Category Archives: Australian children’s poetry

“Sir Cumference” by Chris Owen

Leave a comment

 

 

Sir Cumference had, like many knights,

An appetite for fame,

And figured it was time he joined

The dragon slaying game.

 

He told himself, ‘It’s what knights do,

And how hard can it be?

I have the horse, the lance, the shield.

I don’t need a degree.’

 

So, he steered his mare towards the West,

Or was it t’ward the North?

‘No matter,’ said Sir Cumference,

‘I’ll just continue forth.’

And off he went…

 

Through the forest, o’er the hill,

‘cross the mountain pass until,

There upon the path were stacks

Of what he thought were…

 

‘Dragon tracks!’ Sir Cumference cried,

‘The monster must be near.

If I continue on this route, the beast will soon appear.’

So off he trotted…

 

Through the forest, o’er the hill,

‘cross the mountain pass until

Clearly, there came into view

The tracks of…

 

‘Dragon Number Two!’ Sir Cumference yelled,

‘That beastie has a friend.

Two dragons for the price of one are hiding round this bend.’

So off he cantered…

 

Through the forest, o’er the hill,

‘cross the mountain pass until

On the path appeared to be

The tracks of …

 

‘Dragon Number Three!’ Sir Cumference cheered,

‘This is my lucky day.

If I continue on this path, three dragons I will slay.’

So off he raced…

 

Through the forest, o’er the hill,

‘cross the mountain pass until

There upon the path he saw

The tracks of…

 

‘Dragon Number Four!’ Sir Circumference whooped,

‘There can be no mistaking

That lurking round this corner lie more dragons for the taking.’

So off he galloped…

 

Through the forest, o’er the hill,

Sir Cumference rode like thunder,

Till on the mountain pass he seemed to realise his blunder.

 

‘For many miles I’ve searched in vain,

But now it’s plain to see,

There are no dragons up ahead.

They must be chasing me!’

 

Sir Cumference turned his steed about

To quickly double back.

Then, with his lance and shield in hand,

Sped off along the track.

 

Alas, for our befuddled knight,

The truth was never found,

For blinded by ambition he

Just kept on going round and round and round and round and round and round…

 

“Space Magic” by Penny Szentkuti

Leave a comment

Space Magic

Away from the pull of the earth things float,

but not in the way of water and boats.

There is no up and there is no down,

you’re guided by the objects around.

The anchor of the earth below

holds you to what you think you know.

The blood never rushes to your head –

smooth pumping by your heart instead.

You wake and sleep in any position,

drifting like a space magician.

“Argentinosaurus” by Toni Newell

Leave a comment

Argentinosaurus

 

Argentinosaurus,

The largest dinosaur of all,

Grew to forty meters,

Measurement overall.

Could weigh a hundred tons,

And was a herbivore,

Would need to eat a lot of greens,

Of that you can be sure.

They lived a long time ago,

Ninety-seven million years,

Pronounced ‘AHR-gen-TEEN-uh-SAWR-us’,

They were big with no visible ears.

“Why must there be a tunnel?” by James Aitchison

Leave a comment

Why must there be a tunnel?

                 (I’m tired of well-meaning metaphors!)

 

Why must there be a tunnel,

With light a distant dot?

Light is all around us;

It’s tunnels we ain’t got.  

 

Why must there be a glass?

Seems strange to measure hope.

Hope is never half or full,

It’s plentiful in scope.

                        

“Bottle Discovery” by Monty Edwards

Leave a comment

Have you ever found a bottle that was lying on the sand?

Did you ever find a note in it and hold it in your hand?

Did you ever, ever wonder, who had written such a note,

As you struggled to decipher what the unknown writer wrote?

 

Do not worry if you haven’t. It is something rather rare,

Since most bottles found on beaches come from fools, who left them there,

Where some unsuspecting person, that could well be you or me,

Finds them broken, or half buried, in a way that’s hard to see.

 

If you should find a bottle lying somewhere in the sand,

Get your Mum or Dad to check it, so that no-one cuts their hand,

Or the feet that will be needed when it’s taken to the bin.

So unless you see a note in it, please go and drop it in.

 

“WHAT THE DINO SAW” by Kate O’Neil

Leave a comment

WHAT THE DINO SAW

(in the Library)

 

Oh no! I can’t believe it.

I’m not in any books.

It’s such a shame because I have

such stunning dino looks.

 

I know I’m on the small side –

the time warp is to blame –

I shrank across the centuries

I passed through as I came

 

to see the distant future-

to see how Earth would change.

But what a shock this gives me-

something’s really strange

 

for all my friends are listed here

but there’s no sign of me.

I’m in a state of crisis

with no identity.

 

It’s bad enough to realise

the dinos all died out.

But who am I? What does it mean?

I think, yet I’m in doubt.

 

My world has crumbled round me.

I’ll make this quite succinct-

Instead of never having been,

I’d rather be extinct.

 

©  Kate O’Neil

https://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com/2018/04/dmc-what-dino-saw-when-he-visited.html

 

“Dino Dinner” by J. R. Poulter

Leave a comment


“Dinosaur days” by James Aitchison

Leave a comment


“A Journey through the Universe” by Toni Newell

Leave a comment

 

I am on this journey,

Colliding with the stars,

I’ve passed many planets,

Including Mars.

My mind is just racing,

As I fly on by,

I pass Jupiter,

Before I say goodbye.

I hold on to Saturn’s rings,

Uranus, Neptune are in sight,

I continue to fly on by,

Pluto’s further to the right.

Comets are coming toward me,

I just duck around,

I continue on my journey,

Never touching ground.

I look out to the black hole,

Which I need to miss,

For falling down that tunnel

Would catapult me to abyss.

I turn around, head for home,

Back to Earth for me,

And pass the planets coming back,

And then it’s Earth I see.

I return home again,

And I’m safe and sound,

Feeling very blessed,

As my feet land on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Fantasy Pet” by Jenny Erlanger

Leave a comment

Fantasy pet

 

She’s a baby T-Rex and she comes from the past

when the dinosaurs wandered the land.

Having dodged certain death from a meteor blast,

she now squats in the palm of my hand

Unaware she’s the luckiest creature alive,

she cavorts round the yard like a pup.

In my dreams, she continues to grow and to thrive.

In my nightmares, she gobbles me up.