I see a robin shelter in a tree
His beady eyes look down on me
A little red breast up on high
As he swoops from tree to sky
The frozen ground, the trees are bare
Winter has arrived without a care
Striking us with pellets of rain
The song birds and their sad refrain
A ray of sun, a bulb in the ground
Signs of Spring will soon rebound
A sense of hope returns to me
Winter soon a distant memory
Artwork by Gemma Creegan
Sir Cyril Street was the first Australian
to fly round the world upside down.
So famous was he that you can see
his name on signs all over town.
He was all the talk when he reached New York,
thousands of people came out to gawk.
He landed in Delhi in such a hurry,
his propellor sank into someone’s curry.
He narrowly missed the Eiffel Tower
and set Big Ben back by an hour.
He crossed the Arctic, his wheels in the air,
where polar bears came out to stare.
What a hero was this aviator
that his fame has still persisted,
though no one knows when he died
because he never really existed.
Image from pexels
Little square shapes and fancy, round twirls;
nestled in boxes with ribbons in swirls;
joined in arrays like crossword puzzles;
sprinkled with cocoa and formed into truffles;
rolled in nuts and melted on sticks;
soft, creamy centres with crunchy bits;
shaped into rabbits, koalas and frogs;
poured into moulds and rolled into logs.
Chocolate, oh chocolate, so delicious, so sweet!
Pull off the wrapper! Come on, let’s eat!
Image from Pexels
Some of our fauna have it right
They sleep all day and rise at night
Some are shy, others proud
Some are quiet, others loud
Learn to recognise the sound
It’s nice to know who is around.
Curlews chat, some night birds cry
Cattle low, and the bats whoosh by
Green frogs drop from hiding places
To commence their nighttime hopping races
The froggy chorus by the dam
Informs all their friends, “I am around.”
Tell the dogs no need to bustle
When hearing gentle thumps and leafy rustles
That’s the macropods up near the house
And a swooping owl catching a mouse.
WAIT the chooks are cackling – that’s not right!
A snake is sneaking in this night
I‘m racing there to get him out
“Not my chooks, you hungry lout!”
But soon the sky begins to lighten
Pull the blankets right up tighter
Bird chirps start to fill the dawning
It must be time to rise for morning.
Poem inspired by July poetry prompt from artwork titled, NIGHTSOUNDS by Amanda W Johnson
THE JOURNEY OF A WORD
Choose a word and find out where it came from and what it means. Some words have changed their meaning; some have added new meanings as time has passed. Can you explain this word and its journey of uses and meanings in a poem?
Who can smell the farthest,
an animal or us?
Like, I can smell a meat pie
from the back seat of the bus!
But that isn’t very far,
for when I looked up all the facts,
we can smell about five feet —
that’s one point five metres max!
Dogs’ noses are much better —
they can sniff scents near and far,
about two thousand metres
away from where they are!
But the elephant beats all,
sniffing scents twelve miles away,
that’s nineteen thousand metres,
on any given day.
Now if I could grow a trunk,
I’d increase my sense of smell,
but I think I’ll keep my nose —
it fits my face quite well!
Image from Unsplash
There was a girl called Manda Lee
Who binged-watched far too much TV.
Especially those series where
Contestants all had sculptured hair
And rippling muscles, teeth like pearls –
That was the boys, also the girls.
How Manda wished that she could be
Like these, a famed celebrity.
A ‘Princess hunt’ throughout the land
Was what some TV bosses planned
To publicise their latest show
About a princess and her beau.
When Manda heard she gave a shout
‘I must impress the talent scout!
But every princess I have seen
Has yellow hair and is quite lean.
‘My hair is black. I’m overweight.
I’ll get to work and change my fate!’
She poured peroxide on her hair
And planned her meals with extra care.
Then joined her dad, who for a lark,
Ran twice a day around the park.
When TV cameras reached the town
Her weight was less, her hair pale brown.
Manda pouted at the lens
As if they were the best of friends.
To no avail – she was rejected!
After some time feeling wretched
TV fame lost its appeal.
She looked around for something real.
Remembered how much fun she’d had
Exercising with her dad.
Began to train, picked up her paces
Started winning sprints and races.
Manda found her ever after
Sharing chats and laps and laughter.
She never watched the Princess show.
Her hair grew black. She let it grow.
Image from Pixabay
The wishing well was wonderful
A place to ponder peacefully
Where many dreams were dreamt
And wishes wished willingly.
Sammy stood steadily
By the wonderful wishing well
He hung his heavy head
Wished a wish which he wouldn’t tell
He quickly quietly walked away
Happy, hopeful it would come true
A wish he’d wished with confidence
A wish he had which wasn’t new
He now wondered whether
He should make his wish again
To be absolutely sure
His wish wasn’t made in vain
So he hung his heavy head
And wished his wish once more
With even more conviction
Than he’d wished his wish before
Now Sammy had only to wait
For his wonderful wish to come true
He felt happy, hopeful, contented
And patience would see him through.
Image from Pixabay
Poor Cook is in a tizzy. What on earth is she to do?
So many guests to cook for, all lords and ladies too.
Dear Cook, prepare the finest food, the finest you are able.
And don’t forget your special pie to decorate our table.
Frog pie? Frog pie. What a funny sight.
Trim the top and out they hop to give the guests a fright.
The ladies shriek, the gents guffaw.
A trick, a joke, a jest.
Oh please, please do invite us back.
Your banquets are the best.
Poor Cook is in a tizzy. What on earth is she to do?
So many guests to cook for, all lords and ladies too.
Dear Cook, prepare the finest food, the finest you are able.
And don’t forget your special pie to decorate our table.
Turtles? Turtles in the pie, swimming in the dish.
They splash about then clamber out to go in search of fish.
The ladies shriek, the gents guffaw.
A trick, a joke, a jest.
Oh please, please do invite us back.
Your banquets are the best.
Poor Cook is in a tizzy. What on earth is she to do?
So many guests to cook for, all lords and ladies too.
Dear Cook, prepare the finest food, the finest you are able.
And don’t forget your special pie to decorate our table.
Blackbirds? Blackbirds in the pie escaping everywhere.
Four and twenty, maybe more, fluttering in the air.
The ladies shriek, the gents guffaw.
A trick, a joke, a jest.
Oh please, please do invite us back.
Your banquets are the best.
Poor Cook is in a tizzy. What on earth is she to do?
So many guests to cook for, all lords and ladies too.
Dear Cook, prepare the finest food, the finest you are able.
And don’t forget your special pie to decorate our table.
‘That’s it!’ cries Cook, ‘I’ve had enough.
I’m tired of all this jest.
Today I’m baking pumpkin pies
For each and every guest.’
Mmmm Delicious!
Image from Pixabay
Authors note: Long, long ago during the 15 th and 16 th centuries ‘Animated Pies’ were a popular form of
entertainment among the ‘Upper Crust’ i.e. the posh people. The pie shell would be pre-
baked and cooled. Then live animals were placed inside to pop out at the banquet table and
surprise the guests.
(Please note that no animals were harmed during the writing of this poem.)
Deadly Dinosaurs Delving
Dangerous Dinosaurs Dazzling
Decorous Dinosaurs Drawing
Dandy Dinosaurs Dancing
Dehydrated Dinosaurs Drinking
Desperate Dinosaurs Digging
Dizzy Dinosaurs Digesting
Image from Pixabay
Australian Children’s Poetry 