There once was a pillow
that couldn’t sleep,
not even when
it counted sheep.
It stared at the ceiling
all through the night,
until over the sill
came dawn’s bright light.
Author Archives: ozchildrenspoetry
A Murder of Crows by James Aitchison
Leave a commentI saw a tree
full of crows,
crows in rows,
rows and rows.
How many crows?
Heaven knows!
(Teacher’s note: The collective term for a group of crows is a murder, a horde, a hover, a mob, a parcel, a parliament, even a storytelling of crows.)
Tree House by Jacinta Lou
Leave a commentHome to birds and bugs.
Wasps, spiders, grubs and tree house.
Empty when wasps feed.
(In response to Prompt #5)
The Desert Oak by James Aitchison
Leave a commentThey stand in desert heat and chill,
Needles drooping as in sleep,
Millions of them resting still
Upon the vast red plain.
Invincible, their roots run deep,
And after fire they grow again.
In response to TREES Prompt
My Little Robot by Graham Seal
Leave a commentI had a little robot
and it was very smart.
It could tell me anything
but it didn’t have a heart.
Below are a few links that may be of interest if you’re looking to find out more about Artificial Intelligence.
The Shetland Pony by James Aitchison
Leave a commentI’d love a Shetland pony,
not too high but low.
What a gentle ride he’d be,
not too fast but slow.
I’d love a Shetland pony,
the colour of a bear.
But how does he see where to go
through all that long, long hair?
(Teacher’s note: Shetland ponies originated in the Shetland Isles, located northeast of mainland Scotland. They are very hardy and have survived the harsh Shetland climate since the Bronze Age.)
Decoding Tree-rings by Celia Berrell
Leave a commentCutting through tree-trunks
from bark to bark,
we’ll see lots of circles
in light-wood and dark.
Light-coloured bands
mostly grow summer-spring
while autumn to winter
grows thin, darker rings.
Tree-rings grow wide
when it’s wetter and hot,
but tend to grow narrow
whenever it’s not.
Decoding these bands
in an ancient tree
can tell us the climate
historically!
First published in Double Helix (Oct 2021)
Reproduced with permission of CSIRO Double Helix
Three Fat Pigeons by Jeanie Axton
Leave a commentThree fat pigeons
looking very needy,
waddled around a bakery
in central Coober Pedy.
Pecking at the crumbs
with not a worry in sight,
these three fat pigeons
have given up their flight.
An interesting read about the pigeons who didn’t give up their flight! https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101543770
Tree Hugging by James Aitchison
Leave a commentHold me, hold me, hold me tight,
I get frightened in the night
by those birds and possums too,
I feel safe when I’m with you!
In My Dreams: a nonsense poem by James Aitchison
Leave a commentWhen I go to sleep at night,
I dream of lots of things.
Blue spaghetti and bowls of fruit,
A four-legged man playing a flute,
A buffalo with purple wings,
A refrigerator taking flight.
That’s why I like to stay awake
And think of triple-layered cake.
Australian Children’s Poetry 