The Human Bee by Carol Ann Duffy

The Human Bee

I became a human bee at twelve,
when they gave me my small wand,
my flask of pollen,
and I walked with the other bees
out to the orchards.

I worked first in apples,
climbed the ladder
into the childless arms of a tree
and busied myself, dipping and tickling.
duping and tackling, tracing
the petal's guidelines
down to the stigma.
Human, humming,
I knew my lessons by heart:
the ovary would become the fruit,
the ovule the seed,
fertilised by my golden touch,
my Midas touch.

I moved to lemons,
head and shoulders
lost in blossom; dawn till dusk,
my delicate blessing.
All must be docile, kind, unfraught
for one fruit -
pomegranate, lychee,
nectarine, peach, the rhymeless orange.
And if an opening
was out of range,
I'd jump from my ladder onto a branch
and reach.

So that was my working life as a bee,
till my eyesight blurred,
my hand was a trembling bird
in the leaves,
the bones of my fingers thinner than wands.
And when they retired me,
I had my wine from the silent vines,
and I'd known love,
and I'd saved some money -

but I could not fly and I made no honey.

Aphasia by Brian Patten

This morning we munched on Maryland Choc Chip cookies and read poetry by Brian Patten and Pam Ayres. We loved the poem below, some of our friends have aphasia and this poem prompted a good chat and helped us all to understand it better.

Aphasia

I’m seven, and I’m dead bright,
But words give me a fright.
Words are bullies.
Sneaky things. They gabble and lie.
Sometimes trying to understand them
Makes me cry. Words hurt.
Words are all over the place,
They get shoved in my face.
I don’t know why but
Words make me cry.
I wish words were things
You could hug.
Or that they smelt nice.
I wish they came in bottles
Like fizzy drinks, or melted
Like ice-cream. But they don’t,
Words are mean. They bully me,
Lock me away
From what I want to say.
I can’t even ask for help
And I’m only seven
(And a bit).
Words spread nasty gossip.
They must. Otherwise why
Would people think I’m thick.
Words.
They make me sick
Inside.

Coronation by Spike Milligan

Today we feasted on All Butter Stem Ginger Cookies and ready poetry by Spike Milligan.

This one's our favourite:

Coronation

Said Prince Charles 

When they placed

The Crown on his head

I suppose this means

That Mummy's dead

Number 300

Today marks our 300th rhyming feat,
we've eaten our own body weights in biscuity treats!
Poems have been inspired by
Wagon Wheels, Ginger Nuts,
Jaffa Cakes and Lemon Puffs,
we've scoffed them all and can't get enough.
We've sampled interesting biscuits from distant shores,
squashed in suitcases from holiday tours,
and ventured towards the savoury snack,
but the lure of sugar drew us back,
today's biscuit is a posh pack for our special day,
contributing nicely to our dental decay!

Biscuits:Elizabeth Shaw Coconut and Hazlenut

Tasting Notes: Yipeeeee

Score:  300 out of 300

Flour Power

All over the world
people will be whisking up a treat,
with toppings of their choice,
savour or sweet.
We'll be flipping all morning at Headway
to celebrate Pancake Day!

All you need are eggs, milk and flour,
to give our self some pancake power.
Put the mixture in the pan,
and toss it until you get a golden tan,
if it lands on the ceiling or on the floor
you'd better get mixing up some more.

Sugar and lemon is our topping of choice,
or you could say 'Crepe Suzette' in a French voice.
Ruud prefers cheese, Olly likes honey and cream,
whilst Nutella and banana is Fiona's dream.

Those who fancy a pancake flambe,
just call the fire brigade and run away.
If our concoctions fail to make you merry,
you can always contact Mary Berry.

Biscuits:All Butter fruit and oat cookies

Tasting Notes: Delicious and buttery

Score:  8.5 out of 10

Did you know?

The unicorn only has one horn,
it feels forlorn,
on account of being extinct
since the dawn (of time),
this poem sucks,
these biscuits are yuck
and should be withdrawn

Biscuits: Flipz Unicornz

Tasting Notes: Awful and lilac, smell like unicorn poo

Score:  1 out of 10

To Bee or not to Bee

What would happen to our civilisation
If there was no bee pollination?
Because we're destroying their habitat,
There will be no food and that is that.

We need to stop using pesticides
or else the species won't survive,
if man can cultivate the land
bees will give a helping hand

Bees need our love
to stay alive in their hive,
With Valentines Day on the way
Give your honey some flowers that day.