List Poems by young people
To support KRYT, Audacious have worked with ArtfulScribe to commission Susmita Bhattacharya to create a digital resource package, teaching students how to write poetry about Mayflower 400 exploring themes of:
Self-identity.
Identity of Southampton.
Relationships with the sea.
Journeys & migrations.
To celebrate people of the world.
Southampton as a gateway to the world.
List Poems
List poem
The Mayflower Pilgrims
filled to the ceiling with
cod fish, cider, canvas sheets
spears, swords, spoons of wood
beer, biscuits, beef and butter
skillets, chisels, bolsters
four pairs of shoes and kettles everywhere
on their journey to the unknown.
I have packed my bags with everything
my whole entire bookshelf,
no books left behind.
Jeans, hoodies, t-shirts,
my phone and pots of ramen,
my dog and cats of course
for my trip to Tokyo.
– Eleanor, aged 11
List poem
Mayflower Pilgrims set sail
With their bags packed full.
Beer, vinegar, cod and cider
Swords, bents and 20 pounds of powder
Garters, suit of cloth, sewing needles and
Falling bands,
Kettles, platters, dishes and frying pans
They brought broad hoes, broad axes and Irish stockings
On their journey.
I am ready to go too
Sketching pad, pencil and rubber
A laptop, a novel and some supper.
A notebook, poetry book and pen,
A clock to say when is when.
My phone, my headphones and a pile of clothes
I’m ready for my trip, off I go!
– Amelia, aged 13
Journeying
On their journey to the New World
The place now called America
The pilgrims had no idea
Of what life awaited them.
They packed up their lives and set sail on a one-way journey
Can you imagine that?
They brought everything they would need,
Food, water, and clothes, yes,
But also hammers and chisels, wood and nails,
To build their new homes
In a world far away from everything they had ever known.
On that journey so many years ago,
The brave people aboard the Mayflower
Didn’t just go on holiday,
They went for life, hoping that what lay ahead
Was better than what they had left behind.
Now I will fill my own bags for Germany, my favourite place,
Remembering their journey.
First, the essentials,
I’ll overpack on clothes as always,
At least 5 or 6 pairs of everything
A toothbrush for my braces
And a German Guidebook to help remember all the phrases.
Then of course I will bring some books,
Their covers pristine apart from the creases along the spine
Proof they have been enjoyed
A brand-new holiday diary, pages clean and fresh
To record all my own adventures
A pencil case chock full of stationery,
Money for some souvenirs
And my phone, to fill with pictures and memories
All in my bag to Germany.
Though I cannot go there at the moment.
And now, even though we cannot journey as the pilgrims did,
Or as we used to before Covid.
We are still on a journey.
As bumpy and treacherous as the Mayflower,
But we will get through it
Just as the founding fathers of America did
When even though their journey went wrong
They came out better than before
Let’s be better than before.
– Libby, aged 13
List poem
In the barrels, in the trunks
Hidden spoons, bacon and bunks
For they are making a journey
With all their jerky
To a new world.
In my backpacks, in my bags
Hidden clothes, divers kit and pasta
For I am making a journey
With all my memories
To a new world.
– Conrad, aged 13
List poem
Much from their homeland the Pilgrims did take
Ancient books and axes, nails and locks
Young boys and girls brought biscuits for the trip
For the adults, light armour, words and belts
Little did they know their need for the map
Over the Atlantic with slippers, shoes and soles
When the weather did turn, one’s cap, band and shirts
Even iron pots, kettles, frying pans and spoons
Right before their journey onto the new world.
– Sam
List poem
The Mayflower sailed
In 1620
Packed with all the things they’d need:
Biscuit, beer and mustard seed,
Salted pork with rice and peas,
Rug and blankets, canvas sheets
To keep the wind out when they sleep.
For cooking, iron pots and spit,
2 axes, saws and 2 more saws
And locks to fit upon their doors.
I too have packed my bags
With all the things that I might need:
A notebook and a fountain pen
Plus cartridges of ink.
My school shoes and some snazzy socks
My collection of gemstone rocks.
A scarf and a warm hat,
That makes me look like Sherlock Holmes
Some books from my grandmother
To read on the train to Middlesborough.
– Katie, aged 13
List Poem
A pilgrim’s new life needs
Items to survive, they carried beef, bacon, butter, oats
Peas, cheese and rice. Shirts, shoes, slippers, sewing needles
Rug and blankets. Swords, iron pots
Frying pan, dishes, spoons of wood,
Towels, soap, hammers shovels nails
Locks for doors.
Food, bedding, items, tools,
For a great life.
The journey starts today
The adventure begins tomorrow!
– Emily
List poem
The Pilgrims of America
Took with them
Bacon, salt pork, butter
Suit of cloth, waistcoat, slippers, French shoes
Canvas sheets and blankets
Frying pan, pestle and mortar, kettle
On their journey across the sea into uncharted waters.
To go with me on my journey
Sunglasses, travel book
My camera and extra film
Pictures of my family and pets
Sandals for walking on the beach
Memories of home, a novel
Pen and paper to write down my
Journey across the water and into
Greece.
– Lucy
List poem
In the Maylfower boat
The Pilgrims had:
Salt pork, peas
Rice and good cheese.
Slippers and shirts,
Suits of canvas and cloth,
Rugs, a blanket, 20 pounds of gun powder
Iron pots and frying pans
Clanging together
Getting louder.
The soundtrack to a journey
To a new life.
Now I’m on my way,
With me I have
Ballet shoes, manuscript paper
Pasta that I’ll eat later,
A notebook and a novel,
A pen, pencil and polaroid.
My laptop is here, and so is my teddy
I’m on my way to New York
And I’m ready.
– Ella
List poem
The Mayflower Pilgrims
On the way to a new world
In their sacks they carry
Biscuit, beef, butter and beer
Kettles, frying pans, two skillets
And dishes
Shirts, slippers, waistcoats
And blankets,
Off they sail now.
Unlike the pilgrims,
I travel to Italy.
In my suitcase I carry
Leggings, T-shirts and jumpers
Suncream for the days out
Books, notebooks, pens
Colouring books and felt tips
Not forgetting my IPad of course!
– Isabella
List poem
Beer, beef
Salt, cider
Shirts, shoes
20 pounds of powder
60 pounds of shot
Skillets, spoons
Handsaw, hatchets
All these and more.
For the Pilgrims of the Mayflower
Their journey took them far
Fathers, sons, husbands, wives
Themselves and their belongings
To a land unknown.
I travel not so far
To a land I know well.
But I still pack my bags
For the journey I make
Phone, phone charger,
Pencils and pens
Sandwiches, snacks
Myself and my belongings
To a land I know well.
– Louise, aged 16
List poem
The people will bring just what they need
Not more, not less but just in between
They bring all their chisels, hatchets and nails
Their skillet, kettle, soap and their towels
They bring their canvas, their rigs, good straw
Their biscuits and cider and their very sweet oil
For what could we possibly need
Maybe some luck and a little less greed
And maybe some spares for me.
– Hiba, aged 14
List poem
I have
Biscuits and butter
Beef and bacon
Bolsters and blankets
Cheese and chisels
Frying pans and French soles
An iron pot and Irish stockings
Pork and platters
Napkins and nails
Shirts and 4 pairs of shoes
Slippers and sewing needles
Plain shoes, little shoes
Soap, shovels and spade
A sword and a spit.
I have all I need.
I’m on my way.
– Tabitha
