Three ducks went for a dip,
their bottoms in the air.
I wonder what they found
in the muddy water there.
Did they catch some insects,
or maybe juicy seeds?
I hope it wasn’t bread —
that’s not what a duck’s diet needs!
Photo by Philip Webster
Teacher’s note: Everyone loves feeding the ducks with bread, but too much isn’t good for them! A duck’s natural diet includes aquatic plants and seeds, insects, worms and slugs, snails, small fish and frogs.
Sally giggling, her ponytails wiggling.
Roger nodding, his long grim face bobbing.
Michael cackling, his knuckles crackling.
Susan farewelling, her weeping eyes swelling.
Desmond gloating, his fat tummy bloating.
Frances dancing, her style so entrancing.
Warren pouting, his shiny head doubting.
Sheila wailing, to no good availing.
Thelma yearning, but never returning.
Drawing by Marcus Ten Low
Some eucalypts on desert scrub
politely share the skies,
creating lairs of dappled shade
where spinifex resides.
These mallee trees, like brollies
with their flattened canopies,
have many splaying slender trunks
at varying degrees.
Their knobbly base, a lignotuber,
helps them to survive,
should bushfire kill above the ground,
that mallee’s still alive.
Stored inside its bulbous base,
emergency supplies!
Water, food will grow new stems.
Our mallee tree revives.
Celebrating Science Week and Poetry Month 2026
Image from Pexels
Paddling through the shallows,
playing cricket on the sand,
licking up the ice cream
as it dribbles down my hand,
tossing leaves into the air
and catching them again,
popping the umbrella up
and skipping in the rain,
sliding down the mountainside
and weaving through the poles,
rotating my marshmallows
on a stick above the coals,
watching tiny chickens
wriggle out from splintered eggs,
waiting for a lamb to stand
on spindly, wobbly legs.
Aboard this giant carousel,
I love the fun it brings,
as summers move to autumns
and our winters turn to springs.
Image from Pixabay
If you love science
as much as I do,
I have a question
I’d like to ask you:
How many Earths do you think
would fit inside the sun?
Let’s count them now —
carefully — one by one.
Give up? 1.3 million Earths
would fit inside the sun —
but they’d be so hot
it wouldn’t be fun!
Image from Pixabay
Humungous Fungus is among us
and it’s rather smelly.
It slowly creeps between your toes
then right up to your belly.
It can be blue but when it’s pink
it gives off such an awful stink.
Sometimes it floats down in the breeze
and leaves great blobs on both your knees.
When it sparkles like a fairy
then you must be very wary.
If it waves its magic wand
you’ll smell like slime from next door’s pond.
Beware if Fungus goes to school.
It doesn’t care who looks a fool.
Your teacher might get quite a shock
if Fungus hides inside his sock.
If poor grandma, while she’s sitting
concentrating on her knitting,
notices a sudden pull,
it’s Fungus climbing up her wool.
Even Mum must be quite careful.
She might cop a blobby hair full
if she happens to be shopping
right where Fungus slime is dropping.
Family pets should run and hide.
‘Cos Fungus loves to slip and slide
into kennels, baskets, cages,
sending critters into rages.
But Fungus loathes a water spray.
So get yourself one right away
and squirt that fiend with all your might.
You’ll be a hero overnight.
Image from Pixabay
There are plenty of free events currently happening for SCIENCE WEEK, and combining SCIENCE with POETRY is one of them! H2O by Andrea Lew is one of the Science Rhymes featured in OUR FLORA-VERSE as part of these celebrations.
Did you know that
H2O
is the chemical symbol for water?
Hydrogen, Hydrogen Oxygen.
Drink several glasses every day
to keep the doctor away.
Did you know that
H2O
is good for health and hydration?
It regulates body temperature
and is part of respiration.
Did you know that
H2O
exists as liquid, solid and gas?
On Earth we have all three.
Elsewhere it’s mostly found as ice.
Vital for health and hydration,
this refreshing liquid drink,
for humans, plants and animals
deserves our celebration!
Artwork by Andrea Lew
I’m fully into soccer –
a real enthusiast.
I like to watch. I like to play –
to give the game my best.
It’s something teachers praise us for-
enthusiasm’s great!
But in the eighteenth century
it simply didn’t rate.
Enthusiasts were crazy folk
who’d somehow lost their wits.
They raved and had no self-control –
strong feelings were the pits.
This was the Age of Reason –
of cool and measured thought.
But soccer’s more than well-planned moves-
it’s heaps of fun! It’s sport!
So naturally I’ll yell and scream –
and help my team to win.
Enthusiasm’s what they need –
so everyone, join in!
Image from Pixabay
How awful
that awful
means awful,
when once it meant
full of awe!
How silly
that silly
means silly,
when once it meant
happy and blessed!
It’s awfully silly
how meanings have changed,
and what we say now
has to be re-arranged.
Like, once the silly
filled us with awe,
but we’re not in awe
anymore!
The Journey of a Word
Image from Pixabay
Eyes now closed,
here I lie
imagining things
within my mind’s eye.
A giant glass marble
with aqua swirls
that turns into
our tiny world
against a backdrop
of deep-dark space …
then next appears
your smiling face!
And guess what’s even crazier?
A thing called aphantasia.
Some people, even though they try,
simply don’t have a vivid mind’s eye.
Poem inspired from August picture prompt. Artwork: STARING AT CLOUDS by Jennifer Barrand
Australian Children’s Poetry 