Specific poem formats
Pick a piece of purple paper
And a purple pencil too,
Do not wait until you’re prodded,
For you have a job to do.
Draw yourself a purple pumpkin:
Purple platypus as well,
Then you’ll have a purple picture,
That you’ll never ever sell!
Monty says: I took the prompt as an invitation to alliterate.
I can tell you about the weather.
Am I growing or shrinking?
I can show you how a paper boat floats,
and be a mirror for your smiling face.
I can be a drink for a thirsty bird,
or a short slurp for a cat on the prowl.
I can annoy new shoes,
but splashing gum boots love me.
I can be a short stay hostel
for tadpoles or mozzie larvae.
I can be temporary and tempting.
I have possibilities and potential.
I am a puddle.
What goes up
and never down?
When you’re born,
you count me in
race me on,
only occasionally forget me.
When you’re old,
I’m still growing.
What am I?
Answer:
With four furry feathered flippers and a sharp and pointy beak
I’m a mixture of a turtle and a bird
I’ve a shell so sleek and shiny and some talons on my feet
But I’d rather be a Birtle than a Turd!
With some prickly tickly whiskers and a web to call my own
I’m a mixture of a spider and a shrew
I’ve a soft and furry tummy and eight legs without a bone
But I’d rather be a Shrider than a Spew!
With the body of a rodent and a long and slimy tail
I’m a mixture of a Gerbil and a worm
I’ve a squirmy wormy belly and my ears are very pale
But I’d rather be a Worbil than a Germ!
With a really bendy body and a home beside the shore
I’m a mixture of a starfish and a mink
I’ve a coat so soft and glossy and five legs that I adore
But I’d rather be a Marfish than a Stink!
With two long and fine antenna and a wavy wagging tail
I’m a mixture of a Beetle and a Mutt
I’ve a mouth of sloppy slobber and six legs that never fail
But I’d rather be a Meetle than a Butt!
With a round and spikey body and a long and bristly beard
I’m a mixture of a blowfish and a goat
I have skin like slimy rubber and a temper to be feared
But I’d rather be a glowfish than a bloat!
With two sharp and pointy pincers and some gorgeous golden down
I’m a mixture of a Yabbie and a duck
I have eyeballs on my feelers and fine feathers on my crown
But I’d rather be a Dabbie than a Yuck!
With a scaly silver tailfin and a noisy croaking song
I’m a mixture of a snapper and a frog
I’ve a sharp and toothy grimace and my legs are long and strong
But I’d rather be a Frapper than a Snog!
With some snipping snapping fingers and a soft and furry coat
I’m a mixture of a lobster and a mouse
I’ve a love of cheesy cheddar and I live beneath a boat
But I’d rather be a Mobster than a Louse!
With a tail so curly wurly and with furry golden fluff
I’m a mixture of a seahorse and a chick
I’m a cheeky chirpy cheeper who is into horsey stuff
But I’d rather be a Cheahorse than a Sick!
When it comes to any creature that is made up on the spot
One you’ve never ever seen or smelt or heard
There are many names to call them that are pretty or are not
Still I’d rather be a Birtle than a Turd!
There once was a postie called Progge
Who had a most wonderful dog
It could carry more letters
Than fifteen red setters
And he never got lost in the fog!
Sioban says: I wrote this in primary school after we learnt about limericks – and for some reason I have always remembered it!
Ten days in a vase
The dead rose weeps red petals
Onto the white bench
Dianne says: I originally made a list of so many red and white images — blood on a band aid, the Red Cross sign, Japan’s flag and so on, but this morning when I walked into our kitchen, the poem came to me as per this haiku.
Today I’m all excited ’cause we’re going to the zoo
And there’s something that we’ll see there that I’ll now describe to you.
Since it’s found throughout Australia you would hardly call it rare –
Live for long in any city and you’ll surely find one there.
Not so common in the country, but you still may see a few,
It’s no cuddly koala nor a bounding kangaroo.
Do not think of an echidna or a little bandicoot
This is something that you’ll never ever hear described as cute.
In appearance, on occasions, it’s been likened to a snake,
But it’s certainly not legless in the moves that it can make.
If you see a very large one, you will wish it wasn’t so,
Should it move along quite slowly, you may even see it grow!
You can rule out any reptile, bird or fish that comes to mind,
But I will not tease you further, that would really be unkind.
It’s a line. No, not a lion. There, I’ve given you a clue.
It’s a line of ticket buyers gaining entry through a queue!
Monty Edwards
Author comment: I found the array of spellings used to convey the final sound of “queue” quite remarkable and used several. Among them, the zoo provided a useful context for the poem, as aside from rhyming with the key word, the zoo is a familiar and positive experience for most children. Describing the queue as if an unnamed exhibit seemed a good way of arousing curiosity without compromising truth on the way to a surprise conclusion.
Australian Children’s Poetry 