<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Three Friends<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Phoenix and Jade take turns to ride on Maisie\u2019s back 2 3 4 5 Phoenix and Jade like Michael Graham. Mucky McKenna isn\u2019t in the Accident Book 6 Michael Graham went to Afghanistan and got killed. They\u2019ll end up in the pub. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jennifer Copley<\/strong> lives in Cumbria. She has published four pamphlet and three full collections: ‘Unsafe Monuments’ (Arrowhead 2006), ‘Beans in Snow’ (Smokestack 2009) and ‘Sisters’ (Smokestack 2013). She has been placed in many competitions including the Bridport and the Cardiff and shortlisted twice for the Strokestown. She has been published in The Rialto, The North, The Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph and her work has been included in GCSE revision papers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Three Friends 1 Phoenix, Jade and Maisie, best friends since Year One, stick together in their voyage through the Infants. Phoenix and Jade are in Mrs Clarkson\u2019s \u2018Special Class\u2019. Maisie is a mermaid who swims between the rocks of their desks while Mrs Clarkson teaches Copy Writing. Mrs Clarkson takes no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6450,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6448\/revisions\/6450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPhoenix, Jade and Maisie, best friends
\nsince Year One, stick together
\nin their voyage through the Infants.
\nPhoenix and Jade are in Mrs Clarkson\u2019s
\n\u2018Special Class\u2019. Maisie is a mermaid
\nwho swims between the rocks of their desks
\nwhile Mrs Clarkson teaches Copy Writing.
\nMrs Clarkson takes no notice of the blue sea
\nwashing under her classroom door.<\/p>\n
\nor do her hair with a comb they found
\nin the Lost Property cupboard.
\nPhoenix puts a parting on the left,
\nJade on the right. They make ringlets
\nwith wetted finger and thumb,
\nweave seaweed into a tiara.
\nAll this happens while Mrs Clarkson is writing
\non the board and the waves are getting higher.<\/p>\n
\nPhoenix and Jade build a stable
\nin the woods behind their school.
\nAlthough they look like little girls,
\ninside they are made of ponies and can gallop
\nfaster than the wind can blow. Today\u2019s the day
\nthat Phoenix doesn\u2019t see an overhanging branch.
\nShe falls, a bone comes through her skin
\nand though it isn\u2019t fair, the huntsman has to shoot her
\nbecause everyone knows that\u2019s what you do with horses.<\/p>\n
\nJade\u2019s dad has gone away again, she doesn\u2019t know where.
\nHe writes her funny postcards
\nbut she can\u2019t write back even on his birthday.
\nShe wants to tell him that the pip he planted
\nin her yoghurt pot is growing, that she\u2019ll soon be in Year Two.
\nJade\u2019s mum says he\u2019s not worth the price of a stamp.<\/p>\n
\nMaisie\u2019s tail fell off during the night.
\nShe\u2019s growing legs like a tadpole.
\nPhoenix and Jade give Maisie medicine
\nbut her tadpole legs cling on,
\nand her tail, once shimmering emerald,
\ngrows back stumpy black.
\nMaisie cries but Mrs Clarkson doesn\u2019t hear \u2013
\nshe is using her Swordfish pencil sharpener
\nwhich no one else is allowed to touch.<\/p>\n
\nThe Accident Book is kept in the Office.
\nPhoenix and Jade are in it!
\nThey\u2019d made an ice-slide, were slithering
\ntowards each other when they crashed.
\nMichael Graham said he saw their knickers.<\/p>\n
\nHe is in Year Three and has blond floppy hair.
\nPhoenix and Jade are glad he has noticed them
\nand that they are in the Accident Book.<\/p>\n
\nbecause she walked into a door at home.
\nPhoenix and Jade saw red marks on her chest
\nwhen they wear getting changed for PE.
\nThey told Mrs Clarkson and Mucky went to hospital
\nin Mrs Clarkson\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
\nTen years on, the friends are seventeen.
\nPhoenix works at Nippy Scissors.
\nJade is on a Nail Technician\u2019s course.<\/p>\n
\nThis Friday is his funeral.
\nPhoenix and Jade will sit with Mrs Clarkson and cry,
\nremembering Michael\u2019s floppy hair.<\/p>\n
\nMaisie\u2019s ghost will swim between the tables,
\nflip her stumpy tail to Nothing Compares 2 U.<\/p>\n