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Category Archives: Poem of the Day
“Exhilarating Spring” by Toni Newell
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Exhilarating Spring
Daffodils and jonquils,
Herald in the Spring,
Wattle trees in flower,
Fruit trees blossoming.
Birds begin to build their nests,
Weather’s getting warmer,
The farmer sows his seeds,
And the days slowly get longer.
Dormant plants begin to grow,
Snakes, come out of hibernation,
The winter blues are shaken off,
It’s pure exhilaration.
“YoYo” by Marque Dobrow
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I had a little yoyo,
It travelled up and down;
Courtesy of a reel of string
I twirled it round and round.
Every day I walked the dog
and journeyed round the world.
I’d create a baby’s cradle
And make loop to loops unfurl.
I’d forward pass and go over the falls
And produce a man on a trapeze.
Then hop the fence and go around the corner,
Whilst the throwdown was done with ease.
On other days I might do the sleeper,
Skin the cat and reach for the moon.
Go into a time warp or gravity pull,
And then breakaway by noon.
Where is my little yoyo now?
It still twirls round and round.
A young lad bought it at my garage sale
And took it out of town.
“Spirit of the Wolf” by Jan Darling
Leave a commentSpirit of the Wolf
The child sat still at the Wise Man’s side, her hand upon her chin
‘What is it that disturbs you, child? What struggles are within?’
The child, wide-eyed, sized up the Man and whispered ‘What’s your name?
The Wise Man answered with a smile ‘I am who I became’.
‘What do you mean?’ the child replied ‘you arewho you became?
Aren’t you the same as yesterday – or is this just a game?’
‘It’s Life, my child, and that’s no game – it can be good or bad
You live it happy if you’re kind – or you can live it sad.
‘We each are one, but also three, there’s Dark and Light and Me
I am the Heart who works with love and the thief who cheats it free.
I am the Spirit of the Wolf – a prowler of the Night
By day the body still is Wolf – and yet the Soul is bright.
‘They’re part of every choice you make, to hinder or to help;
They wind you up, they let you down, they whimper or they yelp;
They’re always fighting for your Will, they both set out to win;
But one day You will win the match and welcome both within.
‘One Wolf is dark and angry, he snaps and he is mean
He sees the worst in everyone and often vents his spleen.
He’s selfish and he’s envious, he sneers at weakness too,
When he is loosed your friends will ask Is this really you?
‘One Wolf is soft and caring, his every act is kind;
He loves the world and all therein – with balm his soul is lined.
His days are filled with joy and love and tender-hearted care
He’s careful to live in peace, with everyone he’ll share.’
The child was quiet and then she asked ‘Do I have Wolves in me?
If there’s a place where they’ll be friends – will you give me the key?
I’m sometimes very angry, I stamp my foot and scream
And other times I feel so good, it’s like my life’s a dream.
‘I don’t know why I have these moods, they make me feel so funny
I don’t like grizzly grumpy days – I’d like to make them sunny.
How can I have my Wolves be friends? How can I make them happy?
I’d like them to help me be myself, the self who’s never snappy.’
‘That’s good my child because, you know, it’s all to do with diet
The Light Wolf solves your problems by thinking in the quiet,
He turns your actions into food that never causes pains
He helps with resolutions so all can count the gains.
‘The Dark Wolf fights against success, he hates to live in peace,
His job is to confuse you, so your anger will increase;
He feeds on your frustrations, your pain is his dessert,
He’s never ever hungry when a friend he makes you hurt.
‘Dark Wolf is ever prowling though the mazes of your mind,
When he’s in charge your kindest act is always undermined.
He feeds on negativity and loves to see you fail
When you feel strong, he cackles, convincing you you’re frail.
‘No stronger than the Light Wolf, but he can strike you dumb
He strokes your ego daily making out that he’s your chum;
He doesn’t want to help you, he’s looking for the nerve
That captures soul and psyche so he alone you’ll serve.
‘So, Child, I cannot tell you more, for each of us must choose
To find our ways in Light or Dark – our acts our souls infuse.
Our Wolves both hunger for success, and each does fight with zest
It’s up to you to choose the Wolf whose diet fits you best.
‘We change each day through what we do, what acts of love we offer
We live our lives within this love that we do freely proffer.
Each day we change, we snuff the spark – or fire we do reclaim
Tis thus I know for certain that I am who I became.’
She looked at him as still she sat, her hand upon her chin,
She looked as though she wrangled with two Wolves who fought within.
‘Which Wolf will win this fight?’ she asked ‘Which Wolf will now succeed?’
‘The Wolf who eats the most’ he said ‘the Wolf that sates his greed.’
‘And if I starve him of his food, if no lie I ever tell..
Will he starve and shrink and shrivel up, consign himself to hell?’
‘He will do that’ the Wise Man said ‘and you’ll have done your duty
To make a world of gentle Wolves who love you for your beauty.’
“Kitty Says!” by JR Poulter
Leave a commentKitty Says!
Kitty:
They’ve got you long necked lambkins,
You’re properly boxed in, hey!
Don’t you wish you could be me,
No fences bar my way!
Llamas:
As you can see, we have been shorn,
We feel so light and free!
When do you get clipped and snipped?
Kitty:
I DON’T! They let me be!
JR Poulter
“Farmyard Friends” by Penny Szentkuti
Leave a commentFarmyard Friends
Fleece short and soft,
A lamb wriggles its tail,
Running behind its mother –
Me too! I’m coming!
Yellow fluffballs
Among sturdy bustling chooks.
Rooster struts –
Don’t fret! There’s plenty for all!
Following the trail of leftovers
Roly poly piglets snuffle
In a patchy pink parade.
Eating! Yum!
Noses twitching, ears pricked,
Dogs on duty, tails stiff –
Someone’s coming! Woof!
“On an African Train” by Virginia Lowe
Leave a commentOn an African Train
Far from Australia
I have suddenly discovered
Something glorious and homely
Symbolic and ordinary
Through a train window
In Zambia
To remind me of home
But as well I have found
People who are fascinated
When I point it out
Europeans for whom it is
A thing of romance
Read about, dreamed of
And never seen before
And they are gripped
By my stories
Of sharp cold clear nights
In the Wimmera
Or the dimmer glimpses
From the front yard at home
Where even the bright pall
Of city electricity
Cannot hide its design
The Southern Cross
And friends to share it with.
“Polly Rules” by Julie Cahill
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Polly Rules
Polly Puss sat on the fence
sailing with his fate
Until the day the farmer opened up the farmyard gate
The sheep went out
the cows came in
which left Puss quite bemused
addressing those then left to listen
before access was closed
Alpca stretched their long necks longer
their ears pricked to his chatter
‘It matters that the sheep were led;
that cows made all that clatter
This fence is the dividing line
thin as this here whisker’
Pussy plucked to prove his point
which drew a nasty blister
‘But anyway, I rule the roost
from here, this narrow line
So just stay put you woolley herd
alpacas will be fine
You know, the gate was opened
so the tractor could pass through
Those beasts weren’t meant to cross the fence
The system’s gone askew
The grass is never greener
on the other side, you see
Those sheep and cows will end up
on the farmer’s plate for tea.’
“A mockery of crockery” by James Aitchison
Leave a commentA mockery of crockery
“Hey diddle diddle,”
Said the cat to the fiddle,
“The dish ran away with the spoon.”
The fiddle said, “Yo!
“That spoon had to go,
And the dish wasn’t round like the moon.”
“Hey diddle diddle,”
Said the cat to the fiddle,
“What are we going to do?”
The fiddle said, “Man,
“Eat with your hand,
“That dish and spoon belonged in a zoo.”
Australian Children’s Poetry 