Out Walking

We raced along

sticks stuffed in back

of trailing grubby shirts

dust flying up

as feet kicked rocks

along the path of dirt

“Hurry!” we cried

much faster now

air sucked in quick and deep

lungs bursting over distance

the trail becoming steep

The shadow we were chasing

was flitting in and out

of gnarled and broken tree trunks

then “Quickly!” with a shout

we pounced and drew our swords

blades waving in the air

“Come out from where you’re hiding!

Come out from under there!”

And out he crept from darkness

held beneath a rock

great size and sudden hairiness

enough to give a shock

swords pointed bravely forward

ready for a fight

then “BOO!” came from that shadow

Dad laughing at our fright.

© Kristina Hoy

       Thackaringas*

Dad wants another holiday –

to the Outback once again!

‘And what’s it for this time?’ I asked.

‘I think you should explain

the purpose of this road trip,

and dangers we might face.

I want to know the details

before I’ll leave this place.’

You won’t believe his reason

for going way out west –

To see the thackaringas!

And yes, I think you’ve guessed:

they’re horrid vicious monsters

with eerie yellow eyes.

At night you hear around you

their baleful hungry cries.

Their teeth are big as tombstones

and they’ll eat a boy alive.

They only have to breathe on you

and you may not survive.

I think I’ll give this trip a miss

‘cause Dad said, on his honour,

‘If a thackaringa gets you

… you’re a goner.’

*Low hills 36km west of Broken Hill

© Kate O’Neil

Pool Incident Report

19 Lisa Valley Close, 28 Dec 2014

Funnel web spider underwater on pool wall. Rescued by pool scoop. Tossed far into bushes.

Small brown arachnid floating on leaf. Rescued by shaky human hand. Unharmed on pool edge.

Female heart. Revived by deep breathing and gentle swim. Recovering well.

© Wendy Blaxland

once below a time

Once below a time

when the far was near away,

the clouds they swam about in seas

and fish came out to play.

And when the day was upside down

and purple rain flew high,

the birds they barked so happily

all dancing in the sky.

And when the night was shining bright

and cows all sung Meow!

the chickens played the piccolo

in that far away here now.

© Janeen Brian

Muddled Mollusc

It lives in our letterbox down by the gate,

this very unfortunate snail.

It’s slithering, chewing

and constantly pooing

on all of the family mail.

It could have had cabbages, carrots and beans,

all part of our vegetable plot.

Its hopes must be sinking.

I bet it was thinking

that lettuce would drop through the slot.

© Jenny Erlanger

A Button

One day I found a button.

It was lying on the ground.

It was thin and made of metal

and in this case, very round.

It was also very dirty

and rusty here and there

and I wondered if the owner had

another button spare.

And I wondered if the button

was simply scuffed or old –

from a swaggie or a soldier

or a pirate bearing gold.

Or maybe from a teddy bear

with stripy pants and cap.

But then, I wondered

where it was that button left a gap.

And so I’ll keep on wondering

about that button round

and how I’d like to keep it safe

now that it’s been found.

© Janeen Brian

Creepy Stuff

I don’t like vampires

They’re toothy and scary

I cannot stand werewolves

They’re noisy and hairy

But ghosts, I just love them

They glide across halls

And what’s even cooler

They glide right through walls.

Pat Simmons© 2014

Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack belongs Outback

so when he comes to visit,

he brings along his kangaroo

and Bert, his blue-tongue lizard.

He decorates the Christmas tree

with lots of slimy critters,

and when he turns the lights up high

he makes snakeburger fritters.

He also brings his cattle dog –

it bites off postie’s limbs.

On Christmas Eve it stays awake

howling sacred hymns.

Uncle carves the turkey up,

(half for him and half for pup)

and when it’s time to have dessert

he swipes my share to give to Bert!

His kangaroo sits at the table,

on the lap of Auntie Mabel.

It chews away on Christmas cake

and Auntie’s finger(by mistake).

After lunch Jack tells us that

He’ll show us how to shear the cat.

His presents bring us added gloom,

a gift-wrapped spider’s in my room.

His boomerang display is free

it’s always a catastrophe.

He throws it with a cocky leer,

it wedges in old Grannie’s ear.

The police are called to have a chat.

They ask about the crewcut cat.

And so it’s time to say goodbye,

a tear wells up inside his eye,

he gushes like a broken drain,

we have to push him on the train.

And Uncle Jack returns Outback,

with dog and roo and lizard,

and it only takes us til July

to recover from his visit.

© Bill Condon

Note: The chest of poems for Poem of the Day has been empty for many days. Where are the poems? If you’d like to see your children’s poem published, please send it along to dibates@outlook.com

The Miracle Tree

We bought a tree from the corner shop –

bargain price for being dead.

We took it home and straight away,

stuck an angel on its head.

We tizzed it up with twirly bits,

and one bright shiny star.

Then we turned on the fairy lights

and the Christmas tree went

‘Ahhhhh.’

© Bill Condon

The following is an interview conducted by Rebecca Newman of Alphabet Soup with Dianne (Di) Bates, the founder of Australian Children’s Poetry blog about an Australian children’s poetry anthology Di has compiled.

RN: You are the commissioning editor for a poetry anthology for children coming out with Walker Books. What was your role in the book?                                                                                                                                                                                                   DB:I spent many hours finding poems which were written by Australians and which would suit the themes I’d decided on for the anthology (such as sport, families, being a kid). I had to record the source of each poem (if it was in a single poet collection, an anthology, a magazine or if it was unpublished). I also tracked down contact addresses of the poets, gave the anthology a title (Our Home is Dirt by Sea) and then had to find a publisher for the whole anthology. This all sounds easy, but it took me several years.

RN: There are a lot of poems in an anthology. Do all the poets get paid if they have a poem published in an anthology?

DB: Yes, poets are paid. As the editor, I get paid, as well. Unfortunately the publisher couldn’t include all the poems I wanted, because of financial limitations.

RN: Does an editor ever change the words in a poem once it’s accepted for an anthology? Does the poet have a say in any changes?

DB: I would never change the words — or the punctuation — in a poem without approval from the poet. I didn’t change any of the poems in my anthology.

RN: Can you tell us a bit about the upcoming anthology? DB: Titled Our Home is Dirt by Sea, the anthology consists of 60 poems in the following categories: Australia, Mostly Me, Families, People, Animals, Sport, School, and Special Times. A few of the poems are lyrical, some make children think and some are humorous, but all are child-friendly and relatively short. The style of poems ranges from rhyming verse to free verse. I aimed for poems which make the reader feel some emotion when reading them, and for children to ‘see’ themselves or the world around them. Some of the poets are well-known such as Steven Herrick, Elizabeth Honey, Doug McLeod and Max Fatchen, but others are lesser known (to children) such as Robert Adamson, Kyle Seeburg, Andrew Leggett and Rodney Hall. I have also compiled two other children’s poetry anthologies, but they are so far unpublished. And I’ve published a book of mad verse for children titled Erky Perky Silly Stuff (Five Senses Education).

RN: Do you write poetry yourself? (Does that help when you are selecting poems for an anthology?)

DB: Yes, I do write poems, but I don’t consider myself a very good poet. There are none of my poems in Our Home is Dirt by Sea, though there are a few by my husband, Bill Condon (who has published three collections). I know a lot about poetry from having a life-long love of poetry, teaching verse speaking, performing poetry and reading extensively. I’ve also run children’s poetry competitions and have a blog, Australian Children’s Poetry which showcases Australian children’s poets.