It’s all the rage,
the latest thing,
artificial intelligence.
But I don’t care,
because for me
it hasn’t any relevance!
My intelligence
is very real,
and lives inside my brain.
It’s not artificial,
and that’s official,
and it works again and again!
My Fun House by James Aitchison
Leave a commentOne day I’m going to build a house
with cheery yellow candy.
I’ll put ice creams on the roof,
and fruit gums nice and handy.
Then I’ll add two cup cakes,
with lollypops galore,
liquorice allsorts in the corners,
and chocolates by the door.
Teacher’s note: This house can be found in the storybook corner of the Hunter Valley Gardens, Pokolbin.
Boogers by Jeanie Axton
Leave a commentAs an expert in the making
flicking boogers is a skill
when Im needing more of them
I know where to refill.
Friends all want to join me
but its an individual sport
one thats learnt through practice
or as they say “self taught”.
The Fairy Garden by Gemma Creegan
Leave a commentRoses drip their dewy secrets
The air is sweet and perfumed
With jasmine, sage and lavender.
Clouds merge to form laughter
Birds sing for the love of Spring
Blades of grass reach for the sky.
I glimpse a fairy in a hedge
Her face glows like moon shine
Reflecting the lilies on the pond.
Illustration by Gemma Creegan
Not A Dinosaur by Graham Seal
Leave a commentIf a Thesaurus
came before us
would it claw us?
Or even gnaw us,
as soon as it saw us?
Not really.
A Thesaurus is a book
stuffed full of words,
so it would probably
just ignore us.
(As published in The Dirigible Balloon)
The Good Emu by James Aitchison
Leave a commentThis emu is fine,
obeying the sign,
doing no more than forty.
To run any faster
could spell disaster
and would be very naughty.
Teacher’s note: This photo was captured near Wilsons Promontory where many emus roam in the wild.
The Shipwreck Coast by James Aitchison
Leave a commentSend me your ships, your schooners,
and my rocks and reefs will take them.
Send me some seven hundred,
and howling wrecks I will make them.
Give me stormy nights and surging tides,
give me captains who lack in skill,
and I will show you shipwrecks
that no other coastline will.
Teacher’s note: By day, the coast appears calm and safe. But Victoria’s treacherous, storm-tossed 130-kilometre Shipwreck Coast, from Cape Otway to Port Fairy, has claimed around 700 vessels.
The Mountains of Mourne by James Aitchison
Leave a commentIn County Down,
there’s no brighter green,
and the peaks and valleys
are a sight to be seen.
‘Tis old Ireland they sing of
when bleak winter falls,
and by firesides the heart of
Ireland still calls.
And when storms the crags
of the mountains have crossed,
they tell of great battles
forgotten or lost.
Izzy The Moodle by James Aitchison
Leave a commentClose your eyes and picture a dog:
A Maltese terrier crossed with a poodle.
She’s a lovely dog is Izzy,
And she’s proud to be a moodle.
Moodles have oodles of energy,
And they’re always very busy.
They run in circles everywhere
And never ever get dizzy —
(CRASH)
— like Izzy!
Favourites by Pauline Cleary
Leave a commentMy favourite colour is purple.
My favourite food is cheese.
I’m very fond of Saturdays
when I can do whatever I please.
My favourite season is Autumn
When the leaves are red and brown
I like to cycle up steep hills
and glide the same way down
My favourite animal is zebra.
I love those crazy stripes.
Magpie is my favourite bird
dressed in black and white.
My favourite place is the seaside,
the waves, the sand, the spray.
I swim and surf and jump the waves
and play around all day.
But last, not least, I have to say
are the ones I can’t do without –
my family, friends, my little dog
are my favourites without a doubt.
Australian Children’s Poetry 