Poetry

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I have always loved writing poetry - a poem I wrote as a child has been included in a Macmillan Christmas anthology, and I published poems before I started writing stories. My poems have appeared in anthologies for publishers including Bloomsbury, Candlestick Press, Macmillan, Scholastic, Collins Children's Books, Oxford University Press and A&C Black. My new poems Mix-Up at the Zoo and Good Moon, Bad Moon will be published in anthologies by Bloomsbury (Rhymes, Riddles and Paradiddles) and Otter-Barry Books (Moonstruck) later in the year.

I have also written poems for Pearson educational publishers.

My mini e-Books One Week of Christmas Poems, One Week of Dinosaur Poems, One week of Garden poems, One Week of Space Poems, One Week of Football Poems, One Week of Spooky Poems and One Week of Seaside Poems are available on Amazon Kindle. The first six books in the series are also gathered together in the One Week of Poems Omnibus.

Here are a couple of poems. I'll change them every now and then so come back to see what's new.

THE PERFECT PLANET SUPERSTORE

“If you want to buy a planet
You have found the perfect place.
You won’t get a better bargain
In the whole of outer space.

Little Mercury’s good value:
Not too big, in tasteful grey.
Night-times can be rather chilly,
But it’s toasty warm by day.

If you want it even warmer,
Venus might be worth a shot.
It’s a real volcanic planet,
And it’s super-sizzling hot.

If you’re looking for volcanoes,
Mars can boast the biggest one,
And its climate’s more... refreshing,
As it’s further from the sun.

If you want more for you money,
Here’s the biggest one we’ve got:
It’s the massive, gassy Jupiter,
Complete with bright red spot,

While the second biggest, Saturn,
Has the most dramatic rings,
And it comes with lots of moons
If you’ve a liking for such things.

Icy Neptune and Uranus
Come in lovely shades of blue,
And are both extremely windy
If a breeze appeals to you.”

“What about that blue-green planet,
With the swirling wisps of white,
That you popped behind the counter,
Trying to keep it out of sight?”

“Ah, that planet’s very special,
It has forests full of trees,
It has rain and wind and sunshine,
It has rivers lakes and seas.

For the cold bits aren’t too chilly,
And the hot bits aren’t too hot,
And it comes complete with orbit
In a perfect sunny spot.

It is bursting full of treasures
Of incalculable worth.
It’s the superstar of planets,
Living, breathing Planet Earth!

If you really want to have it
You must promise to take care,
For we haven’t found another
Planet like it anywhere.

Pop it gently in your trolley,
Don’t forget its little moon,
And I’m sure you’ll be delighted
With your purchase.

Come back soon!”

MY BROTHER

My brother was born at Christmas.
My Mum said, "The best gift we've had!"
I looked at the wrinkly, pink bundle of screams,
And thought that she'd clearly gone mad.

I stuck out a finger to poke him,
And his little fist gripped me so tight.
His eyes opened wide and I felt strange inside.
I think Mum was probably right.