Today is National Poetry Day. Over the course of the past year our Executive Headteacher, Mr Barnes has shared poems with staff and today shares two poems about happiness to mark the day. Mr Scott has also shared his favourite poem. We hope you enjoy them. Why not read a poem today? Go on, you never know you might enjoy it and discover something new!
Be Happy by Mabel Wilton
If you want to be happy,
Just begin to be glad,
Keep thinking of others
And never be sad.
And don't wait till tomorrow
But start right away
Just doing one kindness
For someone each day.
The Man Who Is Cheerful - Poet Unknown
Thank God for the man who is cheerful
In spite of life's troubles, I say;
Who sings of a bright tomorrow,
Because of the clouds of today.
His life is a beautiful sermon,
And this is the lesson to me -
Meet trials with smiles and they vanish;
Face cares with a song and they flee.
A favourite poem from Mr Scott:
Leisure by W. H. Davies
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Layla C in Year 8 wrote a fantastic piece of poetry for English homework. Having studied the poetry of Wilfred Owen in class, she adopted the persona of the victim of the gas attack in 'Dulce et Decorum est' and wrote the incident from his perspective. High-level stuff that really impressed us all.
Poetry by Layla C
Dreaded news to all the men,
Wrapped up, us, in hell,
Bomb shells and guns pace my mind,
Death and loss pass by.
Whilst you sit, comfort in your own home,
Boys sit curled up in mud,
Your sons you cheer on as the leave,
Little do you know they’ll never return.
A boy I was,
Sweet, soft and innocent,
Singing to the trees like birds,
Yet I've seen more than the world knows,
Torn apart piece by piece,
Limping on my bleeding feet,
Gas! GAS! Quick boys!
There frozen I stood like bricks.
My energy faded into the green sea,
Spluttering, choking, drowning,
The gas mask was ought to be on my blood splattered face,
Yet this story wasn’t even written by me.