walkin’ on rainbows
in my new shoes
in mocking love
I hum the blues
replete with lipped
fantastical ideas –
unicorns, gods
and supernatural fears
bursting from my brains,
and mixing with my love
and rains and clouds
in the skies above
Vale Elizabeth II
A woman exemplifying
Honour and grace,
Whose long reign over us
Would embrace
Change such as no monarch
Had ever seen,
Yet always, in all ways
Our regal paragon, our beloved Queen. J.R.Poulter, 2022
My sister’s upset.
she’s beginning to fret.
Her giant balloon has just popped.
She’s weeping with grief,
but for me, what relief!
My hiccups have finally stopped.
It’s a tall sailing-ship on the ocean,
Still, anchored, waiting – not to be broken –
Or smashed on rocks – run aground.
Or, imaginably, if I listen closely – beyond the hush –
Seawater claps the vessel’s hull and waves swoosh on the shore.
Sensible sea captain, dutiful crew, waits – no rush …
The sun is sinking, a gull calls, and the reef makes no score.
Explorers or pirates? We’ll see …
I write in my log book – a note to me –
“Tomorrow – build lighthouse for sea dogs.”
But in the morning, there is no sea, no ship and no fog.
Australian Children’s Poetry 