I’ve greatly enjoyed reading the poems sent in during my term as guest poet. One teacher wrote that receiving inspired creative work from her students reminded her why she became a teacher, and I’m sure she speaks for many.
Tammy Lynn has written an inspired poem about the weight of unwanted feelings. Sometimes a short poem makes a very special impact, particularly when an effective image is used and every word is just right. Extending an apt image in a few lines, Tammy creates a scene in which she imagines herself trying to get rid of her feelings in a sack. There is tension in the last line which seems to ask the hidden question - what can we do with our burdensome emotions? Perhaps writing a poem is one way of lightening the load.
MONIZA ALV
Moniza Alvi was born in Pakistan and brought up in Hertfordshire. She has published two collections, “The Country at My Shoulder” and “A Bowl of Warm Air”.
HEAVY LOAD
I wish I could pick up my feelings and put them in a sack
I’d sling it over my shoulders and carry them on my back
I’d take them to the river and watch them float away
Maybe after doing that I’d start to feel okay.
TAMMY LYNN
Tammy Lynn, aged 15, receives “The Country at My Shoulder” by Moniza Alvi (Oxford University Press). Submitted by Liz Hanham of Walworth School, south London, who receives a set of Poetry Society posters with teacher’s notes. Please send students’ poems to The TES, Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1 9XY. Next week we introduce the new term’s guest poet: Sian Hughes, education development officer at The Poetry Society
