Tag Archives: Celia Berrell

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Will I? Won’t I?

Our senses are detectives

 

I hear a kettle boil and click.

I see the steam rise soft and thick.

I sense that kettle’s very hot.

Will I touch it?  NO I’ll not.

 

I see green mould upon the fruit.

I touch it and it feels too soft.

I smell the scent of yucky rot.

Will I taste it?  NO I’ll not.

 

I feel the raindrops on my skin.

I smell the dampness closing in.

I see the lightning on the hill.

Will I hear it?  Yes I will.

 

I see the smoke and bonfire blaze.

I feel its warmth upon my face.

I hear the crackling spits and spills.

Will I smell it?  Yes I will.

 

I hear a mossie’s whining flight.

It stops.  And then I feel a bite.

Will I see it? Not at night.

Will I squash it?  Yes I might!

Celia Berrell

Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #27

Celia said: If asked to do something, people may say YES and then change their mind.  I tend to say NO first-up, THEN change my mind!  Which way round will it be for you?

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Snowflake Nucleation

 

Fabulous flecks

of feather-white fluff

gracefully fall

from a frozen sky.

 

But moisture and cold

aren’t quite enough

to make water droplets

solidify.

 

Most of those freezing

flakes of snow

use something alive

on which to grow.

 

Those Jack Frost patterns

will only start

when a microbe lies

at a snowflake’s heart.

Celia Berrell

Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #28

Celia said: Fleeting, gentle, cool, melting … there’s something delightful about feeling the caress of a snowflake on my face. I can see all those rosy cheeks in the wintery weather down south. Love that snow!

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Drawing A Memory

 

How do you doodle?

Leafy-shapes or people?

Zigzag sharp

or swirly soft.

Spirals, squares or circles?

 

Why do we doodle?

Feeling tense or troubled?

Trying not to

go to sleep.

Puzzled, bored or muddled?

 

Doodling while listening

prevents our mind from wandering.

It helps to pen

a drawing-hook.

But NOT in someone else’s book!

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #25

Celia said: What’s the point of doodling?  Well it turns out that, rather than being a distraction, it can help us focus!  So go ahead – use your super-doodle power.  (My favourites are curls and swirls.)

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Too Late for Chocolate?

 

It’s best to say YES to sensible food.

Eat all our veggies

with meat well chewed.

 

It’s best to say YES to exercise.

It helps keep us fit

and also wise.

 

It’s best to say YES to a good night’s sleep.

With eight to ten hours

of dreaming deep.

 

BUT

It’s hard to say NO to late TV shows

with popcorn or ice-cream

or marshmallows.

 

SO …

You wouldn’t say YES, if handed a plate

of yummy baked cakes

or some sweet chocolate …

would you?

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #22

Celia said: When we’re tired, we are more likely to give in to temptations.  Well that’s my excuse.  What’s yours?

 Self-controlled people have better lives – but for the rest, lack of willpower is more like physical fatigue than moral failure, says Roy F. Baumeister, professor of social psychology at Florida State University.

 

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Pretty Cities

Pretty cities love their trees.

We know they help prevent disease

by trapping poisons found in air

from fumy cars that drive round there.

 

Green-leaved cities cool things down.

Those leafy air-cons make no sound

evaporating water while

providing shady streets with style.

 

Tree-lined cities seem to manage

heavy rain and water drainage.

Tree roots tend to drink-up well-as

leafy crowns form umbrellas.

 

Pretty cities need their trees.

From wind-chimed leaves and shadowed ease

to joys of birdsong’s many keys.

So cities, please don’t lose your trees.

Celia Berrell

Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #22

Celia said: In leafy suburbs and shady streets, gentle giant trees do more than simply add a splash of green to a city’s stony setting. I’m grateful for those city trees.

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Rosella’s Dilemma

 

At five-to-eleven Rosella flew in

to a magical garden where time stands still.

With five giant statues of fairy-tale folk

and two silver fountains that sang and then spoke.

 

Eleven big books that could read for themselves

surrounded by flowers and mischievous elves.

Eleven days later he flew out again

and found that the time was exactly the same.

 

“Still ten fifty-five?” he said with a grin

“In that case, I may as well do it again!”

 

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #21

Celia said: Your photo looks like a place where time stands still … At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for all the things that need to be done.  Having somewhere beautiful to go, where time stands still, sounds like a fantastic solution.  I’m imagining it right now.

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Croc-o-diner

The crocodile has every right

to fall in love or have a fight.

He likes his home.  He wants to stay

and have a feed and sleep and play.

 

But better not get in his way

or YOU won’t see another day!

 

So when you travel our great land

respect this resident so grand

and DON’T go swimming where he hides

among the rivers, banks and tides.

 

It’s not HIS fault that tourists may

taste just like croccy’s take-away!

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #20

 

 

 

 

Celia said: My husband is considering working in a remote coastal location in Far North Queensland where it is possible to find crocodiles lurking under the buildings.  To all the people who work up there, PLEASE be careful and keep yourselves off their dinner menu!

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Why  

 

“Why?” as a child is a popular word.

It shows that we want to know more of our world.

And sometimes we learn

some incredible things:

 

Like why the sky’s blue

and what is a gnu

and how you can catch

the measles and ‘flu.

And back in the past

how much harder life was

because of the things

that nobody knew.

 

It’s part of our nature to want to know why

despite that the answer’s a truth or a lie.

And sometimes we learn

some incredible myths:

 

Like why Santa comes

only once a year.

And when will the Easter

Bunny appear.

Descriptions of monsters

that cause us great fear.

And how crystal balls

make everything clear.

 

While we’re a child, all answers seem true

(until we get older and think them all through).

But even as adults we frequently find

it’s not always easy to change our mind!

 

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #17

Celia said: Got a question?  Nowadays we can look for answers on the internet any time 24/7.  But how can we tell if the information we find there is true or false?  That’s another question!

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Moonbeams

 

The Sun is a star

that is burning bright.

Like a furnace

that gives off heat and light.

 

Like a beacon

emitting sunshine rays.

Like a torch in the sky

changing nights to days.

 

The Moon is a sphere

made of silent rock.

That orbits the Earth

like a cold round block.

 

No furnace or beacon.

No torch to run.

Those moonbeams have come

from the headlight Sun.

 

The Moon doesn’t shine!

It reflects instead.

Like cat’s-eyes at night

on the road ahead.

 

Like the glint of the Sun

on a tranquil lake.

Like your sparkling eyes

when a smile you make.

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #16

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The End of the Solar System

 

Our sun releases energy.

A plasma called the Solar Wind.

But far away it’s just a breeze.

And further still that breeze will end.

 

The space probes Voyager 1 and 2

have travelled over thirty years

transmitting sounds and pictures as they

act as mankind’s eyes and ears.

 

Voyager 1 has reached the point

where Solar Wind no longer blows.

Now cosmic rays from other stars

our Voyager’s detector shows.

 

Eighteen billion kilometres

away from Earth, these space probes trace

just what it’s like existing on

the edge of interstellar space!

Celia Berrell
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #13

Celia said: For me, the word “GO” prompts the questions “how far CAN we go?”  The most distant man-made objects are the space probes Voyager 1 & 2.  Launched in 1977, they are still transmitting information, helping us learn more about space and the farthest reaches of our Solar System.  Even when we can’t “GO” somewhere ourselves, we can still discover fascinating stuff about our world!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-16/voyager-space-probe-reaches-edge-of-solar-system/4074468