Editorial
Here are more poems written during a course delivered by Jane Spiro in Exeter College, Oxford, UK. For more see Year 10; Issue 5; October 2008.

Family Images: Poems from an Oxford summer, 2008

My mother is an oak
      because she’s very strong.
My mother is a lemon –
      she can be sour at times.
My mother is a parrot
      because she speaks too much.
My mother is a clown –
      she always makes people laugh.

Carla Ganoza (Peru)

My daughter is a rose,
fair, fearless, forceful,
sweet, scented, spirited.
She’ll always be my favourite.

Anne Andersen (Denmark)

My brother is like a rock –
He has not changed through the years.
He protects us in bad times.
He stands up for us.
He will always on in my sight –
Indestructible.

Juan Allaua (Peru)

My daughter is a flower, she gives me nice fragrance.
My daughter is a plant, she grows every day.
To my dear Purry, who is the apple of my eye –
every breath I sigh is saying I love you.

Thongthip Varnaying (Thailand)

My son is an apple –
Difficult to get your teeth into at first,
But juicy and sweet when you are there.
My sister is a bird
protecting, supporting and her sun never fades.
I see the world in her eyes,
her eyes are everywhere in the world.

Ismail Mohamed (Egypt)

My grandfather is a stone –
He is hard and implacable.

My grandmother is a sunflower –
She searches out the sun.

My sister is a butterfly –
She glitters and glows and flutters.

My husband is a tree –
he stands tall, weathers the storms -
shields and shelters us.

Kumi Tommerbakke (Norway)

My sister is an oak, that is proud of its roots, with a bird
that flies in search of knowledge.
She is strong, brave and determined
and she is also curious, lively and joyful.

Imma Cristina (Spain)

My grandmother is a stone
strong enough to rely on her
solid enough to build from her
wise enough to trust her.

Juan Jose Lalupu (Peru)

My son is a cherry –
appetizing, brightly-coloured and round,
but often leaves a bittersweet taste

(Spanish student)