The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Stationery Time

The end of August
is new pencils,
a rainbow of athletes
on the starting line.

The end of August
is a perfect rubber,
no mistakes yet
to unwind.

The end of August
is choosing a pencil case,
a crisp, bright flag
to stake a claim.

The end of August
is a pen full of ink,
it glides across paper
as you rewrite your name.

About the Writer


Lorraine Mariner

Lorraine is a librarian at the National Poetry Library, London, where she loves working with the children’s poetry collection. She has had children’s and YA poems published in Dragons of the Prime, an anthology of dinosaur poems from The Emma Press (2019) and in the magazines Tyger Tyger and Paper Lanterns. She’s also had poems shortlisted and commended in the YorkMix Children’s Poetry Competition in 2019 and 2021.