We don’t have to wait until Christmas
to share some intangible gifts.
It could be a morsel of caring
wrapped up in a smile, set adrift to sail on a seascape of glances
to bridge any saddening rifts
and reach that deserving receiver
we yearn in our heart to uplift.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/intangible
Season’s greetings — but which season?
Bush fires start much earlier now.
When the country’s devastated,
What joy will light the Christmas hour?
Stumps of houses, chimneys blackened,
Nowhere for Santa Claus to stop!
No trees this year decked with tinsel,
They’re just a charred and cheerless crop.
With all our presents wrapped in dust,
And no grass to feed the reindeer,
I hate to think of Christmas morn;
It will get worse year after year!
When climate change changes Christmas,
No Santa through the sky will dash.
Yes, we’ll still have our white Christmas —
But a Christmas all white with ash.
A Gift of a Kind.
I saw a man,
On a street,
He had no home,
He had bare feet.
He sat in a doorway,
On a sleeping bag,
A few possessions,
Is all he had.
He sat erect,
His eyes darting,
He’d known better times,
It was disheartening.
I thought of the many,
Who lived on the street,
The various charities,
Their needs tried to meet.
I was thankful to have,
A roof over my head,
A family who loved me,
And a warm cosy bed.
I felt very lucky,
And it came to mind,
Was a gift of a kind.
Gifts
A gift comes from one
and is given to another.
The first is life
from a father and a mother.
Then comes a book, a baby doll,
a blanket soft and warm, to hold.
A grandma’s love,
an uncle’s time
an auntie’s favourite nursery rhyme,
a friend who listens and understands –
some gifts you can’t hold in your hand.
So notice those who give around you,
the gifts from nature that surround you.
Receive with gratitude and grace
and give with love in every case.
The Gift
The Visit
Cautiously, creeping down the stairs,
carefully avoiding the creaks,
we stop
and take each other’s hand.
At the bottom we tiptoe,
trembling,
towards the door.
Almost afraid to breathe
we slowly, gently, push it open.
Beneath the twinkling lights
sit the gifts.
‘He’s been,’ we whisper
‘He’s been.’
Louis, the Giraffe
Louis looked down from the tree,
Which he had climbed in fear,
Looking at a little mouse,
Who appeared to be too near.
He hugged the tree with all his might,
Too frightened to climb down,
The mouse just calmly stayed there,
Not moving, making no sound.
The mouse looked up at the giraffe,
Who was clinging to this tree,
And asked, “What are you afraid of?
You’re four million times bigger than me.”
Louis moved a little higher,
Wishing the mouse would leave,
So that he could climb back down,
And his self-esteem retrieve.
The mouse got bored and scurried off,
Leaving the giraffe alone,
Louise quickly climbed down the tree,
And galloped all the way home.
The English language is tricky to learn
And the sound of some letters are cause for concern.
Like, how is it how has an ‘Ow’ as in owl
When the ‘Ow’ that’s in low sounds like ‘Oh’ that’s in sew?
And why does the ‘Ew’ that’s in sew sound like ‘Oh’
When the ‘Ew’ that’s in stew sound like ‘Oo’ that’s in boo?
And if you want more, well what about war
Which is ‘Aw’ but not ‘Ar’ as in car, far or jar.
What about bear, which can be rhymed with hair
But hear rhymes with beer, and pear rhymes with mare.
And don’t get me started on bough, through and rough!
How does the ‘ough’ rhyme with cow, roo and fluff?
What about beard, which is bear with a ‘D’
But heard sounds like ‘bird’ – how can that be?
So if you’re confused, there’s really no shame
When letters and sounds simply don’t stay the same.
Australian Children’s Poetry 