Little square shapes and fancy, round twirls;
nestled in boxes with ribbons in swirls;
joined in arrays like crossword puzzles;
sprinkled with cocoa and formed into truffles;
rolled in nuts and melted on sticks;
soft, creamy centres with crunchy bits;
shaped into rabbits, koalas and frogs;
poured into moulds and rolled into logs.
Chocolate, oh chocolate, so delicious, so sweet!
Pull off the wrapper! Come on, let’s eat!
Image from Pexels
Some of our fauna have it right
They sleep all day and rise at night
Some are shy, others proud
Some are quiet, others loud
Learn to recognise the sound
It’s nice to know who is around.
Curlews chat, some night birds cry
Cattle low, and the bats whoosh by
Green frogs drop from hiding places
To commence their nighttime hopping races
The froggy chorus by the dam
Informs all their friends, “I am around.”
Tell the dogs no need to bustle
When hearing gentle thumps and leafy rustles
That’s the macropods up near the house
And a swooping owl catching a mouse.
WAIT the chooks are cackling – that’s not right!
A snake is sneaking in this night
I‘m racing there to get him out
“Not my chooks, you hungry lout!”
But soon the sky begins to lighten
Pull the blankets right up tighter
Bird chirps start to fill the dawning
It must be time to rise for morning.
Poem inspired by July poetry prompt from artwork titled, NIGHTSOUNDS by Amanda W Johnson
THE JOURNEY OF A WORD
Choose a word and find out where it came from and what it means. Some words have changed their meaning; some have added new meanings as time has passed. Can you explain this word and its journey of uses and meanings in a poem?
The wishing well was wonderful
A place to ponder peacefully
Where many dreams were dreamt
And wishes wished willingly.
Sammy stood steadily
By the wonderful wishing well
He hung his heavy head
Wished a wish which he wouldn’t tell
He quickly quietly walked away
Happy, hopeful it would come true
A wish he’d wished with confidence
A wish he had which wasn’t new
He now wondered whether
He should make his wish again
To be absolutely sure
His wish wasn’t made in vain
So he hung his heavy head
And wished his wish once more
With even more conviction
Than he’d wished his wish before
Now Sammy had only to wait
For his wonderful wish to come true
He felt happy, hopeful, contented
And patience would see him through.
Image from Pixabay
Deadly Dinosaurs Delving
Dangerous Dinosaurs Dazzling
Decorous Dinosaurs Drawing
Dandy Dinosaurs Dancing
Dehydrated Dinosaurs Drinking
Desperate Dinosaurs Digging
Dizzy Dinosaurs Digesting
Image from Pixabay
Holding the whole world in our hands,
hiding it from those thieves and thugs,
with hopeful hearts and heavenly help,
we’re giving the Earth a happy hug!
Poem inspired by June 2026 picture prompt from artwork by Melissa Varoy
Perspicacious parrots prance along the parapet, peering at the people, perambulating past.
Chattering and chortling, chomping and chewing, chirping and chanting, charming and choice
What a wealth of whistlers! What a world of warblers! Whimsical and wondrous!
Fly forever free!
Image from Pixabay
It doesn’t have to be someone’s birthday in order to share a poem about them. How about celebrating a FAMILY MEMBER (real or fictitious) or a FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN CHARACTER/PERSON in verse this month?
Send your poetic inspirations to Linda Davidson:
Date prompts include:
Picture Prompt:
Artwork: NIGHTSOUNDS by Amber W Johnson
This is the way I like to see
the ocean and the sky.
No pollution, no rubbish dumped,
no plastic floating by.
Oceans and skies, clean and clear,
the way they ought to be;
if you agree they should be saved,
it’s up to you and me.
Sea and sky, South Island, New Zealand. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Teacher’s note: What could you do to keep oceans and rivers clean?
ALLITERATION
Having one, two or three words close together in a sentence or phrase that all start with the same sound is a pleasurable poetic ploy!
Alliterative words can begin with different letters. In the example below, C and Q (and a few of the Ch words) all start with a “K” sound.
Can you write a poem that is more-than-usually-dense in ALLITERATION?
Australian Children’s Poetry 