Australia’s first people
shared knowledge that’s verbal
through story and song
both secret and long.
They studied the skies
and became very wise
in using the stars
to travel afar.
Star maps, like diaries
can jog song-line memories,
showing the best ways
we now use as highways.
When driving one day
on the Great Western Highway,
know ancient astronomy’s
part of its history.
“Holiday Rain” & “Critter Jitters” by Graham Seal
Leave a commentHOLIDAY RAIN
Rain’s back,
down it comes,
and now we’ve all got the glums.
Nothing to do, nothing at all,
just sit around and watch it fall.
Might as well be back at school –
NOT!
CRITTER JITTERS
My critter’s got the jitters
and he jives around like mad.
He’s made of wire, you wind him up
and he kind of makes you glad.
With crazy jerks and twirling twerks
he skitters round and round.
His clockwork heart winds quickly down
and makes a whirring sound.
But just last week I heard a squeak.
and before I even wound him,
my critter jittered out the door
and I never ever found him.
Graham Seal
Fingers in the sky by James Aitchison
Leave a commentIt seems to me
that I can see
fingers in the sky.
Cloudy fingers,
each one lingers,
as I’m passing by.
See Salt by James Aitchison
Leave a commentHave you ever seen salt
far from the sea?
Salt that’s still as salty
as salt can ever be?
It’s salt in far Lake Tyrell,
a salty lake, you see,
and tastes even saltier
than salt does from the sea.
Teacher’s note: Lake Tyrrell is a salt-encrusted depression in Victoria’s Mallee district.
“An Acrostic Weekend” & “Don’t Lose Your Thong in Geelong” by Ronan Redmond (age 8)
Leave a commentAN ACROSTIC WEEKEND
Footy is always a very fun sport,
On weekends you always have to be a good sport.
On Sunday, I like to call it a fun day!
Tackling is very dangerous,
Your footy teams have all been to the finals once!
DON’T LOSE YOUR THONG IN GEELONG
There was once a man from Geelong,
Who wore out his size-10 thong.
His feet were bare,
But he didn’t care,
He walked all the way to Hong Kong.
Acrostic & Limerick poems by Ronan Redmond
Foster Boxer by Jeanie Axton
Leave a commentThis poem was inspired by a news story I watched, then researched, about a boxer named Treasure, who became a mum to eight little piglets on a farm in Queensland.
Eight cute little piglets
grunting and squealing today
because a boxer named Treasure
came bounding their way
A stray herself
Treasure played her part
taking the eight little piglets
straight into her heart
She rounded them up
with cuddles and licking
her milk came in
with the suckling and kicking
On a farm with eight kids
and eight piglets in tow
Treasure the Boxer
put on a great show
She now has a family
Treasure loves them to bits
a boxer and eight piglets
the perfect farm fit
Born to Drive by Jenny Erlanger
Leave a commentI tell Mum when to go
and when to stop, at every light.
I tell her she should know
to keep pedestrians in sight.
I say she has to show
she’s turning left or veering right.
I help her with the most important stuff.
Already I’ve begun
to dream of how it’s going to feel
when I become the one
who gets to sit behind the wheel.
I think of all the fun
I’ll have when driving cars for real.
For now, though, back-seat driving is enough.
Outside My Window In Vienna by James Aitchison
Leave a commentA pair of pants blocks my view,
I can’t see down the street,
there’s fresh new snow upon the waist
and every icy pleat.
The lederhosen shop next door
makes leather pants like these,
and they hang a pair made of iron
to dangle in the breeze.
(In response to What’s Outside Your Window prompt #2. Teacher’s note: Lederhosen are short or knee-legth leather breeches often worn in German-speaking regions.)
Sneezin’ Season by James Aitchison
Leave a commentHave you ever heard a kangaroo
Go ah-choo, ah-choo, ah-choo?
Have you ever seen a koala
Wearing a balaclava?
Cold kookaburras like to laugh,
But have you ever seen one wearing a scarf?
Owls make hoots
But don’t wear boots,
And as for wombats,
They don’t need hats.
So how come you and I will sneeze,
In the midst of winter’s icy freeze?
Outside My Window by Jacinta Lou
Leave a commentOutside my window
Black cockatoos
Walk on the grass
searching for bugs and worms after the rain.
Outside my window
currawongs hover, seeking space between cockatoos,
hungry for bugs and worms after the rain.
Outside my window
plovers land and take off again.
Too many others searching for bugs and worms after the rain.
No room for eggs here.
Outside my window, magpies chase away the larger birds.
They won the yard today.
(In response to prompt #2 What’s Outside Your Window?)
As this is Jacinta’s first contribution to Australian Children’s Poetry we thought you’d like to know a little bit about her:
I’m a writer living in the bush in southern Tasmania with my black pug, Bellatrix. When I’m not writing I look out my window to Kunanyi, Mount Wellington, and watch the many birds foraging in the trees and on the grass. I write for children and hope to publish picture books.
Australian Children’s Poetry 