Miss Golland set her Year 11 class the task of writing a reply from the Clown Punk to the speaker in Simon Armitage’s poem, The Clown Punk. Here are some of the amazing poems they produced:

The Clown Punk’s Reply

Wandering around my side of the town,

There was a good chance you’d see the mainstream busy bodies.

Sat in the back seat piercing ears with their high pitched squeals,

Like squabbling seagulls fighting over the daily catch.

They are taught not to judge. But

they are still startled as I lurch past the car and wave.

As they judge me from the protection of their car,

Little do they know I gain yet another emotional scar.

I feel the sharp, cutting edge of their knife,

Coming down and dissecting my life.

These tattoos embossed on my brain,

Define who I am, sort’a like my DNA.

Behind the tats, rags and hats and under the skin,

Lies a different person deep within.

His emotions never shown,

Forever and always he will be alone.

Matthew Lockwood