Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo

Poet, playwright and author. Children’s Laureate 2003-5, author of Warhorse and Private Peaceful.

An oak tree from an acorn grows.
And we from less than that.
A storm begins with a drop of rain.
The plague from a stowaway rat.

From Miss Wirtles Revenge (book poem) (Tadworth, Surrey: Kaye & Ward Ltd, 1981)

They shook their fists in fury
And bellowed blasphemy;
Their language was atrocious —
Quite new of course to me.

From Miss Wirtles Revenge (book poem) (Tadworth, Surrey: Kaye & Ward Ltd, 1981)