Hedge Sparrows
You don’t see many hedges these days, and the hedges you do see they’re not that thorny, it’s a shame, and when I say a hedge I’m not talking about a row of twigs between two lines of rusty barbed wire, or more likely just a big prairie where there were whole cities of hedges not fifty years ago, a big desert more like, and I mean thick hedges, with trees nearby for a bit of shade and a field not a road not too far off so you can nip out for an insect or two when you or the youngsters feel like a snack, a whole hedgerow system, as it says in the book, and seven out of ten sparrows say the same, and that’s an underestimate, we want a place you can feel safe in again, we’re social animals, we want our social life back, and the sooner the better, because in a good hedge you can always talk things over, make decisions, have a laugh if you want to, sing, even with a voice like mine!
About this poem
This poem, representing Great Britain, is part of The Written World – our collaboration with BBC radio to broadcast a poem from every single nation competing in London 2012.
Listen
Learning Resources
Hedge Sparrows by Richard Price
Classroom resource for the poem Hedge Sparrows by Richard Price. Activities in this resource are aimed at pupils in upper primary school (P5–P7).