Amanda Davis
sometimes called Mavis
devoured a mango in May
It dripped down her dress
the juice made a right mess
that couldn’t be scrubbed away!
Her mother was frantic
she threw a huge wobbly
that frightened the families Maltese
He leapt over the fence
sprung up high in the air
and floated away with the breeze
Amanda Davis
sometimes called Mavis
was banned from Mangos in May
She ditched the old dress
took an interest in chess
and chomped on apples instead
Their dinosaur mother
left earlier on
as Sauropods never
cared for their young.
So baby-saurs scratched
from inside their shells
‘til together they hatched
from their eggy cells.
Their nest had a guest
of a hungry snake
just waiting for food
to hatch on its plate!
But snakes only munch
one mouthful for tea.
So hatching at once,
most babies ran free.
There’s safety in numbers … for some anyway!
https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.98
What fun to dance like the dinosaurs did
In a prehistoric way.
In addition to lying around in the sun,
Super-sized creatures need oodles of fun.
If you’re built like Tyrannosaurus Rex,
There are rules of conduct the world expects;
What fun to dance like the dinosaurs did,
In a prehistoric way.
What fun to dance like the dinosaurs did
And go waltzing round and round.
One two three, one two three, you can say –
It’s great to be dancing the dinosaur way.
When you move like Tyrannosaurus Rex,
You have to go slowly – as one expects;
What fun to dance like the dinosaurs did,
And go waltzing round and round.
Deadly Dinosaurs Delving
Dangerous Dinosaurs Dazzling
Decorous Dinosaurs Drawing
Dandy Dinosaurs Dancing
Dehydrated Dinosaurs Drinking
Desperate Dinosaurs Digging
Dizzy Dinosaurs Digesting
©Katherine Gallagher
A dinosaur saw in the sky
An asteroid go soaring by.
Then, looking over to its friend,
It said, ‘I think that was…
THE END
‘Puff’ was a magic dragon,
Who lived by the sea,
Had a friend, Jackie Paper,
And had a friend in me.
He may have sailed with Jackie,
Upon the ocean blue,
But used to play with me ashore,
This story being true.
He wagged his tail behind him,
Whilst walking he would roar,
And everyone loved magic ‘Puff’,
He was gentle to the core.
When Jackie Paper passed away,
‘Puff’ was very sad,
He roared aloud in his grief,
Having lost his comrade.
We walked the street together,
His scales glistening in the sun,
Remembering Jackie Paper,
And recalling all the fun.
Yes, dragons last forever,
And he outlasted me,
One day we’ll be together again,
Magic ‘Puff’, Jackie Paper and me.
I urge you all to give a miss
to writing poems that start like this.
Your listeners aren’t out there to bore.
You’re bound to captivate them more…
by putting in the grunt and time
and focusing awhile
on finding other ways to rhyme,
a change of writing style
Try to rhyme the firsts and thirds
while also taking care
Lines 2 and 4 conclude with words
that make a rhyming pair…
or take a risk, and aiming high,
just spread your wings and have a try
at branching out and saying goodbye
to standard rhyming mode.
The fourth line, such a sudden end
to three that show a rhyming trend
won’t find its matching, rhyming friend
till three more lines have flowed…
so when you write your rhyming poem,
you now have lots of choice.
With merriment
experiment
to give your words their voice.
Serpent-like monsters,
grotesque teeth and claws,
wide wondrous wings
and frightening jaws.
Scaly or feathery,
bellowing fire,
this dragon’s our fear
to hire or retire.
Most humans will have
innate fear of snakes.
Don’t want to be bitten
or eaten like cakes.
Nor to be gouged
or burnt into flakes.
And flying or falling
can give us the shakes!
This dragon of terror
can come to our aid.
By facing our fears,
our future is made.
And like many fears,
once overcome,
our dragon could end-up
being our chum.
Here’s a tale about a dragon
And I’m sure it must be true:
It was told me by my grandpa,
Who would do the same for you.
Now he said that he saw this dragon
When his family had a farm;
This had left them all quite worried
That their sheep might come to harm.
So each day, the sheep were counted,
But they found none burnt or fried;
Not a lamb was ever roasted,
Or the dragon just once spied.
It then seemed that only grandpa
Still believed the dragon real,
So I’m sure you can imagine
How that made poor grandpa feel!
Now, of course, he wasn’t old then:
Maybe eight or nine at most,
So his parents then suggested
That perhaps he had seen a ghost –
Of a dragon that once lived there:
One that breathed out fire and smoke.
But he said they were quite mistaken:
He’d just made it up as a joke!
Australian Children’s Poetry 