Following on from the success of National Poetry Day at Primrose Croft Care Home in Cambridge, the people living at the home decided to write their own humorous poem. They had been inspired by the poem ‘Waiting’ by Jenny Joseph, which had been read to them on National Poetry Day.
Residents had been discussing the fact that at times they feel “knackered”, because as you get older your body slows down even though your mind is not quite ready yet. But in spite of this, they try to focus on the days when they feel young and spritely. Home Manager Rachael said that this would be a great basis for their poem and suggested that they call it ‘We are not ready for the Knackers Yard’.
Mary reminisced about some of the fun she used to have as a youngster, such as playing ‘Knock Down Ginger’ and having piggyback rides with friends. Others around her laughed at this, and relayed similar experiences of their own. Josephine said it would be funny if they did it now, but she wasn’t quite sure that they would be able to run away in time.
This led to everyone reminiscing about the some of the mischief that they used to get up to. Christine remembered her mum often saying, “Don’t do that!” to her, but her doing things anyway the second that her mum turned her back. It would never be anything too bad, just simple mischievous things.
After having these conversations, Lifestyle and Wellbeing Lead Pearl collated it altogether to make Primrose Croft their very own personalised poem. The residents said that they loved the results, and they would love to make more poems in the future.
The finished poem, ‘We’re Not Ready for Knackers Yard’ can be found below.