Mist weeps across the peaty land,
the breaths of ancient warriors
clothe the peaks.
High clouds roam above
the raw silence, a hint of gleaming
in their midst.
Once battles rolled throughout
these glens, as Highlanders
fought the King’s red-coated men.
No invader has stormed
these hills again, and peace
rests upon the folded crests.
Frances Felicity Frankenstein
Will you be my valentine?
Though your surname is not glamorous
Your smile always makes me amorous.
Last week when I held your hand
I knew our love was something grand.
We’ve been together twelve whole weeks,
Our bond is something quite unique.
Although you have a mono-brow
I still adore you anyhow.
It’s true three of your teeth are missing,
But I don’t notice when we’re kissing.
I love to hold you every day
And know that you will always stay.
Perhaps, come many years from now,
We could exchange wedding vows.
I’ll lift your veil and kiss your freckles;
Your name will then be Mrs Jekyll.
A Thorny Dragon’s
crazy coat
has scary spikes
and grooves of note.
This makes him look
quite weird and cute.
And acts as lizard’s
drinking suit!
Capillary action is a way
that water moves
through narrow grooves.
Its surface tension
climbs and clings.
Especially to narrow things.
To get a drink
our lizard stands
beneath wet plants
or soggy sand.
The water finds
his groovy skin
then moves to mouth
and trickles-in.
Watch this National Geographic video to learn more about this amazing creature
I am the vast waters beneath the ramparts,
the icy wash against black rocks;
I am the broad distances veiled by mist,
the deep and eerie lochs.
I am embedded
in every Scottish soul,
so that man, with country,
becomes part of the whole.
I wrote a poem for you,
straight from my heart,
to say how much I loved you,
right from the start.
But now it is all over,
our time was short, but sweet –
my double choc gelato,
you were wonderful to eat!
A billion hours ago,
(count them if you must),
our ancestors were living
before they turned to dust.
It was the Stone Age then,
and Man was in fine fettle,
after which the Bronze Age
saw Man start using metal.
I wonder if their knives and forks
back then were made of stone?
Or did people eat without them,
or maybe they used bone?
Did they go to school back then,
or did they work all day?
I think that I am lucky
to be alive today!
Teacher’s note: The prehistoric Stone Age period, when stone tools were used, lasted 3.4 million years, ending with the advent of metalworking. It is believed that the Stone Age represents nearly 99.3% of human history.
There’s a possum on my roof
and he’s not eating cake
He is stomping up and down
keeping me awake
There’s a possum on my roof
learning the highland fling
He is happily enjoying it
but it’s not my sort of thing
There a possum on my roof
tapping out a beat
He finds it pretty handy
having thumbs on both his feet
There’s a possum on my roof
I wish he would go home
Up to his branch in the tree
and leave me quietly alone
Last night we had a dinner guest.
The food was such a treat.
I know you’ll all be so impressed
with what we had to eat.
A light and fluffy cheese soufflé
then lobster thermidor
And for dessert, a crème brûlée,
the best I’ve had, for sure.
But now it’s back to snags and chops,
to carrots, rice and beans
to tasteless soups and other slops,
to normal food routines.
A dinner guest, it seems to me
is all you really need.
to skip an uninspiring tea
and get a decent feed.
Jeremy James Johnson was a very naughty boy.
Fatty fried junk foods were all that he’d enjoy.
Now Jeremy had a little dog, his name was Mut.
He sat under the table, his mouth never shut.
Mut liked cauliflour, carrots and celery stewed,
He ate every scrap because he just liked food.
Mut even ate cabbage and broccoli as well
Although why he liked them no one could tell.
So Jeremy was able to show a plate scraped clean,
And demand two helpings of chocolate ice cream.
He got away with this for month after month,
Jeremy got skinny and Mut strong and plump.
Jeremy looked at Mut who shared his day,
And saw how fast he ran around to play.
“Mut’s not tired and runs faster than me.
Why does he still have so much energy?”
His father with glee got to Jeremy at last.
“Mut eats all your vegies that’s why he’s fast.”
Jeremy James Johnson is now very very good.
He eats all his vegies as every child should.
And fatty fried foods make him feel very sick
Because Jeremy is now on a fitness kick.
Jeremy can now run very very fast
So his little dog Mut often ends up last.
In the Land that Never Was things were very strange because
People who were living there used to have quite messy hair
But this no longer is the case but still it is the weirdest place
The folk there act peculiarly for they stand on all they want to see
Stand on anything they need stand on books they want to read
Stand on people when they talk like they’re the ground on which they walk
Stand on mirrors to brush their hair stand not sit upon the chair
The reason why they stand is clear it’s so that things won’t disappear
The people remember very well the day the goblin cast his spell
Saying “what they saw would go away only that on which they stood would stay”
He was thinking of the land for this is what he hope and planned
That all the folk would walk around looking only at the ground
One day a clever person thought “In this spell a lesson’s taught
Anything I wish to see must be stood upon by me”
He found a friend – pushed him down and stood on him which made him frown
Then shouted so that all could hear “LOOK HE DOESN’T DISAPPEAR”
Quickly then he went around throwing people on the ground
To show them how there was a way to change what the goblin had to say
Soon everyone in every street heard how things placed under their feet
Remained – even if they were looked upon whether pen or paper dog or swan
So now in the Land that Never Was though things are still quite strange because
They stand on everything that’s there and at least they don’t have messy hair!
Australian Children’s Poetry 