Ray D'Arcy

A junior cycle pupil in County Galway got quite the surprise this week when a poem written by his mother and inspired by him came up in the English paper during this year's state exams.

Envoy in Chalk, or Envoy in Chalk, E-N-V-O-I in Chalk, written by Emily Cullen.

came up and her son lee davidson was taking the exam and he was very happy when emily went to collect him after the exam he said ma'am it went great you won't believe it but the poem you wrote about me came up the one about the chalk it was just a surreal moment priceless really

And he wasn't sure if he should say in his exam, by the way, that poem was written about me by me mammy.

So he decided that the person marking his paper might not believe him.

So he answered in the third person.

So Envoy in Chalk by Emily Cullen.

It's very short.

It's very short.

See what you think.

It was featured as a poem of the day in the Irish Times back in 2019.

I think.

I'm calling my son from the end of the estate when my eyes snag on green pastel words.

He has chalked on the pavement, the world is great.

This is just the line I need to read.

My mother in hospital, my shoulder inflamed, future employment uncertain, earth eyeballing Armageddon.

Yet how right his perception.

He bolts up on his yellow scooter, eight-year-old fringe quiffed with gel on the cusp of the age of cool.

That's the poem by Emily Cullen written about her son, Lee Davison, who had to answer questions on it in the Junior Cert last week.

That's a lovely story.