WOODHOUSE MIDDLE SCHOOL POETRY
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  • The Joys of the Lake - Jamie Adams

  • Wizened old oak tree

Wizened old oak tree twisting up and up

Spiralling to the heavens, swooping up so high

Secrets trapped within your wood, in your weathered boughs

Your textured skin of bumpy bark, you gnarled old finger twigs

Centuries you have surely stood there, in Nature’s forest realm

But now you’ve left the canopy way, way out of reach

Stretching upwards for the land, where angels’ wings do beat

Chris Ryles

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Mute Swan

I see water, I see sky

What do I see in your eye?

I see your cygnets

Swimming by

 

 I see a family you are not part of

Is that your destiny, to be alone?

What do I see in your eye?

I see water flowing softly by

 I hear birds singing merrily

I hear trees rustling softly

What can I hear through your ear?

I hear others coming near

 

I can see water flowing by

I hear birds flying by

I see ducks swimming by

I hear vehicles going by

But mostly, I see you

 Aaron Sproson

 Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Golden Acorn

 I am a silent shadow

Cast across a silver screen.

I am the wizard of my wood,

I scatter my knowledge throughout my home.

I am the nest to birds, bugs and bees,

I provide warmth and food for those in need.

I am an idol to my friends

Most of whom are smaller than me.

I am a creator of life and joy,

Yet sadness fills me.

I am lonely, I stand alone.

I am old

But I still stand tall.

I am wrinkled and mouldy

From where creatures once stood.

I am elegant no more,

My frills of green have begun to fade.

A bluebird once said,

I bring smiles to all who look upon me

Because I am the greatest Oak tree.

 by Josephine Brown

 Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Joys of the Lake

The glistening water ebbs and flows

Causing ripples to spread around.

The glimmering water overflows

And the sun beats on the ground.

 

Its heat causes the surface to shimmer

And the greenery grown with its aid.

The surface breaks as it glistens and glimmers

And creates patterns of translucent jade.

 

Blossoming plants at the water’s edge,

Reds, purples, yellows and whites.

Bright colours on an untrimmed hedge

And the swans, what a beautiful sight

 

Fighting over a piece of bread,

A wet trail lies in their wake.

At the sound of us strangers they turned and they fled.

All of these are joys of the lake.

by Jamie Adams

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Why does the river have so many friends?

The river swimming edge to edge

Why does the river have so many friends?

Is it because of the weeping willows

Washing their hair in the chocolate river

 

Why does the river have so many friends?

Is it because of the life he sends?

To the minnow, otter and shrimp.

 

Why does the river have so many friends?

If it because of the tall trees that bend?

Providing a home to the reed warbler

 

Why does the river have so many friends?

Is it’s because of the love he sends

To all the creatures that live here today

 

Why does the river have so many friends?

If it’s because of the otters that hunt

For food and a home

 

Why does the river have so many friends?

by Vicky Kempa and Lucy Blakeman

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Snow White Swan                       

 

I’m standing proud basking in the sun as the silent warm breeze driftss along the shimmering lake.

My soft white feathers reflects the beaming sun.

My jet black eyes the photos take all different colours in the bristling trees.

As I arch my snow white wings people watch in amazement.

by Marcus Adams

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Rainbow Fairy’s Sensory Garden

 

Down in the garden,

Late at night

Something’s playing in the moonlight.

Red and blue green and white

The rainbow fairys dance all night.

by Alex Dempsey / Sian Brown

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Weeping Willow

Here I stand and wash my hair,

On the river trent side.

Watching the water ripple and twirl,

Then it starts to swirl and swirl.

 

Twisting and twining,

Twisting and twining,

My hair is constantly twisting and twining,

Others try to wash their hair

But I can’t only reach,

I weep and weep for my loneliness,

I weep and weep and weep.

 

Across the fields and over the hedge,

I watch people pass on their barges,

They always have someone to talk to,

How I really envy them,

Another hundred years have passed,

So there could be someone just like me,

In my peaceful internal slumber.

By Amy Bould

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • I wonder……

 I wonder what lives in here,

Big fishes?  Small fishes?

Or perhaps both?

 

I wonder what makes the current so strong,

Could it be the wind?

All something living in there that makes the water ripple and swirl?

 

I wonder where this river started,

Way up high in the mountains? 

Or from another river? 

 

I wonder where it finishes,

In the sea?  Or could it be a never ending river?

 

I wonder why this river is so mysterious,

Is it because of the way the current creates so many mini whirlpools? 

Or is it because of the many creatures that live here?

 

I wonder why I have so many questions and not many answers about this mysterious river,

Well I have only one answer to everything ….

No-one knows…

By Kirstin Reay

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Lying on the River Bank

The beaming sun

Upon the surface of the lake

Watching the ducklings run.

The swans don’t care they will give or take

Not to mention the sound they make

 

Walking down to the river deep

Hearing my babies cheep

Creeping in careful not to make a sound

As my baby’s feet come off the ground

 

The water cold at touch

Letting the water  take me away

Floating to the lovely place

As I got to the bay

Standing on the river and thinking, “should I stay?”

Looking back at the trail I made

Wondering if it shall ever fade

Lying on the river bank

As my babies drank.

 

Remembering of  the day my father took me away

Our feet now safely on the ground

Listening to the beautiful sounds

 

As I arch my beautiful wings

Looking around at the joy I bring

Lie on the riverbank

Listening as I drank

by Charlotte Broom-Roden

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Secrets of the Willow

 The willow brings wonder,

Lightening brings its thunder even when it’s raining or Sunny,

The water carries on running but the willow still stands,

Weak on the outside, strong on the inside, willing and cunning.

The sun dries its tears,

The water washing away fears.

The willow is a woman washing her hair,

With long creeping fingers,

Touch her if you dare.

by Lucie Carter

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Mirror Lake

 

Lake of mirrors in your depths

A clone of where we humans step

Reflected on your crystal face And

Another world, A different place.

 

Graceful swans and quaking ducks

Swim over the trees and drooping plants

A mere reflection of our world

A copy of the earth unfurled

Upon the mirror lake

by Chris Ryles

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Floor Wind and Willow

Down on the floor,

There’s much much more,

Than footprints, than dirt and rock

 

Ants work as teams,

Harder than it seems –

To the naked eye it’s not much.

 

Frogs jump around,

Without making a sound,

Never stopping, never slowing, never quitting.

 

Mink in the wood,

If you hear thud,

She’s probably awake so run.

 

Up in the sky,

So very very high

Are creatures great and small.

 

Trapped in its cage,

With furious range,

Are the wasps bursting to fly free.

The bee’s in their hive,

So energetic and alive,

They’re searching for flowers and prey.

 

Chaffinch, Robin and Thrush

Hiding in a bush

Scared and protecting their youth.

 

Willowy wonders,

Survive through the thunder

Made by the human race.

 

The benches are strong,

The willows are long

They shade you from hot summers days.

 

The snake twists and turns

But still never learns

That he’s still got no head and no tail.

 

If you hear the birds singing,

If you see the frogs hopping,

If you see the willow benches,

You’re there

by Robert Kirkham and Lee Brown

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Secrets of the Willow     

The willow brings its wonder,

The lightening brings its thunder,

The willow brings its strength,

The river brings its length,

Even when its raining and even when its sunny, the willow still stands but the waters still runny.

Weak on the outside and stronger on the inside, willing yet cunning.

The sun dries its tears, the water washes away fears,

The willow is a woman washing her hair with long creeping fingers touch her if you dare.

by Emily Lythgoe

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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The Big Morphing Trunk

 

It changes in the day, it changes when you’re asleep,

pig, snake, monster it shifts into them all.

It changes whenever it feels like it,

like it has no mind,

it can change into a monster of every single kind,

It devours the little frogs that  worship its amazing mind,

It changes into a foot, no wait a snake and now a cape.

It looks just like a log but actually it can change into a frog.

It’s magic, simply magic, that this amazing thing can change into anything it wants.

It towers above its worshipers with no care in the world, it’s simply amazing to have this thing in our world.

by James Overy

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Nature's party

 Nature's party is about to start.

The guests arrive, the music gets louder,

Swans flap their wings,

Spreading down like baking powder.

Everybody’s listening to the song birds sing.

by Thomas Cocking

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Memories of a River

 A river that flows carries memories of old,

from ancients of Egypt to the news of New York.

The droplets of blue that my have been murky,

The ripples that once may have been waves.

 

As each one splashes into a garden pond another trickles down into a deep, dark well,

The whirls and swirls that turn back on themselves,

Decided not to flock and see that sights that others hold.

 

Some, oh they will rush and dive,

Others they will spill,

It may be to the Antarctic, or from an old tin tap.

 

But where-ever you go,

Whatever you see, river,

Please, please oh please

Take me!

by Beth Lythgoe

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • In the Night

 

In the night

When the moon shines bright

Its such a beautiful sight

The flower faries dance

They skip and they prance

In their colourful shiny pants.

 

Some in blue

From head to shoe

Others in red, ready for bed

Rest in green, oh they’re so mean

Sing to the beat of the tambourine.

 

Peppermint, lavender, daisy and herb

All sit on the edge of the rounded kerb

Rosemary and thyme

Pass us by

Just like a little dragonfly.

by Bethan Marshal and Emily Rhodes

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Herbs of the Hexagonal Garden

 

The scent of lavender heals the mind.

The mint that freshens the breath.

The hot and inflaming smell of the curry plant.

The scent of the English rose.

Camomile enjoyed by many.

The tall, thin foxglove sways in the breeze

by Becky Thompson

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The River Trent

 

A flow of people rushing to their friends,

A constant rush of energy that will never end

Someone pouring chocolate into an old pan,

Waves of murky water moved along by a giant fan.

 

From England to Paris the water may have been,

Just think of all the sights it could have seen!

The pharaohs from Egypt or the pizza from Rome,

The president’s White House or the Millennium Dome.

 

This deep pool of water has many secrets to tell,

Whether being drunk be a person or its journey down a well.

Wishing I could float away down a river in a tent,

All around the world via our own River Trent.

by Melissa Harding

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Crying River

 

The river ebbs and flows,

Like a glistening tear,

Shining in the light of day,

Empowered by the elements of nature.

 

What lurks within the darkness?

Nobody knows,

A monster or a beast,

It never really shows.

 

The mystery of water and rivers and streams

Makes you really wonder,

Is everything what it seems?

by Edward Mellor

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Water flows in Circles

The water flows in circles

Its journey never ending

Rushing to the sea

Then pouring from the sky

 

The water flows in circles

And never ever tires

Racing through the streams

Then resting in a cove

 

The water flows in circles

Has a great story to tell

Trickling into glasses

Then freezing at the arctic

The water flows in circles

And never ever dies

Moving all the time

Will never see the end

 

The water flows in circles

Has seen most everything

But one thing it will never see

Will never see the end

by Hannah Rhodes-Patterson

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Sounds and Smells

 

The smell of lavender

The scent of thyme

A waft of mint

Can be so divine

 

The swooshing of the flowers

The sound of birds tweeting

The swish of the willows

The sound of lambs bleating

by Jade Shaw

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • The Smell of the Sense Garden

 Lavender, mint, rosemary and thyme

Followed by the texture of the gum drop vine

The sound of the birds twittering tunes

The buzz of the bees at the beginning of June.

by Amy Ward

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Chocolate Lovers

 

As the lazy lover wallows

In a darkened chocolate dream,

Since the day the damselfly left

Her heart has been a blood stream!

 

The river flows so softly

Looking for a playmate

And as he looks,

He falls in love,

And all it was was fate!

 

The willow bathes her tender loving leaves,

Into the cool still waters some miles away,

From where the river,

Is about to deliver,

His true love vows that will stay.

by Shannon Stroud and Bethany Oakes

Woodhouse Middle School - Year 7

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  • Follow Me

“Follow me and we’ll scale the tallest,

most imposing mountains to reach the

vibrant cherry tree pinnacle.”

 

“Is it here?” I enquire.

 

“Watch me hop and jump over

grasping  withered arms of the knotted

vines.”

 

“Yes, but is it here?” I press

 

“Wait with me while the chattering,

silver tented trees scatter

their souls over the moist earth.”

 

“We must be close, surely?” I sigh

 

“Sail alongside me as our mirrored images

dance on the clear, crisp water.”

 

“It does seem to be nearer,” I’m encouraged

“Climb with me as we mount

the crystal ball that ledges precariously

on the tip of the daisy.”

 

“There are signs of certainty now,” I nod.

 

“Descend with me through the twisting

vines that ebb and flow and impose

upon the skyline.”

 

“It does get easier,” I offer.

 

“Rest with me as our senses quieten and we drift

and dream on the wild lily pad.”

 

“It all makes sense!” I smile. 

by Mrs D. Farr

Woodhouse Middle School

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  • Silence

 

Sitting in the silence of the countryside.

Disturbed by noises off!

Swans calling,

Birds singing,

The rumble of passing vehicles and the roar of distant aeroplanes,

The swoosh of trains delivering people to their destinations,

The wind gently rustling the tree tops. But above

All this the enduring silence of the countryside

by Mr. D. Allen

Woodhouse Middle School

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  • The Forest

 

Primordial!

The forest floor as light ripples down through giant branches

winking in a myriad of ponds and pools.

Life and death start here.

The undergrowth.

From tiny seed to mighty oak,

From single cell to complex frog

All depend on the natural soup of decaying matter.

Primordial!

by Mr. D. Allen

Woodhouse Middle School

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