By John Connell

Last updated at 12:56, Tuesday, 22 January 2013

A boy who was blind as a baby has written a “superb” poem about rivers.

Jack Davis

• Video: Jack Davis reads his poem River Journey

Jack Davis, who developed cataracts soon after he was born, has penned a vivid poem called River Journey.

The 10-year-old Kingmoor Junior School, Carlisle, pupil wrote it for a class project about rivers and his proud father uploaded it to the internet.

Jack said: “I was writing a long story. I just thought before I started to get the chapter going, I needed a bit of motivation for my writing and it happened that we were writing river poems."

The poem about the river Eden deals with the often destructive and polluting effect mankind has on Mother Earth.

Jack’s reading of the poem, accompanied by a photographic montage, has already had nearly 200 hits on YouTube.

His father Mark, of Lowry Hill Road, works as a yoga and tai chi teacher. But the 49-year-old also has literary aspirations of his own and moved to Cumbria to become a writer.

He said: “When I was younger than Jack I wrote a story and the teacher wanted to publish it but I was too shy.

“I think you have to grab opportunities like this: he’s done something very special. I think it is remarkable.”

Class teacher Jenny Scott added: “It’s superb. Jack has got a real gift for language.”

Jack had already read out the poem in assembly and is planning to write another about Mercury, both the planet and god.

He added that he ultimately wanted to write a science fiction trilogy to “knock George Lucas off the top spot”.

He is able to see now thanks to an operation he had as a baby but struggles with depth perception and must wear special glasses.

“I can see all right for a person who used to be blind,” he added.

First published at 12:52, Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk