
Icon by Alex Bu, Creative Stall and Sascha Elmers (The Noun Project)

Poem Activity
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Jamaica Market
Poem Activity
Have fun with the poem by trying this...
You are probably feeling hungry after reading about all these wonderful foods in the market! We have counted over 30 different things you can eat in this market. Read the poem again looking out for those foods. Try reading the poem out loud. Notice that every line has seven syllables and every two lines rhyme. If you have enjoyed the sounds in this poem try to write your own ‘list’ poem like this. Imagine, for example, all the sights and sounds of a football match on a windy day, or a dance lesson or try to capture the sights and sounds all around you now.
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Honey, pepper, leaf-green limes,
Pagan fruit whose names are rhymes,
Mangoes, breadfruit, ginger-roots,
Granadillas, bamboo-shoots,
Cho-cho, ackees, tangerines,
Lemons, purple Congo-beans,
Sugar, akras, kola-nuts,
Citrons, hairy coconuts,
Fish, tobacco, native hats,
Gold bananas, woven mats,
Plantains, wild-thyme, pallid leeks,
Pigeons with their scarlet beaks,
Oranges and saffron yams,
Baskets, ruby guava jams,
Turtles, goat-skins, cinnamon,
Allspice, conch-shells, golden rum.
Black skins, babel – and the sun
That burns all colours into one.