The Lion in the Mirror
My mirror isn’t looking right
kitty mewed today
it doesn’t really seem like me
in any single way
For I’m just a
little itty bitty
tiny fluffy ginger kitty
Something’s broke
and it’s no joke
who is this feline hairy bloke?
“Big Cat” by Mary Serenc
Leave a commentBig Cat
With bushy hair and golden eyes
I’m just a kitten in disguise.
Though roaring is so much more my style
Which can indeed appear hostile.
Whereas a tiny kitten’s purr
Makes people smile and stroke their fur.
And of course kittens prance around
Their four paws hardly touch the ground.
Occasionally I too like to play
But I mostly laze throughout the day.
Though mice can be a tasty snack
It’s the larger animals that I attack.
By night I hunt and stalk my prey
Zebra and antelope for this gourmet.
Yes I’m the king of creatures great and small
The fiercest and most powerful of all.
But beneath this majestic mane of gold
Beats a kitten’s heart, so sweet and bold.
“My Mother’s Horse-shoe Ring” by Katherine Gallagher
Leave a commentMy Mother’s Horse-shoe Ring
(after Grace Nichols)
Sometimes when I see it
on my index finger
I am reassured,
rub its ruby stone, her gift.
I need this small reminder
of her, its lucky charm
that catches me
like an itinerant fire
chipped from the sun.
©Katherine Gallagher
Published in Acres of Light Arc Publications, 2016)
“The tale of Maximus Dunker” by James Aitchison
Leave a commentThe tale of Maximus Dunker
A golfer named Maximus Dunker
One day shot himself a real clunker.
Hit the ball in the air
but was full of despair
When it landed down in a bunker.
“Cat Trick” by Monty Edwards
Leave a commentCat Trick
My cat liked to climb on my bedroom chair,
Right next to my chest of drawers.
He would spring to the chest with a mighty leap
Where he landed on all fours.
There on the top, where a mirror stood,
He looked at me, as a winner would
While he smugly licked his paws.
This was a trick he’d performed before,
So I did what I had to do:
I’d found a shot of a lion’s head,
On a leaflet from the zoo.
I shaped it into the mirror’s frame:
One look would scare him and end his game,
He’d be off to his cat-a-loo!
I watched to see if he’d turn his head
And he’d face what was waiting there.
To see him jump promised such a treat:
The suspense would be hard to bear!
Then he turned. I could not believe my eyes:
He showed not a hint of the least surprise;
Not a bit did he seem to care.
Then as I was watching he lifted a paw
As if to greet someone he knew.
Was it his grandpa he thought that he saw?
Was he wondering just what he should do?
But stroking the lion, he shredded its face!
This meant his smug self soon appeared in its place,
As he thought: “I’m much smarter than you
“Internal Relection” by Julie Cahill
Leave a commentThe kitten looked and saw
his very own reflection
But ’twas not him to others looking
in the cat’s direction
The cat had never seen himself
as no one ever does
and the lion in the mirror
wore the same beige mottled fuzz
He licked his paw
when the kitten licked
he yawned although much wider
and when they both lay down to sleep
they breached the glass divider
When they woke together
at exactly the same moment
they smiled at one another
and roared with quiet contentment
“Imagine it might happen” by Louise McCarthy
Leave a commentWhen I grow up I’m going to be an astronaut – it’s true!
I’ll visit all the planets – perhaps you could come too.
We’ll zip around the galaxy and catch a sparkling star.
We’ll send our families postcards to show them where we are.
I drew some plans the other day; I’ve begun to build our spaceship.
Would you like to help me finish it so it’s ready for our space trip?
Haiku by Vanessa Proctor
Leave a comment
summer twilight
kangaroos boxing
on the golf course
“How I was saved from Chocaholism” by JR Poulter
Leave a commentHOW I WAS SAVED FROM CHOCAHOLISM!
Aunty’s got a chocolate box.
She said,”Have one or two.”
I had one wrapped in bright red foil,
And then a flowery blue.
I sucked them – oh, so slowly –
They were so VERY nice!
I thought, would Aunty REALLY mind
If I had a couple – twice?
They were the most delicious things
That I had EVER had!
Surely, if I had – just – two more
Aunt could not call me bad?
Oh, SCRUMPTIOUS! YUMPTIOUS! There were more
That I just HAD to taste!
Why – if I left them sitting there
They MUST all go to waste!
The box was looking emptyish.
The last ones left looked lonely.
I thought that it would be QUITE wrong
To leave a couple only!
And so I ate the last ones too,
But, very strange to tell,
They didn’t taste just quite so good,
And – I didn’t feel so well …
My tummy looked about to pop!
My throat felt – kind of queer…
My tummy started woooobelling –
I held onto the chair!
Then as I looked at the chocolate box
And wondered would I be whacked,
I remembered every gluttinous glob
And the box got its contents back -!!
BLARRRRUGH!
Now I wont touch a chocolate,
Not a bar, a block, a bite!
I will not even look at it!
Well, at least I wont – tonight…
Australian Children’s Poetry 