If you ever have the pleasure
To uncover buried treasure,
Then I hope that you will keep my needs in mind.
Since I’m just a poor old poet
And I don’t care if you know it,
Just as long as you are generous and kind.
Though my poems can be funny
They don’t earn me lots of money,
So I’ll thank you for whatever you can spare.
Or instead just take a look
At “The Mystery Box”, my book,
For it may be you will find some treasure there.
An oak tree needs its acorns to
be planted in the forest soil.
But all it does is drop them on
the ground where they could quickly spoil.
An acorn is the oak tree’s fruit
containing seed and fatty food,
a kind of nut that bugs can drill
to lay their eggs where they can brood.
But once that acorn nut is used
by moths to make their baby’s home
the seed inside that acorn can
no longer live and can’t be grown.
Now squirrels are most passionate
about these tasty acorn nuts.
They eat them in large quantities
with cheeks so full they’re fit to bust!
They pick the perfect acorns last
and hide them in the forest soil,
returning in the winter-time
to dig them up and eat a meal.
But squirrels sometimes make mistakes,
forgetting where they buried some,
and so those planted acorns get
to grow as oak trees in the sun.
from “The Science Rhymes Book”
Sally’s Treasure
Sally McPhee’s a collector of keys.
She keeps them concealed in a drawer.
Some she has found just lying around.
But several she stole from next door.
She has keys that fit windows
and keys for the shed.
She’s got keys for a diary
she hasn’t yet read.
She has keys for a money box
owned by her brother.
And keys for the Volvo,
She has keys for a tool box,
her father’s great treasure.
To see him in search mode
gives Sally such pleasure.
She has keys that are ancient
and keys that are new.
Well, people are careless,
that’s Miss Sally’s view.
Sally McPhee’s a collector of keys.
She keeps them concealed in a drawer.
Her intention is clear.
That year after year,
she’s going to collect hundreds more.
Teacher Notes: by Jeanie Axton
What are the keys to engage children with poetry?
Check out this site especially the “Ten Top Tips to Engage Kids with Poetry”
https://www.thebookchook.com/2014/04/ten-top-tips-to-engage-kids-with-poetry.html
There is even a link to The Australian Children’s Poetry website.
Eat Your Vegies!
Eat your vegies,
Hurry up!
They’re good for you, you know.
Eat the greens and in-betweens
And big and strong you’ll grow!
Lettuce, tomatoes, beans and such
Give vitamins and iron;
All the things your body needs
To keep it running fine.
And afterwards
We’ll have dessert,
Your favourite fruity treat;
Ice cream served with apple pie.
So eat your vegies now,
My Sweet!
Cacao beans
brown, bitter
Grind, texture, pour
The sweet aroma floats
Hot Chocolate
Coco Cough-not
A wintery cough
can feel rather tough.
Persistent and hacking
it sends our smiles packing
then steals counted sheep
so we can’t get to sleep.
Now would you cheer up
to know help’s in a cup?
It turns out that coco
all jolly and ho-ho
can soothe our cough ills
even better than pills.
This chocolate goldmine
contains theobromine
and as we’d expect,
has no ill-effects.
With this coco-cough link
have a hot chocolate drink!
https://www.newscientist.com/article/1919209-persistent-coughs-melt-away-with-chocolate/
An ingredient in chocolate may actually be a more effective cough medicine than traditional remedies, a new study suggests.
Hot Chocolate
With happy anticipation,
My fingers hug my mug,
Warming my hands
And body whole.
Smooth and soothing,
The chocolatey trickles,
Down my throat as I sip;
Warm ripples of contentment roll.
Soft melting marshmallows
Float atop;
Silky pillows of sweetness.
Comfort for a busy mind
Nurturing body and soul,
Hot Chocolate!
Stephanie Boase
Playing With Your Food
The beans stood on the boundary.
The spuds were in the slips.
The carrot stood at silly point.
At gully were the chips.
At deep square leg the celery was ready with the dips.
The VI Peas were in the stands and banking on a draw.
The soup came steaming in to bowl.
You should’ve heard the roar.
But the apple read the line and length,
and tonked the ball for four.
The veggies needed wickets, so they introduced a spinner,
an aubergine, that many times had proved to be a winner,
and now it had the chance to gain the upper hand at dinner.
A fizzing ball just clipped the pads.
“Howzat!” cried Brussel Sprout.
The spuds appealed in unison.
There wasn’t any doubt.
The pepper grinder quite agreed and gave the lemon out.
The fruits were looking shaky, so the veg sent on their quicks,
who fired down some bouncers with a googly in the mix,
but the avocado wasn’t fazed and smashed them all for six.
Now the apple at the city end just needed one more run,
and when it smacked a cover drive it knew the game was won.
Oh, what a way to end the match and score a maiden ton.
Yes, playing with your food is wrong, but also heaps of fun.
Chris Owen 2018
The ghost who stole my Vegemite
Have you heard of the ghost
who stole my Vegemite toast?
A disgusting event —
more disgusting than most!
I’d spread it on thickly —
’twas the way I liked it —
but the ghost just took it,
and then he hiked it.
So if you spy a ghost
whose mouth is all black,
please do the right thing
and give him a whack!
James Aitchison
Australian Children’s Poetry 