LITTER PICKING

Tidy Tavi immortalised in verse

I thought it might be nice to share this with you. It is a rather pleasing poem about our litter pickers written by Barry (Ned) Kelly, who is a bit of a local bard and has written several books of poems to raise funds for the Devon Air Ambulance.

Ode to the Litter Pickers

by Barry Kelly

Fluorescent jackets on their backs

Picking sticks and dust bin sacks

Litter pickers around the town

Picking up what’s been thrown down

A tray that once held greasy chips,

Old dog ends with filter tips,

A collar from a boisterous pup,

Broken lighter, coffee cup,

Discarded letter written in French,

Thrown behind a Meadows bench,

A water bottle from Welsh hills,

A carrier bag from Trago Mills,

Spider man without his head,

A wrapper from a loaf of bread,

The ever-present lager can,

A dummy dropped from baby’s pram,

A lolly stick, a left-hand sock,

A photograph of Mr Spock,

Some baubles from a Christmas wreath,

The bottom set of someone’s teeth,

A badly chewed up tennis ball,

Or a raffle ticket from a draw.

Stuff like this the pickers pick

With thumb and finger on a stick

People’s dross that’s been thrown down

Around the park and in the town.

Steve Hipsey

Tidy Tavi