‘Oh please let me in’ said the bear who was grizzly ‘I’m doing a show, I don’t want it frizzly.’ He tugged at his hair, that fussy old bear ‘I’ve just had it dyed, it used to be fair’. Those waiting in line just smiled at each other Ev’ryone happy to help their brother.
A worm who was third from the start of the queue Was shivering hard and fast turning blue ‘What’s wrong with this bus? It’s broken down? Will anyone ever get into the town?’ The town was twinkling and bright with its light Some in the queue were starting to fight.
A big bird with a bandage around one wing Started to dance the highland fling A pelican said to a stork ‘Outrageous! I do hope this madness is not contagious.’ The stork looked at him squarely and quietly said ‘I wish I were home and tucked into my bed’.
Three canaries were singing (they’d been to a dance) The song they were singing was written in France They yodelled and trilled all over the scales They even tried singing the song of the whales. They ordered some orange and cherry ice cream Enough to feed a whole basketball team.
The ice cream arrived and the queue they went crazy Except for the piglets – they’re terribly lazy, They wanted some oak nuts, acorns they’re called, They said they grew hair and no-one was bald. Maybe it’s true that nuts cover the scalp But nobody there needed that kind of help.
The crowd suddenly hushed and fell into silence Somewhere behind was an outbreak of violence A basketball team had arrived with some melons Those in the crowd believed they were felons (people who steal from others their treasures) Getting caught redhanded was one of their pleasures!
The whole scene looked stupid to Harry the Horse Who was trying to study the subject of Morse He tapped then he paused and waited for action His hoof immune from outer distraction He tapped dah dah dit, dit dah, dah and dit* (If it worked he would make a quick dash for it.)
Did you hear about Harry’s ultimate fate? His message was read – it opened the gate! Harry leapt forth and came in number nine And met a young filly he thought was divine; When Harry proposed she promised to tryst ‘Cos Harry had asked with a flick of his wrist.
Well, you might think that this is all rot, That all horses can do is gallop and trot, But Harry believed he could dominate fate By placing his faith in the power to create. The message he’d sent by dah and by dit Had stretched his talent and used all of his wit.
Dah dah dit, tapped in Morse will give you a ‘g’ Dit dah gives you ‘a’, dah and dit ‘t’ and ‘e’ So Harry the Horse repeated his offer, Confirmed he was humble and empty his coffer; And Tilly the Filly was thrilled with his Morse And she happily neighed ‘Oh Harry, of course’.
Sorry I am, about this diversion I have an aversion to total immersion The queue got itself rattled They all tittle-tattled The bus arrived late and was slow to unload But who jumped out first? Of course – the toad.
Where has the year gone! Only two months to go and we’ll be in 2025. So many great poems and wonderful things have been celebrated already this year in both prose and rhyme. So for the month of November let’s focus on ‘The Race That Stops A Nation’ – The Melbourne Cup, Remembrance Day, World Kindness Day, Thanksgiving and St Andrew’s Day. I am also going to celebrate a day that caught my eye – National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day on November 12th. Of course you are welcome to send in poems about other events or ideas that you’d like to highlight.
Send your poems to ozchildrenspoetry@gmail.com and if you are sending an image to accompany your work, please remember to include the full URL or image attribution so it can be added as a link below the image.
I found my mother’s old recipe for yo-yo biscuits, I made myself a batch! They were so delicious. The biscuit: fragile, delicate, custard powder yellow with decorative fork prints, The icing: buttery smooth and pale pink to match the rosewater essence.
One biscuit each afternoon, and tea poured onto a dash of milk in a fine china cup! After a week, the yo-yo’s had disappeared – I mean to say, they were all eaten up! They were exactly like what my Mum used to bake – They were first rate! But, I’d made a mistake…
So, I made another batch – the same again, And put them all into a biscuit tin, And brought them to my dear old neighbour – Stayed for a cuppa – bergamot flavour.
When I got home I added a note – At the end of the recipe, here’s what I wrote: ‘Put in a tin, and then visit someone.’ Exactly like what my mum would have done.
Australian Children’s Poetry 