Poems inspired by Stephen Spender's My Parents (by Ms Leng's Year 10 English Students)

Poems inspired by My Parents by Stephen Spender

My parents kept me from children who were rough

and who threw words like stones and who wore torn clothes.

Their thighs showed through rags. They ran in the street

And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.

I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron

And their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms.

I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys

Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.

They were lithe, they sprang out behind hedges

Like dogs to bark at our world. They threw mud

And I looked another way, pretending to smile,

I longed to forgive them, yet they never smiled.

In response to My Parents:

(Students wrote in pairs)

10 Word Poems on My Parents

Complaining about your parents

Yet becoming exactly like they are

By Narila

Stern looks and whispered warnings  

Warm hugs on sleepy mornings 

By Boora

Eyes gleaming red 

And burning -

For my injustice- 

My parents. 

(Ps. My parents are protective for me, and injustice done to me. Eg. Teachers shouting) 

By Urvthony

My parents
Love me lots
Do I feel the same?

By Mareya

Laughter, rolling tears,

Happiness, anger, love, 

Thanks for being there. 

By Wio

Posted by RL