Poem on a book page: Troll Song "It wasn't always my ambition to live under a bridge. There came a point though where a decision had to It was either here or in a swamp or in a cave. be made. On the plus side, there's cold running water all the time. On the minus side, am living under a bridge. There's little privacy and less in the way of respect. It's only a small bridge. My feet stick out when I sleep. I bang my head more than I'd like. I get into arguments with ducks. People look down on me, living under a bridge. But it's a tradition, my mum said, and tradition's tradition. Sometimes I eat the ducks. Those are arguments l've won. On either river bank are pastures. Lush-lands. like the smell in spring of the hundred different flowers. I never mention this when other trolls come to visit. I read a lot of books. They contain other worlds. For a time I can imagine l'm not living under a bridge. You can learn things in books too, important useful things: I eat every goat I see these days, just to be on the safe side."

Picture of a troll undee a bridge, reading. Drawn by Chris Riddell.

Book cover. Big yellow beard. Things FIND in a Poet's Beard AF Harrold ILLUSTRATED BY CHRIS RIDDELL

Here's a good troll, engaging empathy and eating ducks, from my poetry collection, #ThingsYouFindInAPoetsBeard, illustrated by #ChrisRiddell.

#KidsLit #poetry