March Prompts

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Start March with a splash – for SEA WEEK!

Send your poetic inspirations to Linda Davidson:

ozchildrenspoetry@gmail.com

Date prompts include:

  • Clean up Australia Day (1st March)
  • World Poetry Day (21st March)
  • Sleep Awareness Month

Picture Prompt:

AQUARIUM by Kaushani Mufti

Millions of Mounds by James Aitchison

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You’ll see them in the savannah —
some are eight metres tall —
and when you’ve seen one mound,
you haven’t seen them all!

They’re built by tiny termites,
six millimetres long,
engineered with clever skill,
they’re absolutely strong.

With natural air-conditioning,
the heat just disappears; 
each multi-storey complex
can last one hundred years!

James Aitchison

Termite mounds in North Queensland’s savannah country. Photo by Ginette Pestana

Ocean to Umbrella by Linda Davidson

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Ninety-seven percent
Of our water lies in the ocean
And that’s where the water cycle
Begins its motion.

Warm water rises as a gas
In a process called evaporation.
Water from plants also ascends
This is known as transpiration.

The water vapour rises higher
Where the atmosphere is cool
And droplets join together
In a large, white, fluffy pool.

But really this is a cloud
Created by condensation.
When the cloud becomes full,
Grab your umbrella for precipitation!

The rain will fill the lakes, streams
And of course the ocean too.
Then the water cycle process
Can begin again as new.

Ocean to Umbrella by Linda Davidson

Image from Pixabay

IMAGINE THIS by Jeanette Swan

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If we could float in a paper boat, 

we’d rock and bob on the turquoise sea,

I would sing for you in Imaginese

so painted whales rise from the deep.

If we could float in a paper boat,

I’d call flotillas of butterflies

to flutter and bumble across the sky

past clouds where dreamy creatures fly.

Could you imagine this was true?

This is what I wish we’d do.

IMAGINE THIS by Jeanette Swan

Artwork: YOU ARE HERE by Hayley Gillespie

Where will we go today? by James Aitchison

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A soft misty sunrise,

adventure’s in the air,

let’s raise the sails and go

while the weather’s fair.

There’s so much to explore —

where will we go today?

For lunch let’s drop anchor

in a quiet bay.

And in the afternoon,

on the glassy tide,

we’ll try our hand at fishing,

as homeward bound we glide.

Where will we go today? by James Aitchison

Sunrise at Picton, South Island, New Zealand. Photo by Ginette Pestana

You Have Teeth by Marque Dobrow

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You have teeth inside your head,
To help you chew and
Swallow your food,
So as you won’t drop dead.
That is what I said.
Some people with teeth inside their head,
Can take them out at night
And put them in a glass beside the bed,
Before they catch some zeds.
What a wonderful privilege
To have teeth inside your head.
And if you can remember
To keep your gums from turning red,
Your teeth shall stand you in good stead.
Other beasts also have teeth inside their head.
Some from which I’ve fled.
Like the snake, several dogs and a horse named Fred.
I enjoy having teeth inside my head.
I aim to keep them there.
And if I do,
I will be well fed.
But if I don’t,
My fate I’ll no doubt dread.
For to a dentist I’ll be led.

You Have Teeth by Marque Dobrow

Image by Pixabay

I NEED TO READ by Jeanette Swan

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Who is that banging on the door?

Read on, read on…

…Who’s there? Guess who?

Knock, knock, it’s you…

…In a faraway land, in a dreamy corner,

a small bunyip was sleeping and snoring…

…’Sing in the storm,’ whispered Dotty.

‘See now. Now, it’s stopping…’

Reading pages, turning, turning,

other worlds, ancient, modern…

Scary, sweet, funny, deep:

I walk in stories; poems I feel.

Tomorrow, tomorrow

I’ll borrow another…

Every day I need to read!

I really love the library:)

I NEED TO READ by Jeanette Swan

Image by Pixabay

Give the Birds a Rap by Erica Chester

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A group of eagles is a convocation

And a group of starlings, a murmuration

Ibises cheer in a congregation 

Then bin dive with great elation

Kingfishers live in concentration

Whilst peacocks strut in an ostentation

Larks fly and sing in exaltation

An emu from the mob represents our nation 

Kookaburras laugh in a raucous riot

Pods of pelicans glide in the quiet

A siege of herons (on a strict fish diet)

Duck and dive and bathe in private

Seagulls bicker in a squawking squabble

A gaggle of gregarious turkeys like to gobble 

Sparrows gather in what’s called a quarrel

A waddle of penguins can sometimes wobble

A tiding of magpies warbles all the time

Tiny little fairywrens make a chime

A murder of crows isn’t always a crime

A ballet of swans: graceful in their prime

Give the Birds a Rap by Erica Chester

Image from Pixabay

I love libraries by James Aitchison

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I’ve got stacks of reading to do,

I don’t know where to begin!

Some of the books are big,

And some are very thin.

Will I start on the bottom shelf,

And read my way to the top?

Or start reading down to the ground

Until I have to stop?

Or maybe I’ll read side to side,

Right to left or left to right,

Whatever it is, I know I’ll be reading

Long into the night!

I love libraries by James Aitchison

Image by Pixabay

Random Acts by Karen Lee Mills

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reaching out to another
acknowledging they are worthy
noticing someone else’s need
daring to step out and do
observing a special opportunity
motivated to spring into action
affirming the receiver’s value to society
courageously showing respect and honour
transformed by the experience
spontaneously spreading joy

Random Acts by Karen Lee Mills

Image from Pixabay