Tree House by Jacinta Lou

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Home to birds and bugs.
Wasps, spiders, grubs and tree house.
Empty when wasps feed.

(In response to Prompt #5)

Image credit: Jacinta Lou

The Desert Oak by James Aitchison

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They stand in desert heat and chill,

Needles drooping as in sleep,

Millions of them resting still

Upon the vast red plain.

Invincible, their roots run deep,

And after fire they grow again.

In response to TREES Prompt

My Little Robot by Graham Seal

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I had a little robot

and it was very smart.

It could tell me anything

but it didn’t have a heart.

Below are a few links that may be of interest if you’re looking to find out more about Artificial Intelligence.

Tech Target

ChatGPT

Artiphoria

The Shetland Pony by James Aitchison

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I’d love a Shetland pony, 

not too high but low.

What a gentle ride he’d be,

not too fast but slow.

I’d love a Shetland pony,

the colour of a bear.

But how does he see where to go

through all that long, long hair?

(Teacher’s note: Shetland ponies originated in the Shetland Isles, located northeast of mainland Scotland.  They are very hardy and have survived the harsh Shetland climate since the Bronze Age.)

Decoding Tree-rings by Celia Berrell

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Cutting through tree-trunks

from bark to bark,

we’ll see lots of circles

in light-wood and dark.

Light-coloured bands

mostly grow summer-spring

while autumn to winter

grows thin, darker rings.

Tree-rings grow wide

when it’s wetter and hot,

but tend to grow narrow

whenever it’s not.

Decoding these bands

in an ancient tree

can tell us the climate

historically!

First published in Double Helix (Oct 2021)
Reproduced with permission of CSIRO Double Helix

Three Fat Pigeons by Jeanie Axton

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Three fat pigeons

looking very needy,

waddled around a bakery

in central Coober Pedy.

Pecking at the crumbs

with not a worry in sight,

these three fat pigeons

have given up their flight. 

An interesting read about the pigeons who didn’t give up their flight! https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101543770

Tree Hugging by James Aitchison

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Hold me, hold me, hold me tight,

I get frightened in the night

by those birds and possums too,

I feel safe when I’m with you!

In My Dreams: a nonsense poem by James Aitchison

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When I go to sleep at night,

I dream of lots of things.

Blue spaghetti and bowls of fruit,

A four-legged man playing a flute,

A buffalo with purple wings,

A refrigerator taking flight.

That’s why I like to stay awake

And think of triple-layered cake.

I Found A Whale by James Aitchison

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(in response to Prompt #4)

I found a whale

made of stone,

sitting by the creek

all alone.

How it got there

I don’t know;

stuck on shore,

nowhere to go.

Teacher’s note:  Whale Rock is one of many rock formations at Wilson’s Promontory National Park.

Our Garbage Man by James Aitchison

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Our garbage man comes once a week

To empty out our bin,

He takes away everything 

That Mum and Dad put in.

I wonder if he looks inside

To see what we’ve thrown out.

(All my worn out underpants

Would make him scream and shout!)

All our rotten vegies,

All our stinky cheese,

All the food that has expired,

Travels on the breeze.

No wonder he speeds off each week,

He doesn’t hang around.

With so much putrid garbage,

His wheels don’t touch the ground!