Earliest Memories

This is a poem that’s about one of the earliest memories I have. It comes from when I was three and in the nursery at my first school.

By the way, before you read it, I can tell you that I go back to my old school, and I was able to sit down in exactly the same place as where this happened!

In case you don’t know what mutton is, it’s the meat from an adult sheep.

MUTTON

Mrs Perkins says
‘Eat your dinner.
No leftovers.
When you’ve had your dinner
you can have your pudding.’

Today it’s mutton.
I look at it on the plate.
I say to Mrs Perkins
‘I can’t eat it.
I’ll be sick.’

Mrs Perkins says
‘You must eat it.
Eat your mutton.’

I say to Mrs Perkins,
‘I can’t eat it
I’ll be sick.’

Mrs Perkins says
‘You must eat it.
Eat your mutton.’

So I ate it.
And I was sick.

This is one of those tiny memories that stick in your mind forever after they happened. Just think, this happened to me 73 years ago and I can remember it like it happened yesterday.

So here’s something for you. Can you remember a very early experience? Something that happened to you when you were as young as you can remember, which made you uncomfortable, or sad, or angry?

See if you can write it out in little sections in the way that I have. Each section can be for the next step in your story.