Author Archives: australianchildrenspoetry

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Death on the high seas

Dastardly –
that’s me. Buccaneer
from my head
to peg leg
Cutlass poised, victim green with
fear of what will come
Time balanced
on a honed knife edge
descending
like rain to
a basin. Your end is nigh
broccoli, hold still
Nadine Cranenburgh

 

  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #29

 

Nadine said: I had a go at today’s prompt and used it to try out a new form of poem – a shardorma – which has six lines in each verse with the syllable pattern 3/5/3/3/7/5. Then I scribbled down ideas in this pattern until I had something that made sense… I had a sense of victim and murderous buccaneer and went from there.

Poetry Prompt #29

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Buccaneer Tucker

A basin of broccoli served up for tea

Is not what a young buccaneer wants to see.

His diet should be balanced when pillaging ships,

But he’d much prefer ice cream and lots of hot chips.

Pat Simmons
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #29

Poetry Prompt #29

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

High Tea

 

When pelicans are flying low,

With open beaks they say “Hello”

To any fish they gladly see

That could provide a tasty tea,

For like a furry flippered seal,

They do enjoy a fishy meal.

 

So after taking time to greet,

These hungry birds prepare to eat,

(While under beaks, there hangs a store

For extra, should they want some more).

Then up they rise to sail the sky:

Their beaks too full to say “Goodbye”!

 

Monty Edwards
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #28

Poetry Prompt #28Monty says: I wanted to get both greetings and goodbyes into a single poem, but the result promised to be rather long. I tried using a short telephone call for content, but wasn’t satisfied with the outcome, so contrived a brief encounter of familiar creatures at the seaside.

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

A Night of Frogs

 

A frog lives in our garden
in a pond beneath the tree.
I hear it croak at bedtime
as it says ‘goodnight’ to me.

A frog lives by our back door
on a post below the light.
I sneak outside to say ‘hello’
because it’s only there at night.

A frog lives in our laundry
in the corner of the wall.
I check when I come back inside
to make sure it didn’t fall.

A frog lives in our kitchen
in the space behind the sink.
It freezes in the torchlight
when I get myself a drink.

A frog lives in our bathroom
and I don’t know what to do
because it isn’t where it should be.
Yuk! It’s swimming in the loo!

My mum comes in the bathroom,
plants a kiss upon my head.
‘The frogs are fine just where they are
but you should be in bed!’

Kristin Martin

 

 

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Betrayed

 

Barnaby’s clearly in love with my sister,

He cannot resist her.

I’ve seen how he’s kissed her.

She’s only been gone for a day but he’s missed her.

It’s time for a family chat.

 

Needless to say, my proposed intervention

will cause more dissension

than I care to mention

but I am the one who deserves the attention

since Barnaby’s my freaking cat.

Jenny Erlanger

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Bullies

With the eye in the back of his head

he sees them coming —

 

eight-year-old breakers,

baby-hard, baby-soft.

 

Their elegant space-machine

could swallow him,

 

drown him once and for all

in a dish of air.

 

They are the masters —

skills bred in the bone.

 

He freezes

as they expect

 

though a voice inside him squeaks

I . ..Words cut his tongue,

 

weigh in his mind

like a bruise.

Katherine Gallagher

(Published in Them & Us, Bodley Head, 1993)

  • Katherine says: Your poetry prompt #26  HELP reminded me of occasions in schools and elsewhere when I’ve come up against bullying.Poetry Prompt #26

 

 

 

 

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Tammy

 

As long as I live will I ever remember

Those bright eyes shining under the table,

Of a black and tan kelpie, who was silently saying:

“Will you be my friend? Can I be yours, too?

 

“Can we be friends?—yes! the best of. And if you

Love me, fun me, feed, and de-flea me,

I’ll guard and care for you, and ever be there,

For you’ll be my friend—yes!—and I’ll be yours, too.”

 

She was my ‘best of…’, and I loved her and kept her

Til, old, deaf and blind, she lay down and died.

Then gone were the walkies, my petting this pal,

But memories, good memories, will ever remain.

 

Memories, dear memories, so near and so dear,

Of a woofity pal who just wanted a friend.

Thanks, Mum, for Tammy, with her bright eyes so shining,

Who sat ’neath the table waiting for me.

Bridh Hancock
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #27

saffy1

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Old John and the Rain

I woke last night

And heard the rain

And as I lay there

Listening to the opera

That was the rain

And that the silence filled

A sense of gratitude

In my heart did grow

 

My bones still ached

And my hands so crooked

Stayed clawed and bent

Their toils outside

Were reaping a dividend

Plenty-fold and tonight

As I listen to that welcomed trespasser

I see my reward that awaits come dawn.

 

Sleep came again she did

Upon my weary limbs

My eyes, my mind, my heart

All heavy, so full and overflowing

Of all that life has been

And so dreams did come

And take me back to these blessed moments past

And I was young again

Till I woke at dawn to the sound of rain.

Elizabeth Cummings
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #15

Poetry Prompt15

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

OVER IN THE JUNGLE — A SKIPPING  RHYME

Over in the jungle
it’s the monkeys’ time for lunch.
They like to eat bananas,
they eat them by the bunch.

Father likes the yellow ones,
Mother likes the brown,
and Baby likes the green ones
munching upside down!

Rebecca Newman

Rebecca shared this lively skipping rhyme on her website early this year. She wrote it in celebration of the Chinese Year of the Monkey. Here’s the link: https://rebeccanewman.net.au/2016/02/08/a-monkey-skipping-rhyme/
Rebecca says: I really loved skipping rhymes as a child, and I loved the skipping part too, especially in a big crowd with two people turning the rope.

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

Winter: A Child’s Guide

When the wind howls through the trees;

When you fear your feet will freeze;

When dark clouds obscure the sun;

Know that winter has begun.

 

Now’ s the time the days seem short;

Now a cold can soon be caught;

Now more frequent rain will fall;

It’s just winter  – that is all.

 

Thunderstorms may come and go;

On high mountains there’ll be snow;

Frost may form upon the grass:

This is winter. It will pass.

 

Winter’s time for active play.

Grab your gear without delay!

Put your boots on! Join your team!

Soon much warmer it will seem!

 

If you’d rather play inside,

Indoor games wait to be tried.

With your family or a friend,

Boredom soon will quickly end.

 

Start a hobby and collect.

Fix a toy that someone wrecked.

Solve a puzzle. Draw or paint.

Clean your room. Your Mum will faint!

 

Drink hot chocolate by the fire.

Read an author you admire.

Whether you’re a girl or boy,

Don’t miss out on winter joy!

Monty Edwards
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #15

Poetry Prompt15

Author Comment: My aim in the poem was to help children think positively about winter, since despite its drawbacks and discomforts, these are temporary and the season still offers many opportunities for real enjoyment.