Poem on Bread By Vernon Scannell

The poet is about to write a poem;

He does not use a pencil or a pen.

He dips his long thin finger into jam

Or something savoury preferred by men.

This poet does not choose to write on paper;

He takes a single slice of well-baked bread

And with his jam or marmite-nibbed forefinger

He writes his verses down on that instead.

His poem is fairly short as all the best are.

When he has finished it he hopes that you

Or someone else--your brother, friend or sister--

Will read and find it marvellous and true.

If you can’t read, then eat: it tastes quite good.

If you do neither, all that I can say

Is he who needs no poetry or bread

Is really in a devilish bad way.

From “The New Oxford Book of Children’s Verse,” edited by Neil Philip (Oxford University Press: 372 pp., $18.95 paper)