Category Archives: Biography

Counting Sheep by Louise McCarthy

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In the wee small hours I awoke from my dreams,

The bleating of sheep was the reason it seems,

They were outside my window making a racket,

So I rolled out of bed and put on my jacket.

 

I spoke to the flock assembled outside.

I said “Look I’m really most dreadfully tired.”

But they still remained bothered – so I counted each ewe,

Plus the rams and the lambs – one hundred and two.

 

“I see what you mean.”  I remarked to the flock.

“One lamb is missing.” – I glanced at the clock.

“It is well after midnight – it should be in bed.”

So for hours I looked. Then I looked in the shed.

 

And there on a sofa all cosy and snug,

Lay the little lost lamb under a rug,

Just where I’d left it twelve hours ago –

I’d spun it a yarn about sheep in the meadow.

–

Louise McCarthy

About Louise: “It is wonderful to have a creative writing assignment to look forward to every week. I thoroughly enjoy writing poetry in my spare time. I find inspiration in every day. But it is the weekly poetry prompt that motivates me to write one poem weekly”

A Perfect Place to Sleep by Kylie Covark

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A Perfect Place to Sleep

Regarding you with such disdain

From on his throne 

Of throw rugs that are

His alone,

He wonders if you’ll

Dare suggest

He moves an inch so 

You can rest.

He shows a claw 

Of warning;

This is his spot 

Until morning.

He is comfy and 

What’s more

There is room there

On the floor.

You sigh and moan

A bit

Then reluctantly

You sit,

And perhaps you’re

Going mad

But the floor is 

Not so bad.

You might even 

Take a nap.

But what’s this? 

He’s in your lap.

He purrs. Pleased

With his leap.

What a perfect

Place to sleep.

–

About Kylie: “Poetry puts a happy hum in my heart. My plan for 2018 is to encourage as many people as I can to find the poetry in their lives. I will continue sharing poetry for children here, and for their mums and dads on my social media accounts @picklesandpords. Thanks for reading!”

Mungalli by June Perkins

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Mungalli

Mungalli
We came
Sang, shared sisterhood
Brotherhood, unity, treasure hunts
Peace

Little
Things sing
To the heart
Picking a song’s tune
Guitar

Unity
In camp
Everywhere we walk
Glow worms in line
Night

By June Perkins

EDUCATORS NOTE: This poem was written to reflect on a mentoring camp held at Mungalli Falls.  I wanted a very simple structure to convey this in just a few words and was inspired by, but not restricted by the cinquain form.  A traditional cinquain, would be 

  1. A subject noun – one word
  2. Two adjectives – two words
  3. Three verbs – three words
  4. A phrase – four words
  5. Return to the subject noun – one word

Instead I went   

  1. Subject noun – one word (however, in verse 2 and 3 I put the subject noun at the end)
  2. Short phrase-two words,  
  3. Longer phrase- three words (line 3,4, and line 2 closely linked)
  4. A phrase or a list of things- four words 
  5. Overall feeling or the subject noun

I think it is important when working with set forms to be able to play with them and reinvent them to fit your purpose, whatever is best for the poem

About June: I am presently working on two sequels to my first full length collection, Magic Fish Dreaming,  https://magicfishdreaming.com/ and dearly hope to find traditional publishers for them or to crowd fund them.  

One is another collection of poetry for children filled with a sense of magical realism, fun and optimism, and the other is especially for mothers who might have fallen in love with the poetry of Magic Fish Dreaming, and will include both poetry and prose reflections on mothering and being mothered.  

I have been keeping a poetry blog for several years, http://ripplepoetry.wordpress.com and am presently blogging on the topic of how poets play with words and images to make their poems https://ripplepoetry.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/poetatplay2/

Possumbled by JR Poulter

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About JR Poulter: “I’m writing all the time – poetry is a bit like a journal for me.  It is there 24/7. I have more books coming out – one a prose poem “The Passing” and one a humorous narrative verse story “A Raw Deal!” and then there is my poetry collection [for grown-ups] “Blood and Other Essentials” which hopefully coming out this year.”

A Day at the Zoo by Jan Darling

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A DAY AT THE ZOO

It was the cat who said, as she climbed out of bed

Is today the day we go to the Zoo?

Prince was teaching the rabbit, the one who’s blue,

To sit on my head, and be one of the crew

The day was cold, the duck said ah-choo

It’s freezing out there, I’m not going with you.

 

Duck, you know I’m the Prince, just look at my crown

Pure rabbit it is, it’s soft as down

I tuck Bunny around till his ears fall right down

They snuggle my own and steady my crown.

You’re just a duck, but I am the Prince

Won’t you do what I say without that wince?

 

The duck wrapped his scarf four times round his beak

And grumbling went off to change the week.

Is it Mumday or Chewsday or Whimsday he mumbles

Oh Duck – take your pick but bring Violet Crumbles.

Then we’re off to the Zoo to see Reginald Roo

Horace the Hippo, young Bruno and Pru.

 

Prudence the penguin started to flush

For on the Prince, she’d once had a crush

Come on, move quickly, you guys at the front

We’re here to see the Honey Bear stunt.

But Bruno the Bear was away that day

He’d gone to the Bank to collect his pay.

 

You pay that Bear to sit around here?

Chewing his bamboo, making us stare?

The Zooman nodded and showed us the path

To the Elephant park – they were taking their bath.

The cat saw pictures of lions on a sign

Saying I’m off to see some family of mine. 

 

Prudence was sad she’d not seen her hero

The Zooman complained that the temp. was zero.

There was only one elephant out in the park

The bathroom was hidden away in the dark.

Bunny was tiring of being the crown

And he started wishing that he could get down.

 

Nothing was going the way he was wishing

So the Prince took a pelican off to go fishing

Everyone grumped about one thing or t’other

And Duck was quacking about his red brother

His mother was green, his sister was blue

How that had happened nobody knew.

 

So the Day at the Zoo turned into a flop

With everyone grizzling, way over the top

It’s not that bad, elephant blew on his trumpet

Two kids remembered to bring me a crumpet

The cat complained that the trip was a mess

And set of for home to change her dress.

Jan Darling

About Jan: “It seems to me that I have taken an awfully long time to find my true voice.  Now, writing ‘Nonsense Poems’ I am thoroughly enjoying myself.   This year I have also re-discovered classical poetry and am writing sonnets and other rhyme and metre forms.  I had never thought of children’s poetry although I’ve written short stories for children.  I am just loving writing the poems and I’m finding that they leave my head in a space far away from its physical surroundings.  It makes me wish I were a child again. It’s pure therapy.”

Armpit by James Aitchison

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Armpit

Armpit, armpit,

Look at you!

You’re so hollow —

What to do!

You like to sweat

And grow hair,

No wonder you’re

Hiding there!

                              James Aitchison

About James: “My poetry plans for 2018: write more children’s poems, experiment with new forms and themes, and build up a collection for a book.”

Anton’s Microscopes by Celia Berrell

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Anton’s Microscopes – Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
(beasts on your teeth!)

A Dutchman named Anton

was someone you’d count on

to tell you precisely

the things he could see.

 

A microscope maker

and shopkeeping draper

discovering life that’s

as small as can be.

 

He magnified beasts that

he scraped from his teeth

and watched as they swam

like some creatures in seas.

 

Learning there’s animals

formed from just single-cells.

Seeing that even a

flea can have fleas!

 

Finding bacteria

in our interior.

Sending this news

across the sea.

 

Anton astounded us.

What he had found in us

started the science

mi-cros-co-py.

–

About Celia: “I’m always on the lookout for fun science snippets to share through the CSIRO’s Double Helix magazine, so I scour the science news on the internet most days in my spare time. This July The Science Rhymes book – Second Edition will off to the printers! It’s got twice as many poems as the first edition and I’ve chosen Jabiru Publishing to be my partner, as was a bit lonely publishing the first edition on my own.  Some Whitfield State School students have been attending my Poetry Club meetings over the last couple of months and will be spending part of their holiday break creating their own Science Rhymes about famous scientists and awesome discoveries, for a SCIENCE HALL OF FAME (please share your poems too!).  We will then present our poems in a recital for National Science Week (11th – 19th August).  You can see the examples I created for our Poetry Club by clicking the Download tab on the Science Rhymes website.  I’m currently waiting to hear back from the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival organisers to find out if I will have a BOOK LAUNCH with them on Friday 10th August at the Hilton Hotel, Cairns.  If they say YES, I’ll be looking for brave school students to help present some poems from the new book.  It’s a really exciting year!”

“Earthworms” by Elizabeth Cummings with Teacher Notes

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EARTHWORMS

 

 

Earthworm, you burrower extraordinaire

How can you stand to live down there

With no arms of legs in the soil so dark?

With your one cylindrical digestive tract

You move with the muscles that you contact

To make your body first short then long

And those bristles help propel you along

Through leaf litter, topsoil or deeper down

You help to mix up the stuff in the ground

This makes you the base of many a food chain

Yet your many skills are the environment’s gain

Your talent with organic matter is biological

And mixing tall the nutrients is a flair so chemical

Then there’s your physical ability of aerating

So the soil ecosystem’s restoration you’re helping

Thus let’s take some time to show a bit of gratitude

For how you improve the quality of our food!

 Elizabeth Cummings 

 

About Elizabeth: “Worms both disgust and fascinate me! I remember my brother holding a worm in his hands as a toddler and exclaiming; ‘One worm two worms!’ as he pulled it part😱. After that I had nightmares about worms for years until one of my pupils brought a worm farm into the class and taught us all about he important work of the humble earthworm… a teacher can always learn from their students!”

Teacher Notes by Jeanie Axton:

Read this poem to the class a few times and then ask a student to write key words on the whiteboard. As a class research and make a timeline of life in the worm farm. Look at how worms are a sign of a healthy garden and how worm tea helps condition soil and grow healthy plants.

If your really brave have a “Bring your gumboots day” and go out and collect worms to bring back to the classroom. Watch how they move and write a worm poem.

Remember to take the worms back to where you got them after the lesson. They belong in the environment.

 

A bit of an introduction from Jeanie

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Thought to do a bit of an introduction. That way you know a little about the person you are emailing.

My name is Jeanie Axton and I live in Mt Gambier in the South East of South Australia.

I am married to Nick and we have three grown up children, one grandson, 2 old dogs and one old cat. I was born in Mt Gambier then moved to Adelaide when I was 17 to do my teacher training at Underdale SACAE before taking on many contracts and then securing a permanent job with the SA Education Department at North Gambier Primary School. While on leave with our third child I had an opportunity to take up a position at St Martins Lutheran College in Mt Gambier. I was originally Middle Childhood trained but as St Martins evolved into a R-12 College I had opportunities to teach in the secondary school. Currently I teach part time covering Desktop Publishing and Web Creation in the senior years and Food and Nutrition, Technology and Media and Girls Christian Studies at Year 9 level.

I have been dabbling in poetry since I was young. Whenever I felt something was worth writing about I would jot it down and then with the transfer to digital technologies I would keep them in a folder. It is only in recent years I felt a desire to share and publish online.

I went online searching for sites and found the Australian Children’s Poetry site. Another site I contacted was dogslife asking if they would like a dog poem once a month. They agreed and I have been publishing online through them for a few years. Last months poem was about food socks

http://www.dogslife.com.au/dog-news/dogs-love-socks-poem-jeanie-axton

Another poem  I worked on for printing was through Sally Odger’s “The Toy Chest Anthology” submitting a poem about a scooter “ Scoot Scoot”.

I’ve written as well for Silver Birch Press via Facebook.

https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/lost-words-poem-by-jeanie-axton-lost-and-found-poetry-and-prose-series/

This was more of a serious poem but I thought I’d give it a go.

I love writing funny poems. A poem that really inspires me is Spike Milligan’s  “None today thankyou” from his 1981 book “Unspun socks from a chickens laundry”

http://airyairyquitecontrary.tumblr.com/post/85856611072/none-today-thank-you

 

Of course, as any writer would, one day I would love to either Publish or Self publish a book but I have a lot to learn first.

I’m thinking of doing an online writing course?

I feel quite humbled with the calibre of children’s poets who I’m now in contact with.

Any suggestions emailed to me are very appreciated.

In the meantime, please continue with your contributions. If you have a few other poems up your sleeve and you would like to have them on the site please send through and I’ll put them in my spare folder for the slower weeks.

Any suggestions on ideas for the blog please send through. One idea I have been sent is for poets to add in a few tips/notes for teachers with their poems or I could even add them in for you. Let me know what you think?

Have a good day everyone: keep writing

Thankyou

Jeanie

Here is a photo that was taken on the recent long weekend at Southbank in Melbourne

How Trees Grow by Jennie Fraine

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How Trees Grow

 

First, they listen to the wind’s ideas

and take notes.

They suck nutriment from the soil

but never forget their manners.

They bathe regularly in rain

and soak their feet in special solutions.

Measuring distances from star to star

they dream of universal travels.

Also, they touch each other kindly

and play host to thousands of guests.

 

Jennie Fraine

Jenny said: This poem was published in 1993 in a booklet I prepared and printed myself, to share with children as I spoke to them in schools about the mystery and magic, the pure possibility, of poetry. The poems had originally been written for other children, in response to their requests for a poem on a topic they liked. I had created a business called Poetic Licence and apart from lots of work in schools (via three agents) I also worked at festivals as a roving performer (writing on the spot about anything suggested by those I accosted) at literacy camps, on tour along the Murray River, in country towns and suburbs in Victoria, at writers festivals for children, at Georges and David Jones for special occasions, and at private celebrations, and at schools and the fringe festival in the Kimberleys.