Yesterday Young Observer visited Somersfield Academy to meet with Fae Sapsford. Fae is in her final year at the school, which she has attended since she was seven-years-old.

IB Coordinator and English Teacher Mr Chudd said: “Every year, students in their final year at Somersfield Acdaemy complete an independent project under the supervision of a member of staff. These projects are of a high standard. This year we have a business plan and presentation, a 15’ boat build, a series of artistic works on the theme of revolution, and a historical novel.”

Fae has published a collection of original poems. The book is called ‘A snag in the mind of an unimportant stander’. Fae told us that she had started writing the poetry in Summer 2013 and finished in January 2014, after attending a Festival of Authors in Canada and being inspired by one of the speakers who was a poet. She then explained that she went back and edited and re-edited the poems.

Mr. Judd had helped her compile the book, for which she also created the illustrations, which were inspired by Jon Carling.

The book can be purchased on Amazon, and one of her poems can be read on our website alongside this story.

RECEDE

I carry on my person

a cheese grater

at all times,

Just in case there’s not enough

of me

to fill my outsides.

It’s a comfort to know that as I recede

into a stagnant being,

I can shave away the wasted bits

that are hardly worth seeing.

As I dissolve into the air

I can shave my elbows

till they’re red and bleeding

scrape the eczema off to gain some feeling in this shell,

in these limbs

they’re receding.

Dead weights;

denatured skin cells.

I am too little to fill a cup

I can’t be half empty or half full

- there’s simply not enough

of me.

I take comfort as I recede

as I shrink into this carapace case,

suctioning shroud,

in that I’ll always be ready

to be in a happy place

to sculpt my nose off of my face

Grind my feet to shavings - to stubs

because

as one recedes

one must always be ready

to emery board those fingernail nubs.