A Letter to the bombers

By Frog Printz

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Laughter that trembles your ears

A blast we’re having, hoorah! Hoorah!

and fly for seventy years

Higher and higher we don’t know where

or when or if we’ll ever get there

a grand festival awaits our arrive

greater than any we’d known when alive

Music and dancing and clouds in the air

friends and girls with colourful hair

Our Father will greet us with a heavenly grin

proud that we served our life for Him

But then we land with an almighty thud

our bones aching and covered in mud

a familiar sound we raise our eyes up

a laughing Satan is clutching his gut

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Travelled so far but here you are

What joy, such fun, a grand parade!

Happy this devilish heart you’ve made

Tricked you were with great success

to do as I had fared

I tempted you in my prettiest dress

and brought you to my lair

None are the clouds, the dances and song

none are the friends and girls

now we see we’ve been fools all along

and sadness we’ve left in the world.

© Lloyd Riman

Old Mates

I have a rambunctious cairn terrier,

Who is an obsessive bone-burier,

He buried the cat,

But she boomeranged back,

He’s never seen anything scarier.

Big Baz has a bossy blue heeler,

Who trained Baz to fetch and to feed her,

He thinks it so beaut,

In the back of her ute,

He even rolls over to please her.

Wayne has a pernickety poodle,

Pink bows tied atop her pert noodle,

On four legs she prances,

On two legs she dances,

For dinner she eats apple strudel.

Trev has a gold Labrador-oh,

So fat yet he always wants more-oh,

He chewed up Trev’s couch,

Down to splinters – ouch! OUCH!

Then flopped himself right through the floor-oh.

Old Pat has a spotty Dalmatian,

Who, wanting to change his location,

Squeezed through the gate,

Found a cute little mate,

And had a most pleasant vacation.

Young Ron has a daft border collie,

Who thinks herding sheep most unjolly,

He acts like a clown,

Juggles balls up and down,

While rolling along on a trolley.

Wayne’s shed’s where we all meet on Fridays,

A beer and a barbie there always,

Makes the tails wag,

As we gobble a snag,

And yarn about life in the old days.

Glenys Eskdale

http://glenyseskdale.wordpress.com/

Waiting for a Feast

The seal is ready

To plunge and grip its prey;

Waits for a penguin to emerge,

But it dives deep

And escapes in the surge.

The spider squats

In a web – sticky and strong;

Waits patiently for a bee,

But it darts aside,

Zooms, and is free.

The python is poised,

Ready to loop its coils;

Waits for a grazing deer,

But it leaps away

In a dash of fear.

By Edel Wignell

© The Australian Society of Authors

Don’t Be Silly

Freddy told Matthew and Matthew told Pete.

“Did you know that cockroaches hear through their feet?”

Don’t be silly Matthew. You say such silly things.

Everybody knows that roaches hear through their wings.

Andrew told Percy and Percy told Mick.

“Beetles sell medicine to people who are sick.”

“Don’t be silly Andrew. How goofy can you be.

Everybody knows you can’t afford a beetle’s fee.”

Molly told Sally and Sally told Mabel.

“Old men sometimes leave their teeth on the table.”

Don’t be silly Molly. It really isn’t true.

Everybody knows they hold their teeth in with glue.

Stephen told Richard and Richard told Frank

“The teacher’s got a great white shark in a tank.”

Don’t be silly Stephen you really are a fool.

Everybody knows he keeps the shark in his pool.

Fred told Billy and Billy told Dan.

“My next door neighbour is really superman.”

Don’t be silly Freddy. You must have had a dream.

Everybody knows your next door neighbour’s Wolverine.

Mary told Margaret and Margaret told Flo.

“These words will make me famous I want you all to know.”

Don’t be silly Mary. Did you leave your brain at home?

Everybody knows that this is just a silly poem.

© Warren Cox   2013

My Nana’s Bag

My Nana’s arrival is an exciting sight

As she carries a bag packed extremely tight.

She carries her coat and umbrella furled

And the most exciting bag in the world.

She stands us in line for our hugs and kisses

And tells us how much she enjoys her visits.

After that she opens her bulging bag wide,

And out comes what she has packed inside.

First a chocolate cake for afternoon tea,

Liquorice and jelly beans for baby and me.

Then two jumpers, one blue and one pink,

One to wash and one to wear she says with a wink.

Out come some beads, a ball and two bats,

A doll and a pram and two calico cats.

Six pairs of crawlers made from old bedspreads,

And knitted striped beanies for everyone’s heads.

There’s a hammer and nails to mend the side fence,

Dad says that’s a gift with plenty of sense.

Out comes a scooter and a skippy rope too,

And a most beautiful set of drums, brand new.

A bright crocheted rug to go on the bed,

Be lovely and warm, my mother said.

After the crayons, paints and a big picture book,

Nanna stopped delving so I had a good look.

Five peppermints and a half knitted sock remained

Nanna’s wonderful bag was empty and drained.

Nanna stood us in line for more hugs and kisses

And we all said how much we loved her visits.

My Nanna took her coat and her umbrella furled,

And left with the emptiest bag in the world.

My Nanna’s departure was a very sad sight,

But she’ll be back to baby-sit us Saturday night.

© Margaret Pearce

P.O. Box 253,

Belgrave, 3160

Victoria

Email: mpearceau@gmail.com

Note: Feel free to send your poem for children to dibates@outlook.com  

Alternatively, you are welcome to send an article related to children’s poem and/or any news about children’s poetry, including links to websites. Di Bates

Here is an article about an overseas book publishing company looking for poetry manuscripts (not for children). http://www.authorspublish.com/measure-open-to-manuscript-submissions/

The Australian Poetry Journal has relaunched with a new editor, new ‘magazine’ format and a dedicated website. Michael Sharkey has been appointed editor and Stuart Geddes is responsible for the layout of the new journal, which was previously published in a trade paperback format. http://www.australianpoetry.org/bulletin/category/competitions

Time out

The sun is slowly sinking,

slipping gently to the sea.

I put a stop to thinking,

set my thoughts and feelings free,

and take the time to marvel

that I occupy a place

on board a giant marble

spinning silently through space.

© Jenny Erlanger

Attack of the Giant Dinosaur  

I didn’t really mean,

To do what I have done,

I trod on a dinosaur’s tail

And now I’m on the run.

He’s about fourteen metres long

And he’s breathing down my neck,

My heart is purely throbbing

And my nerves are all a wreck.

He’s just about on top of me

His teeth about to crunch,

Oh where do you hide from a dinosaur

When you’re about to be his lunch.

“Stop playing with that lizard Tommy

And come on in for tea,”

“Ah you’d spoil any game mum

For a little boy like me.”

© John Williams

Sea Sparkle

(Noctiluca scintillans, Thirroul Beach, August 2014)

After the rain a dull red tide

muddied the angry sea,

and the sky hung low and grey.

No swimming today.

I moped back up to the house to read

and hours had slipped away

when dad called out to me

that lights were on in the sea.

We walked out in the clear-rinsed dark

and down to watch the waves

breaking there in bright

displays of blue-green light.

It had to be magic. Water like fire

flaring into the dark!

Was it a sea-change?—

a thing so ghostly and strange.

We ran towards the breaking waves

and saw our footprints spark

as if we’d gone to play

along the Milky Way.

I cupped my hands and scooped up stars

then let them fall away

and lightning flashed and played

with every move I made.

I was in the universe,

with stars around my feet,

a giant hurling light

at random in the night.

Galaxies were swirling by

tumbling time and space

to sand-grains in my mind.

I’d left the world behind.

© Kate O’Neil

The Echidna

An echidna passed across a track

heading towards a special snack.

A naturalist muttered,‘What a turn!

About this creature, I’ve got to learn.’

He kneeled to take a closer look

the echidna swung with strong right hook.

And it was such a heavy clout

it nearly knocked the watcher out.

The echidna curled into a prickly ball

snarling, ‘I don’t like you at all.’

The naturalist cried and mused upon

what it was that he’d done wrong.

He only wanted to see first hand

the weirdest creature in the land.

The echidna uncurled and stalked away

grumbling at his ruined day.

And idiots too dumb to know

you always let echidnas go –

About their business digging holes

and eating ants from salad bowls.

Or snuffling around a great big mound

Where tasty termites are always found.

To spare echnida watchers’ pain,

the moral of this tale is plain.

Always remember it’s very rude

to keep echidnas from their food.

© M. Pearce

email: mpearceau@gmail.com