Poet Lindsay MacRae led a poetry workshop at Kentish Town Primary School, Camden in early November. Here are some of the poems written by children in year six.
 

The Tree’s Journey

I hear little animals chattering like children
Little birds chirping.

Nests in my arms like little woody balls, flowers at my feet.

Whispers surround me, through my leafy hair
A blanket of white snow hugs me like a bear

Can’t they choose me as this year’s Queen?
Snow like mismatched biscuits, falling around me.

Trees chatter with me
Strange hands touching my woody knee

They give me the thumbs up!
I find I’m leaving

Kids come singing
They start dancing round me.

I’m the Queen,
The best honour there has been.

Electrical whirring comes closer,
They’re chopping me down

Hang on. This hurts,
I hit the ground, which I’ve never seen.

I’m told I’m majestic, put on a musty truck,
The straps hurt, but don’t say they’re sorry!

I’m the Queen,
The best honour there has been!

BUMP BUMP BUMP!
Ohhh… I feel sea sick

Straps on my head, on my knee
Ouch!

I’m off that ugly steel ship
Those straps no longer nip.

I want to go home
To Norway.

But… at last
I feel pretty, shrouded in lights,
I’m a BROADWAY star

The lights turn on, blinding me,
Poems by kids, about me, around me!

I feel like a sapling, so small
A child whispers what they want for Christmas.

by Alice


The Tree’s Journey

Here I am a little sapling
When the wind blows I sway and I swing
At the moment I am as small as 5 rings

I am 40 years old now, tall and wise
I can see the blanket of snow over everything
I know I look amazing and want to laugh and sing

60 odd years have now gone by
Many famous people have said hi and bye
I saw the second world war with its hurricanes
And the album come out for singing in the rain

Snow is swirling in the wind, people are coming
I’m scared
I shiver, my coat slips away and covers the people
Who come to inspect me and my friends’ beauty
To be the best is my duty

I can smell the fumes from the blundering chainsaw
As the strangers watching me stare in awe

As the chainsaw cuts through me
I ignore the pain as I try to enjoy my newfound fame.

The chainsaw cuts through me and I’m put on a ship
I’m chained to a trailer, I hope I don’t slip.
Rising and falling, the time passes slow
I wonder how many miles I’ve left still to go.
I hate this long journey, I just want to moan
‘please I only want to go home’

I’m taken off the boat by some big burly guys,
They take me onto a lorry, ‘they’ve had too many pies’.

Finally I’m up in Trafalgar Square,
People are dancing everywhere.
I went from seeing women get their rights
To having draping from my branches hundreds of lights

And now is the turning on of the lights
All of them together are blindingly bright
I would expect them to give babies a fright
But actually they seem quite alright.

by Lucas


The Tree’s Journey

I see dozens of trees ahead of me
Covered in frosty snow like a cold duvet
I can feel snowflakes falling onto my branches,
Forming a cold blanket around me.
Snowflakes tickling my feet
Like little earthworms.

I smell children making a bonfire
Cooking sausages as flames danced like Norwegian dancers.
I feel proud of them saying I am the best tree,
As famous as the Queen
Filled with pride and happiness.

I feel seasick like riding on a bumpy rollercoaster.
I smell the salty sea and oily oil.
I’m worried sailing through the page of night.
I hear pilots making noises and speaking a weird language.
I can feel fresh air flowing
Through my wrinkly branches.

I smell burgers and food
Coming from shops around me.
Wonderful children in Kentish Town
Are writing poems about me.
I feel as proud as a famous celebrity.

by Noel