When I have nothing else to do,
I look up at the sky.
There’s always something happening,
as clouds go rolling by.
I like to watch the colours change,
there’s always something new;
and after it rains I might see
a beautiful rainbow or two.
I think I’ll become a pilot —
how good does that sound?
Then I could be up in the sky
instead of on the ground!
Wattle Glen sky. Photo by Philip Webster
If clouds were beds then I would sleep
upon a cloud that’s soft and deep.
A cumulus cloud, that’s its name,
though as a name it’s rather lame
because it doesn’t make you think
of fluffy clouds in which you’d sink
into their white caressing sheets,
nor how you’d lie and dream of treats
or winning that important game,
so, bed-cloud is a better name.
If clouds were cars then I would race
a wispy cloud, high up near space.
A cirrus cloud is what they say-
that doesn’t seem a place to stay
behind the wheel and speed around
a track that’s high up off the ground.
I want a simple name that shows
a cloud that goes and goes and goes,
a cloud that’s fast and fun to use
so, car-cloud is the name I choose.
If clouds were homes then mine would be
one stretching far as you can see.
A stratus cloud is what it’s called,
but that name doesn’t say it’s sprawled
across the sky- a wide, flat field,
where there’d be ample space to build
a house, with rooms for everyone,
a garden where we’d play and run,
and even an enormous shed,
so, I call those home-clouds instead.
(Previously published in Orbit (The School Magazine), Issue 9, October 2016.)
Australian Children’s Poetry 