Category Archives: Australian children’s poetry

Looking At Pasta by Toni Newell

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So many types of pasta
Of many varied shapes
All of the same ingredient
Yet a difference it makes.
There’s rigatoni and penne
And also shells and bows
Spaghetti, tagliatelle,
Linguini, and on it goes.
And the sauces are so varied
Bolognese, to start the list
But the cook can be creative
And give the sauce a twist.
It’s no wonder that it’s honoured
For its versatility
An ingredient of many shapes
Can produce such variety.
So, let us celebrate
On the twenty fifth of October
World Pasta Day
This year and forever after.

In response to Celebrations prompt

Lepidoptery by Karen Lee Mills

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Oh, moth you are not a butterfly,
indeed – you are not.
Eclipse is a group of you,
many varied species,
more than a hundred and fifty thousand,
to be sure.

Hummingbird, Sphinx,
Garden Tiger, Giant Leopard,
Comet, Peppered,
Wax and Diamondback
all have one thing in common,
names belonging to you.

Mostly nocturnal are you,
active during twilight.
Camouflage is one of your defences,
avoiding detection from hungry predators.
Enjoy your time as a moth,
your life span is brief.

Your body is wide, thick and hairy,
sensory hairs you could boast.
Then there is your feather like antennae’s,
and your amazing sense of smell.
Not to mention your exceptional vision,
eyes with hexagonal lens.

You love to flutter and fly,
with earth tone-coloured wings,
though there are exceptions to the rule,
moths clothed with adoring colours.
Mothing, is a wonderful pastime,
time to watch and observe.

You are not a butterfly,
indeed – you are not,
you are a moth!

Lost in a Dream by Jannette Long

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Written by one of our young poets who is only 10 years old.

Now I’m in the shopping mall,
And my heartbeat starts to fall,
For my mother darts about the stores with haste, 
And the crowd is closing in, 
Forcing me onto my shins, 
I get lost and feel like this trip is a waste. 

People whizzing by the aisles, 
Each step feeling like 10 miles, 
And I feel like crawling deep inside a hole.
I stand upright and I wheeze, 
As the doubt brushes my knees, 
It’s like people are giants, and I’m a mole. 

I was starting to panic, 
Other kids looking ecstatic,
As they laugh and play around with their mothers. 
The longer I am away, 
The more I feel like a stray, 
Sadness fills me, and my life loses colours. 

I’m starting to feel despair,
As my sorrow fills the air, 
I believe that I am lost forever more. 
I give the stuffed toys a hug,
As I’m longing for some love, 
Open my eyes, mum says, “Get up from the floor!”

The Blowfly Bites The Dust by James Aitchison

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He’s big and fat and noisy,
He buzzes ’round my head.
I know he carries lots of germs,
That’s why I want him DEAD!

He crawls across the windowpane —
He’s absolutely rude! —
Then squats and rubs his grubby legs,
On top of all my food.

I tried to swat that blowie
With a paper nicely rolled,
But — tinkle, crash — I missed
And smashed mum’s wedding bowl.

Next I got a schoolbook,
And whacked him hard with that,
The monstrous fly went down
With a great big juicy SPLAT!

The moral of my story
Is that education’s great,
Not only does it make you smart,
It keeps flies off your plate.

come spring by Michael Buckingham Gray

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i pluck weeds
by a white wall

come spring
i move the mower
over a mountain of green

come spring
i brush the rough
old deck clean

come spring
i look up at
all the weeds
growing in the gutter

In response to prompt Spring Has Sprung

The First Day of School by Jenny Erlanger

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I’d soon be walking through that door,
I’d waited all those years.
But nothing had prepared me for
that sudden flood of tears.
As one who loves to seize the day,
who takes whatever comes,
I couldn’t wait to get away
from all those weeping mums.

Dark Matter Day by Celia Berrell

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Most of our universe
seems to be …
MISSING! NOT THERE
for us to see.

We call this DARK MATTER
because we agree,
although we can’t see it,
we’ve shown, quite clearly,
this stuff interacts with
GRAVITY.

Remember October
will end with this quest
as Halloween
is one of our best
spooky and scary festivities
for magic and mayhem
and mysteries.

And so, it’s become
the perfect way
to celebrate science’s
DARK MATTER DAY!

In response to Prompt #6: Celebrations.

For more about dark matter visit https://www.interactions.org/dark-matter-day

Two Pink Galahs by Jeanie Axton

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Two old pink galahs

up high in a gumtree

looked down at recess

to see what they could see.

Two junior school boys

glanced up and said “Gidday”

then the two old galahs 

spread their wings and flew away.

Be It On Your Head by James Aitchison

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What’s that bird 

doing on my head?

Why doesn’t it

fly away instead?

It’s not fair

being a statue,

because I know

what birds like to do!

James’ poem was inspired by the image below which was taken in Venice

Chinzy and Arthur by Toni Newell

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Chintzy looked at Archer
Lying on the couch
He looked up and she said
You’re nothing but a slouch!
No I’m not, he replied
A puppy needs its sleep
Chintzy, she just sighed
Your excuses you can keep
Another hour passed
And Archer still lay there
Chintzy she was seething
And thought it was unfair
He was asleep in her spot
Where she should now be
But there wasn’t any room
For her to spread out and be free
She listened to him snoring
And decided just to leap
To snuggle in beside him
So she herself could sleep.
There they lay together
Each in their world of dreams
Sharing the space together
Cats and dogs can be friends it seems.