Following Bamidele's Words Home

Joelle’s toys are better than mine.
When I go to her house, she tells me all the time.
Her pink, lavish dolls house is from Paris,
Because her dad is a barrister,
She tells me all the time.
She has a purple talking Furby, a Dolce and Gabbana doll, a huge pretend oven and an extra-large troll.
She says my toys look as though they are from Poundland.
When I am around Joelle -I feel empty and small.

In my room, I have a soft, floppy rabbit that my sister doesn’t want anymore,
Because it is unloved, I love it all the more!
I have a patched-up teddy from my uncle,
And a broken guitar daddy found while out on the road working in his car,
He said I can use it to pretend to be a Rock Star!
Joelle’s toys are better than mine.
She tells me all the time.

On Monday, a new girl has arrived,
She speaks two languages,
Her name is Bamidele,
She explains in the language Yoruba it means ‘Follow me home,’
Her hair is dark, beautiful, all curled and wavy,
‘She is escaping from a conflict’, Mrs Aitkens says.
When I look at her, there are sad worry lines across her face.
At breaktime, Joelle recoils as she looks at our food wrapped in foils,
And she shows off her Bento lunchbox to Bamidele.
‘My lunchbox is better than yours’, she says.
At indoor play, Joelle snatches all the best toys first and Bamidele and I are left with all the damaged ones.
‘My toys are better than yours’, Joelle says.
But suddenly Bamidele looks up and holds her head high: ‘I don’t care, my tongue is kinder than yours’, she says.

I like Bamidele - she is my friend, and when I go to her new home, we love each other’s toys just the same!