AUTUMN I WENT OUTSIDE TO SEE. LEAVES WERE FALLING... DOWN, DOWN AND DOWN “WEEEEE” THEY SAID. A FEATHER CAME TO THE GROUND. I THOUGHT OH, LOVELY. IT WAS A SILVERY GREY AS SOFT AS A PUPPY’S EAR. IT FELT LIKE SILK AND TICKLY ON MY HAND. I ALSO FOUND A LITTLE CONKER SHINY, SOFT AND BROWN. I FOUND TWO OF THEM STILL SLEEPING, ONE ON A STICK AND ONE SAD AND ALONE. BOTH SPIKY, BE CAREFUL PLEASE!! INSIDE THE ROOM OF SPIKES THERE IS A BED. A CONKER SLEEPS INSIDE ON A BED OF WHITE SHEETS MADE OF SILK, COTTON AND WOOL.
Jonnie McMorran, 9, Cavehill primary school, Upper Castle Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
“What is autumn like?” Jonnie asks herself. “I’ll go outside to see,” she answers. And from that simple action comes this enchanting poem. Jonnie goes outside to see, she listens, touches, bends to look. She looks so intently that she sees right through. And later she asks, “What did I do?” Then she sets it down truthfully, without adornment or embellishment, remembering with astonishing accuracy the things that made her heart lift or move. And we believe her, are with her, and these things happen to us too.
Jonnie presents her poem in capitals, without conventional line breaks. One could try to play around with the arrangement, insert new line breaks and see how the poem changes, what it gains or loses. For example: I went outside to see. Leaves were fallingI down, down and down “weeeee” they said. A feather came to the ground. I thought Oh, lovely. It was a silvery grey as soft as a puppy’s ear. It felt like silk and tickly on my hand.
I also found a little conker...
But, ultimately, I think this is a prose poem, a “vibratory instant” that leaves untouched the moment before a fairy-tale transformation, before the princess wakes, before the prince comes crashing through.
Mimi Khalvati
Jonnie McMorran receives The Puffin Book of 20th Century Children’s Verse, edited by Brian Patten (Puffin). Her poem was submitted by Stephen Crozier. Mimi Khalvati, founder-director of the Poetry School in London, is TES guest poet for the autumn term. Please send poems, no longer than 20 lines, to Friday magazine, Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1BX. Include the poet’s name, age and address, the name of the submitting teacher and the school address. Or email: friday@tes.co.uk
