Be Olympic! An Olympic poem for kids using Athletics, Track and Field as a metaphor.

Be Olympic!

Send your javelin soaring

a spear of dreams in flight

Fling your discus skywards

a whirling wish alight

Put your shot and holler

a hidden hope expelled

Hurl your hammer, star-bound

a circling urge propelled

Hurdle fears and demons

Mere barriers of mind

Sprint ahead of haters

No need to look behind

Marathon, keep going

The wall will tell you stop

Dig your heels in, chin up

Against all odds, don’t drop

Vault above the limits

Jump far beyond the pit

Run to catch your future

Embolden those who quit

Race to win and wonder

At times you will come last

Cut your losses quickly

and cast them in the past

Throwing, jumping, sprinting

Each moment, yours to take

First or last or middle

The record, yours to break

©2021 Mark Bird

💡 KS2 Poetry Lessons for Teachers:

This energetic and motivational Olympic poem for kids, titled "Be Olympic!", is the perfect springboard for a creative writing, poetry, and drama lesson that celebrates effort, resilience, and personal bests. Using the vivid imagery of Olympic events, students are encouraged to write their own action-packed poems using metaphor and movement. Creative writing prompts can explore the emotional journeys of athletes, turning sports into symbols for personal challenges and dreams. In drama sessions, students can bring the poem to life through physical theatre, choreographed readings, and performance poetry that mirror the poem’s rhythm and pace. The lesson promotes teamwork, self-expression, and the idea that being “Olympic” is about courage, not just competition.