BALLET

I went to ballet lessons,

I had to learn some French,

Like cabriole and brise,

And even battement.

There’s chasse,cinq and coda,

And sometimes pas de deux.

So I gave up and told my mum,

To sell my new tutu.

The Boomerang Returns 

Throw the boomerang high in the sky

Watch the ancient hunting tool fly

Throw it straight and throw it long

Up above this tool belongs

Try a lob and give it a boost

See it returning come home to roost

Keep on flinging into the sky

Practice makes perfect

Give it a try

Here is a poem by Zachary Downie. He is a 14 year old Australian expat and currently studying at West Island School in Hong Kong. Zac is Robyn Youl’s Grandson and has written a poem about the region of Hong Kong known as Kowloon and the legend and history behind it.

1278,

There was a boy called Bing, he was 8.

He had just been crowned emperor of a doomed dynasty.

We see a boy, his subjects saw a dragon.

His subjects saw mountains, he saw fellow dragons.

He saw 8 dragons;

He saw 8 friends;

He saw 8 guardians to help him rule his kingdom.

He spoke to them:

First, P’u-Lao, my noble protector;

Alert me to danger.

Second, Ch’iu-Niu, I need music in my court;

You are my musician.

Third, Pi-Has, my lucky scholar;

Help me to learn, my friend.

Sometimes, I am lonely;

Stand by me, Pa-Hsia, in times of need.

My guardian, Chao-Feng;

Watch all that is holy: my temples and my lands.

Kublai Khan draws closer;

Douse the flames of war, Chih Wen.

Suan-Ni, keep my subjects at my side;

Keep my courtiers loyal, keep my soldiers strong.

Yai-Tzu, I am only 8 and yet I lead my people into battle;

Protect me from harm, or at least don’t let it hurt too much.

And I, Pi-Kau;

I will listen to my subjects.

I will settle their quarrels.

I will hear them and sometimes listen.

I am 8, I can do this.

1279,

Kublai Khan had won.

Bing’s dynasty is defeated.

His loyal general, Lu Xiufu, picked up the boy and leapt into the sea.

An honourable death for a boy who named a city.

Kowloon, today;

8 mountains guard a sleeping boy:

The 9th dragon.

The octopossum

The octopossum lives by the sea;

no marine creature’s stranger than he!

A bushy tail and eight long arms,

with one big eye to complete his charms.

Even mighty whales avoid this beast;

they take one look and head nor’-nor’-east.

No shark swims near the octo-p.,

for fear the latter eats it for tea.

The octopossum can be gentle,

but one thing always drives him mental:

to avoid his rage and his grief,

we must save the Great Barrier Reef!

Christmas time

Christmas means the gathering of our enormous family

When we always enjoy special time together happily.

We welcome all in our family brood

Babies new, cousins kind and uncles rude!

The presents are stacked high under the tree

Little ones collect their gifts gleefully.

The table is set; the drinks are on ice,

The red wine is mulled with a touch of spice.

Food is loaded to the brim of each plate

Make sure to tuck in before it’s too late!

Then as quick as a wink, the day’s over again.

The dishes are all washed and left to drain.

Then it’s time for a nap, maybe a swim or a game,

Before the planning for next year begins all over again!