HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF? The Bomb I can feel myself exploding inside My face turns red and so do my ears I start to feel hot Tears flood like a waterfall They rage down my cheeks I turn everything upside down I start to throw books around My mum shouts "Stop that noise". The worst has past, I have exploded. I throw myself onto the bed and fall asleep. Don't come too close. THE BOMB MAY STILL BE TICKING. Helen Turner Slow Slow is a lazy word it makes me think of smoke drifting from a cooling tower and turning into slow sailing clouds. It also makes me think of softly swaying trees and gently shivering grass, a tortoise crawling across a lawn, the quiet creaking of a wooden door and the soft call of a cuckoo. Anna Hoskyn When I get angry When I get angry it is normally because of my sister. I want to throw her out of the window because she gets on my nerves. I tell the budgie off because she's been biting me; I want to squash her but she always goes into her cage. I don't know why I get angry, I don't think anyone does. It's such a stupid thing to do, and we always regret it later. If anyone knows why we do get angry I think everyone would love to hear from you: At least I would, you know! Katy Hoskyn Morning is like green gunge and feels like bees buzzing at me and trying to sting me. When I have to go to school I crawl out of bed like a slimy dozy snake: I look in the mirror and my hair looks like a punk. Natasha Tobin I stay up late watching Dracula films And then I oversleep And then I'm late for breakfast And I have to run to school And then I'm late. Then I miss assembly And I have to stand in the corridor. While I'm waiting in the corridor A man with a green face Appears and bites me on the neck. Donna Kermode It makes me sad when my sister kicks the dog so I play with the dog to cheer it up ... then the dog bites my best dress so I swear at it and then mum sent me in my room and it was Lynette's fault for kicking the dog Bernadette Rankin He's standing with his back to the kitchen door His finger jabbing like a sword He's shouting so loud you can't hear a word His face is tensed and red Hands in pockets - "Get them out!" I stand in the doorway, numb and dizzy - I know I'm tidy and sensible, why does he think I'm a mucky idiot? Stephen The dials are moving slowly A bit of blue, the rest is clouds Frightening silence in the stuffy cockpit A posh voice over the radio says You have a disease on board, you can't land The smmell of burning flesh comes from scarred corpses The steering goes, and the co-pilot catches the disease I want to bail out but there's no parachutes There's only one thing left to do I light a cigar and admire the view. Anthony Quinn There's a big cloud of dust and one minute I am here one minute I am back. I know where I am going but other people don't. The world goes round too slow ... I am a rocket I go like the wind. Kellie Cannon I like my own secrets They're small with sharp edges They're about my mum and my sister I've no secrets about myself I don't think about myself I like keeping secrets in my mind I can think them up again but I'm not going to tell them to my brother or you Susan Hand My mum bosses us all the time Tidy your room, do the dishes, go to bed Shout, shout all the time Don't do that, don't be cheeky, where's the key to the shed? My older brother bosses me all the time Don't break me soldiers or I'll kick you in the teeth Calls me a dog, calls me ugly, Shut up, get lost, make me some tea. I boss my little friends when they get me in a mood I call them babies and show-offs I enjoy shouting at them and being rude. Lisa Morley