Poor child (by Dolapo Oyeleye 10D) Rain at night But no roof in sight It’s a pity

2. Poor child • (by DolapoOyeleye 10D) • Rain at night • But no roof in sight • It’s a pity • There is no place at the charity • I hope someone can come • and be kind • to a wretched child • Snow on the street • But no shoes on my feet • My belly wriggling • I hear the rich man giggling • But I am shivering • I hope someone can come • and be kind • to a poor child • Nothing to do all day • Don’t own a telly • So hungry • No food in my belly • I hope someone can come • and be kind • to a dejected child

3. Graph . . . (Zainab & Pampam 9Y) Flies go around me I don’t blame them I’m killed with fleas I’m a walking mayhem I’ve never had a birthday I don’t know what Christmas is Maybe it’s about when people betray God – so it would often cross my way Never mind all this Today is a new day A new bliss A new roadway I will arise Against all odds Forget all the cries Trust me it would soon be applause

4. Poverty is horrible (Zainab & Pampam 9Y) Poverty is horrible Poverty is hunger Poverty is frightful Poverty is my lover I wake up each morning With a smile on my face Wait . . . I’ aching I wish I could just erase My mother is loving My father is dangerous My brother is baffling My sister is boisterous We don’t have proper food Neither a shelter It’s like it’s tabooed But hey, we still enter

5. I don’t have many clothes I drink from a small tap Where dirty water always flows More or less a death trap I’m bruised all over I guess it’s because I work for several hours In the mine searching for silver At the end very little to devour

6. It makes me sad (Deborah Ogo-Emmanuel) When I think of it It makes me sad And think deep What should I do? Mothers crying Babies dying Suffering everywhere Just hoping someone would help Sadness resulting For being forsaken or abandoned Desolate ! this atmosphere of poverty Then I give it a think Help is needed All around me Poverty needs to stop Eradicate it now

7. Poverty ( TodunSoetan, 7D) Drive past in your fancy car Dodging people on the hot coal-tar Shouting at the poop people If you don’t know you them fell small Inside their heart Is a money chart Look at the money we’ve got today It cannot buy a straw-tray May I then buy some nice food But all the shops are really rude The way I dress the way I smell Makes all the girls want to yell Hello people, can you help me please Come on I’m on my knees

8. Death by desperation • ( TodunSoetan, 7D) I really want to die I don’t even want to try Anymore. I might as well splatter on the floor I ‘ve never even ridden a train I can never be whole again My children went away Yes, to the sky they made their way Today, today, I have no pay I can beg or I could just lay On the tar I have a reason To commit treason Kill the king Take his gold ring Me would no money It would be funny

9. Poverty poem (TodunSoetan, 7D) Put on the stove but nothing’s there On this stove is just air Via this stove is a chair Enter this room that’s the only thing there Round the corner is a room This room is a makeshift tomb Yo! Why don’t you care Run up the stairs oh! There are no upstairs u p s t a I r s ! no are there Stairs Oh!

10. Poverty, a murderer (Grace & Chiemela, 9C) Poverty, a murderous sting That makes villagers cry out to the king Makes the poor tremble and fall Like a thief caught in a market stall Every day they die in darkness trying to make anend And they think to themselves “when will this misery amend?” They stretch their hand to call for help And all they get is the bark of a whelp They try to run . . . run far away But they end up dead and their bodies decay Their efforts are wasted struggling in vain You can still hear the wind blowing Cracking like a cane Look around you poverty is everywhere You can make a difference if you really care

11. POVERTY, (by Omar Ibrahim, 8Y) Pain, suffering, hunger All things we hate But for a poor man Who knows when he last ate Forced to steal for his survival On the edge of suicide Nothing left except a bleak future Sad, hopeless, dejected 18.10.2011

12. Poverty (Adaobi & Adeola, 9C) All around me Hunger and poverty I live a life of luxury Able to pay my dowry I think to myself What can I do to help? Should I keep it in? Or bring it out? People die each day Others go out and play Our world is in desolation I wonder, is God happy with this nation? I ask myself What can we do? We can have a fund-raiser Or give a gift or two

13. Poverty • (Adaobi & Adeola, 9C) • But what good will that do? • So I think again • There must be more • I can’t just sleep and snore • So I will rise • Out of the dark and into the light • Stand upright without a fight • And I will fight • Give a voice to the voiceless • Clothe the naked • Feed the hungry • And teach the illiterate • These though first steps • To eradicate poverty • It might take a while • But we will achieve a goal.

14. Poverty (Lisa Oguike,7D) Poverty The invisible killer The pain felt by all Poverty It creeps through your door • Silent but lethal Making the rich poor Together we will eradicate it Poverty Like a thief in the night It makes life miserable Poverty Causing starvation Bringing death throughout the nation Seeming indestructible Together we will eradicate it

15. Poverty poem (TobennaUruakpa, 7D) Poverty is a smellingsore But it can be treated If we come together It will be extirpated People suffer From day to night We can only unite And make things right Families sleep on the street And have no food But people that are rich Can make it good So give it your best And it won’t go in vain Then we can rest And good life gain

16. Poverty - A piercing cry (Sandra Nwankwo & TofaratiAlabi) A piercing cry in the distance Of night another death perhaps The soul of men not at rest From suffering day after day Children screaming mothers wailing Starvation another day has begun Oh! Supreme One hear our cry And help us through this pilgrimage Men sweating in the field Slaves under scorching Sun Famine thou deadly threat upon mankind A meal a day is a blessing when we find Education is out of question All we can do is be content Help us through this to get . . . to our place of rest Take away our burdens . . . for eternity Soon your gift of a brighter life Will come and last us through this revolution

17. Poverty - Grace (TeleolaAdelusi 7D ) Rain’s downpour on me . . . and on my child With no shelter or food Multiple tears tell a story of poverty . . . meek and mild A decade since my sole child was taken from me To work in a fireworks company it’s child labour . . . you may say Same happens here as I cry to Thee Lord to Thee In my room full of nothing Surrounded by pitch-obscure air Depressed, alone, in my misery In a bleak cuddle rapt Homeless, poor I was kidnapped Walking on the road with torn clothes The road of life’s terrible bolt of poverty

18. La Pauvreté (Teleola, 7D) Poverty was my home in Sudan • Pauvreté ma demeure au Soudane Raised in misery and sadness • Elevée dans la misere, dans la tristesse I’ve never played ball I’ve never had friends Jamais joué le ballon jamais eu d’amis Friend of unfortunate events of life Amie de tout maux de la vie When I was five Quand j’avais cinq ans My dad committed suicide Mon peres’estsuicidé My tooth rots because of the life and time • Ma dent pourrit dans cette vie que je vivote • And days and nights of tears • Jours et nuits de larmes • I began to work when I was seven • J’ai commencé a travailler a l’age de sept ans

19. Shipped to India among other slaves • Mis en bateau parmi d’autres esclaves • Trading with nothing but coal • Vendeusedu charbon • And eating once a day • Ne mangeant qu’une fois par jour • Life was harder when I was ten • La vie devint plus dure des ma cinquieme année • We were in Saudi Arabia • Nous étions en Arabie du Saudi • I was fetching dirty water • J’apportait de l’eau sale • When I was kidnapped and raped • Quand on m’a prise et violée • As I look back these memories • Quandj’ypenseaujourd’hui • From slavery to the death of my mother • De l’esclavage a la mort de ma mere • J’habite dans la pauvreté

20. To let go or to hold on (by Maxwell Ogbiji) O the green glimmer of apples in the orchard Lamps in a wash of rain O the wet walk of my brown hen through the stack yard O tears on the window-pane! Nothing now will ripen the bright green apples Full of disappointment and of rain Blackish they will taste, of tears, when the yellow dapples Of autumn tell the whitened tale again Poverty describes them all No man wills to rise and fall All around the yard it’s cluck! My brown hen Cluck! And the rain-wet wings Cluck! My marigold bird and again Cluck! For your yellow darlings

21. For a gray rat found the gold thirteen Huddled away in the dark Flutter for a moment, oh, the beast is quick and …een Extinct one yellow-fluffy spark! Corruption is not good my dear For poverty will strike I fear Once I had a lover bright like running water Once his face was open like the sky Open like the sky looking down in all its laughter On the buttercups, and the butter-cups was i What then is hidden in the skirts of all the blossom? What is peeping from your skirt, o mother hen? ‘Tis the sun that asks the question, in a lovely haste for wisdom What a lovely haste for wisdom is in men! Thus poverty is misery But all that is mystery

22. Poverty (Tam Ayo-Famola) Walking down the street Hope you had a nice day I bet these children didn’t If it were not for poverty Their lives would be gay The look in their eyes after a week without food Is it not enough for you to do good Little things you can do to help Give a biscuit or two Or even a bit of help Poverty- a threat, a big problem But if we do our part We can flick it away like a cobweb So come on! Make a start Take a stand up against poverty

23. An ink stain (TobiAkinrinmade, 9C) Poverty, a blotted ink stain of truth A defiant blur upon us youth Our lives are at standstill This world disaster Would it ever go away Or heal with time In an enormous plaster What a whirlpool poor children die every day of terror If only we could give a helping hand to our dear very nations It should be A bright sunny day with everyone treated the same No glamour no beauty not even fame Everyone giving a helping hand so we can all have a healthy future Not a shade of grief Poor village children on the same table as the president In my mind see them settled as V.G.C. residents Envision with me that beheaded foe – eradication of poverty A reality to come through care, love and loyalty

24. Golden Watch (Tobin Akinrinmade, 9C) Silver, Golden watches Gait and stride taken with such confidence Poise like a pop star enough to make us shiver Many of us might even quiver Opportunity peeping once in a lifetime Best to grab while you can Greed keeps hands from spending a dime On the other side of life Mosquitoes buzzing up and down Blood curling spiders dancing round and round Kwashiorkor and HIV ruling the land

25. Sorrowful struggles to soften sad life • Every time someone looses that helping hand • They long for the white to come and take precedence • They believe this would help them • A young girl is looking for her mother • Time goes by tick tock and sadly yet another • This is the reality of their life • This deep stab with a sharp knife • As we can see. • Poverty is one-faced • We can all make a difference • In this world • If we keep up with it • Slow but steady-paced.

26. Poor child part 2 (Adenike 7D) • You lie down to sleep again • You feel cold drops on your body • Urgh! You get up again • You can’t sleep for you die of fever – • You remember it doesn’t rain but it pours • Yes indeed, it does • Poverty, poverty why let me suffer? • Let me die • I go to church I hear the preacher say • “Give and you shall receive” • But I say, “what do the rich • Give that they receive so much?” • I ponder I wonder it so much • As though my head will burst • Though some rich help the poor • So many just don’t care • So I wonder what do some rich • Give that they receive so much? • If I ever get out of this poverty • I would fight against this • For it is no light situation • The poor deserve some dignity • I say we should slay this monster once and for all • For all our worries to be gone.

27. Dans la souffrance (TolaAjayi, 7D) All of you rich people Voustous, les riches Let me tell you, rich people Ecoutez-moi, vous qui etes riches Whosquanderwealthany how Qui gaspillent vos biens comme vous voulez How it feels to be poor Imaginez-vous vous-memes pauvres Thence it will prick your conscience • Alors il vous pénétrerait dans l’ame WhenyouwasteProvidence’s money Chaque fois que vous gaspillez l’argent de la Providence At 3 years old I was introduced to my fate A l’age de trois ans j’ai été présenté a mon sort

28. Born intopoverty Née dans la pauvreté Born intochild labour Née dans le labeur d’enfance Run early morning into the sea Courir tot le matin jusqu’a la mer Scarce water carry heavy on my head Lourde sur la tete l’eau manquante Run back and forth heavy water-pot on head Courir ca et la grand pot d’eau lourde sur la tete My little legs go on a-wobbling under heavy load Petits pieds chancellant sous le fardeau pesant

29. Water heading home in my feeble motion L’eau va chez moi lentement douloureux Quaking water pours on my boney back Pot emu verse l’eau sur mon dos ossé Toolittlereaches home Peu de l’eau atteint ma demeure Disappointmentfillsmyeyes La deception se lit sur mes yeux Oh, why me? Ah! Pourquoimoi? Poverty’s passenger on a very long drive Passage de la pauvreté sur ce long chemin Off to my morning work A ma besogne de matin je quitte • Selling tattered shoes to the few folks • Vendant des chaussures usées au petit nombre • Who bother to give me a second glance • De gens qui me jettent un deuxieme clin d’oeil

30. Oh, what fate this life mine! Ah! Quel sort, quelle vie! All of you look at me Vous tous, regardez moi Eradicatepoverty Eradiquez la pauvreté Eliminateit Eliminez la Extirpate it Déracinez la Stand up for fight against poverty Levez-vous pour lutter contre la pauvreté For all the African children that suffer Au benefice des enfants africains qui souffrent Fight and kill it that demon called Luttez pour le tuer, ce démon qui s’appelle P O V E R T Y!! La PAUVRETE

31. La Pauvreté (Class-made poemled by M. C C Anidiobu) La pauvreté est triste • Tellement misérable De souffrir Sans espoir De penser Que la mort Est a la portée La pauvreté produit les orphelins Entendre les pleurs des enfants Voir leurs larmes Ca c’est écoeurant !

32. Poverty eradicated (C C Anidiobu) French teacher Larks exultant hover above • The magnanimity of a smiling citadel Wool-flakes dropping white Chase wilted owls Pathos pats tingled faculty Thoughts peer poignant overcome Tonight unlike others Starvation and its lethal sword Erstwhile sending some souls To the dark beneath - beyond the ethereal

33. My legs hurt (Tola A ?) My legs hurt All around my body I feel cuts Searching for food for weeks At every shop I see I take a peek A birth in it is the curse of life Can make you not get a wife Because everywhere you go People would always know Because it will always show Many try to leave it behind But some fall deeper Many die daily from it While others wait for a helper We all have to join hands Everyone of their kind To eradicate it With everything we have Poverty is the problem Like a cancer upon potential Let us stop it For a better tomorrow

34. POVERTY IS NO JOKE (AdaezeAbanum, 8Y) Poverty ! It’s no joke Carries no fun Totally bad to live in What do I do? Hungry every day No money for food No sleep No water Eyes reddened by starvation Stomach rumbling in emptiness Head aching Body weak Poverty makes children cry They die each day It makes parents sad Oh, please, give them money and means

35. The Bad Luck of Poverty (Chinenye Nelson-Moore) Looking out my window Seeing little children fighting Over a half eaten piece of bread I look at myself and think What can I do? I can sit here and clinch at my money Or go down there And give them something to eat What would you do If you were me? Now I realise….. I have everything I need I can help Somehow I may not eradicate poverty On my own But I know They need our help

36. Death Around the Corner (Tamilore Ayo-famola 7D) The reaper walking up my lane I’ve imagined it time and time again There is no hope for my world No one can deliver me Not even the Lord I’d better tell my dog to start digging my grave For here is death and It’s time to say the prayer that I have long time saved - That no one will suffer what I have gone through Especially not you.

37. At the edge of the forest • (Tamilore Ayo-famola 7D) At the edge of the forest In the dead of the night You can hear the blood curdling howls of the wolves And see the eagle swoop to catch its unsuspecting prey At the edge of the forest There is a lake that glistens like sapphire Where the sleek-furred otters lodge by At the edge of the forest The Bobcat sleeps And the field mice must be on their guard At the edge of the forest The sun slowly rises All is quiet for now 8/11/2011