen

From The First Tooth

by Mary and Charles Lamb

Bertie Beaky

by Claudine Toutoungi

Dis Breeze

Valerie Bloom

This poem explores the mischievousness of a breeze.

Dis breeze is an air conditioner,

Dis breeze better than any fan,

Dis breeze blow soft an’ warm

Dry me face an’ foot an’ han.

Dis breeze don’t have no manners,

Dis breeze is much too bold,

Look how dis breeze lift up me skirt

And show me knickers to the world!

The Slime Takeover

Joseph Coelho

This poem explores the colour, texture and movement of slime.

Slipping, shimmering, stinking slime,

sloppy cerise or shades of scarlet sublime.

It sticks and sucks and spits and spools,

snaking slime slumping several school walls.

The slime swells, and stretches, and starts to sprout,

sliming several school halls as students scream and shout.

‘Scary Slime Subsumes Schools’,

say a slew of scandal sheets.

Their swan song headline

as the slime swallows scores of the city’s streets.

Ariel’s Song

William Shakespeare

This poem portrays the image of a man lying on the ocean floor.

Full fathom five thy father lies,

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes,

Nothing of him that doth fade

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea Nymphs hourly ring his knell.

Ding dong.

Hark, now I hear them.

Ding dong bell.

I am angry

Michael Rosen

This poem is an expression of the feeling of anger.

I am angry. really angry. angry, angry,

angry, angry. I’m so angry

I’ll jump up and down. I’ll roll on the ground

Make a din. Make you spin

Pull out my hair. Throw you in the air

Pull down posts. Hunt down ghosts

Scare spiders. Scare tigers

Pull up trees. Bully bees

Rattle the radiators. Frighten alligators

Cut down flowers. Bring down towers

Bang all the bones. Wake up stones

Shake the tiles. Stop all smiles

Silence birds. Boil words

Mash up names. Grind up games

Crush tunes. Squash moons

Make giants run. Terrify the sun

Turn the sky red. And then go to bed.

From The First Tooth

Mary and Charles Lamb

This poem explores an older sister’s envy towards her little brother.

Through the house what busy joy

Just because the infant boy

Has a tiny tooth to show!

I have got a double row,

All as white and all as small;

Yet no one cares for mine at all.

He can say but half a word,

Yet that single sound’s preferr’d

To all the words that I can say

In the longest summer day.

He cannot walk; yet if he put

With mimic motion out his foot,

As if he thought he were advancing,

It’s prized more than my best dancing.

Bertie Beaky

Claudine Toutoungi

This poem depicts life with a pterodactyl in the kitchen.

The pterodactyl in my kitchen

– Mr Beaky, if you please –

likes to skim around the ceiling,

likes to share a plate of cheese.

Mr Beaky is quite something

(though he very rarely sings).

He can play the concertina

with his creased-up, crooked wings.

And he’ll dive-bomb the recycling

to sort the plastic from the glass.

Mr Beaky is a marvel

of the very topmost class.

Group Introductory: Stage 3

The Both of Us

by Joshua Seigal

The Flibbit

by Kate Wakeling

The Months

by Sara Coleridge

The Both of Us

Joshua Seigal

This poem uses contrast to explore companionship and loneliness.

I used to be a butterfly

but now I’m just a slug.

I used to be a toothy grin

but now I’m just a shrug.

I used to be a rainforest

but now I’m just a tree.

It used to be the both of us

but now it’s only me.

I used to be an estuary

but now I’m just a brook.

I used to be a library

but now I’m just a book.

I used to be a sanctuary

but now I’m just a zoo.

It used to be the both of us

but now there isn’t you.

I