The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Be More Potato

Listen to Rhiannon read her poem ...
A potato has the complete confidence to be
So many different versions of herself.
A potato’s total versatility means
She’s never found forgotten on the supermarket shelf.

She’s baked and she’s chipped, she’s scalloped and fried,
She’s in curries and soups, salads and pies,
She’s sauteed and roasted and rosti-ed and boiled,
She’s also just perfect simply blobbed with some oil.

She’s great friends with sausages, baked beans and fish,
And best buds with onions; they make quite the dish.
She’ll hang out with eggs, with chicken and cheese -
She fits in with them all with a comfortable ease.

But she’s at hand and humble, doesn’t boast, or make show,
So, I wonder, should we all be a bit more potato?

If we adapt to each moment, and change how we roll,
Bring warmth and support from the heart and the soul,
If we find purpose and use wherever we are,
And try to work as a team, and let others star,
But also, be happy, simply warm and alone -
Then life could be full of pleasures unknown!

Thing is, though our personality might be unbeaten,
It’s hard to ignore - we would also get eaten!

About the Writer


Rhiannon Oliver

Rhiannon is an actress, poet, workshop facilitator and playgroup leader based in Cardiff. She started writing for children in 2021 and has been published in The Caterpillar, Tyger Tyger, The Toy, The Dirigible Balloon, Northern Gravy, Paperbound, Little Thoughts Press, Parakeet, Buzgaga, and Launchpad (Australia). She has publications forthcoming in multiple anthologies. She has also written and created performance videos for The Big Welsh Rhyme Time (Book Trust Cymru) and her poetry has appeared on TV (Only Boys Aloud Christmas Concert, S4C). She is part of Literature Wales' Representing Wales 2023 scheme and is currently developing her first collection for children which explores Mental Health and Well-being.