The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

To Write A Poem

Listen to Rhiannon ...
You just need
A notebook, a pen, and a brain.

If you don’t have a notebook then use:
A menu
An old birthday card
Blank walls
Sand (low tide preferred)
Iced cakes / giant cookies
The back of a bus ticket
Clouds (if you're tall)
Marshmallows (if you're not)

If you don't have a pen then use:
Ketchup
A very scratchy stick
Paint
Pebbles / bread crumbs / spaghetti (may be slow)
Chocolate sauce (please note risk - may be slow as well as tempting. Words may not fully form)
The footprints of dirty ants
The curly smoke of an articulate airplane
A pencil

The brain should
reach into corners,
questions,
and other people’s hearts.
It should
sift words with a sparkly colander
and line them up in magical orders.
It should see
doors,
windows,
and possibilities
in everything.

It should be your own.

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.