The Delightful Pam Ayres
As a young child in the 70's I loved creative writing time at school, when we could write about whatever we wanted. Better still if our creative writing time involved listening to or writing a poem, I was in my element.
Until I was 11 years old I grew up in England so the teacher would read poetry to us from many different English poets, my absolute favourite was Pam Ayers. Her writing seemed to draw me into her comical Look at life, Pam Ayers world in poetry. I want to share with you one of my absolute favourites called Clamp The Mighty Limpet.
Clamp The Mighty Limpet
I am Clamp the Mighty Limpet,
I am solid, I am stuck.
I am welded to the rock face
with my superhuman suck.
I live along the waterline
and in the dreary caves.
I am clamp the mighty Limpet
I am ruler of the waves.
What care I for the shingle,
For the dragging of the tide,
With my unrelenting sucker
And my granite underside?
There's only one reward
For those who come to prise at me
And that's to watch their fingernails
As they go floating out to sea.
Don't upset me, I'm a limpet
Though it's plankton I devour
Be very, very careful
I can move an inch an hour!
Don't you poke or prod me
For I warn you - if you do
You stand there for a fortnight
and I might be stuck on you!
I remember having to learn this off by heart and read it out to the class, I had so much admiration for that funny lady that I would sometimes see on the TV reading out her poems.
I was reminded of her wonderful poems today when I went into a second hand bookstore and came across two of her delightful books.
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