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Our Wonderful Skin and Blister

Maddy Rose

I was doing a talk in Solihull near my home in Birmingham, and when I arrived at the theatre I was given a green envelope by a member of the theatre staff. This happens all the time but usually these envelopes contain requests for poems, requests to visit schools or love letters. But this contained a poem from a 12 year old girl called Maddy and a card from her mother. After reading the poem I thought I had to share it with as many people as possible, adults and children. It’s a great example of a young person writing a poem that rhymes but is not forced, that is serious and humorous at the same time, and is in essence and a real love poem.......Benjamin Zephaniah

Our Wonderful Skin and Blister by Maddy Rose.

We have a little sister,
Her name’s Alanna Rose
One of her cutest features,
Is her little button nose.

The first day that I saw her,
I cried a little bit.
As I didn’t really understand,
The full extent of it.

We took her back and welcomed her,
Into our lovely home.
And straight away we couldn’t help,
But love her to the bone.

When she was a baby,
She never gained any weight.
It’s hard to believe that now
When you see her lick her plate.

Our sister was slow to start to walk,
But she could bend like a top gymnast.
Now we can’t keep up with her,
She’s so very very fast.

Most people I know speak one language,
But Alanna can manage two.
One with her voice and one with her hands-
She’s taught all of us too.

She tells everyone I’m her best friend,
Which makes me feel ever so proud-
(But that’s not how I feel in John Lewis’s
When she shouts rude words out loud.)

My sister has always surprised us,
And will continue to I’m sure.
She needs some help to get on her way,
But with Alanna you always get more.

She could be a supermodel,
With a P.H.D degree.
Then go sailing round the world,
And do that single handily.

But if she doesn’t fancy that,
I hope she’ll come with me;
And live in my funky apartment,
In Solihull-by-the-sea.

I love my skin and blister-
(Dad’s a cockney you see)
And if Alanna could pick a sister,
I really hope she’d pick me.

People say Alanna has the extras,
-Chromosome 21 causes such a fuss.
But were the ones with the extras,
The lucky ones are us!!!