With watercolours or oil,
the choice is up to you.
The canvas is totally blank,
just like a day that’s new.
Perhaps you’ll draw with pencil,
or sketch with pen and ink,
why not give charcoal a go —
then sit back and see what you think.
With every single brushstroke,
with every line you draw,
you’ll create an image
that’s unmistakably yours.
Famous painter Hans Heysen’s studio at Hahndorf, South Australia. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Oh what a lovely swamp —
I can hear things going ker-plomp!
And even though it’s blue on top,
underneath it’s slop-slop-slop.
Birds swoop low, fish dive deep,
crocodiles open their eyes for a peek.
The trees haven’t seen their roots for years
and nothing is really what it appears.
It’s all very murky and muddy in there,
and who knows what will come up for air?
Undara, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
If I were a koala,
how happy I would be.
I’d have one branch for dinner,
and another one for tea.
There’d be no washing up,
and nothing else to do:
so I’d curl up nice and high,
and sleep an hour or two.
Photo from Pexels by Flip Side
It was hiding in the bush,
where only eagles soar;
it was hiding in the bush,
but I could hear its distant roar.
At first I saw a stream,
it looked nothing much at all,
then farther on I walked
and found the waterfall:
plunging over lava
the massive torrent fell,
tumbling to a chasm,
it held me in its spell.
And that was when I wondered
where else could I go,
and discover more surprises
than I could ever know!
Big Millstream Falls, Australia’s widest single drop waterfall, 5 km from Ravenshoe, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
railcars
silvery sleek
rattling, clicking, clacking
my very special adventure
outback
The Savannahlander train crossing a creek, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Teacher’s note: A cinquain is an unrhymed five-line poem that has a 2-4-6-8-2 syllable count.
Line 1: a one-word noun (the subject of the poem)
Line 2: two adjectives that describe Line 1
Line 3: a three-word verbal phrase that further describes Line 1
Line 4: a four-word phrase that shows a feeling toward Line 1
Line: a one-word noun synonymous with or related to Line 1
Writing cinquains is great fun for students.
(Note: “special” is a two-syllable word!)
(In Honour of National Bathtub Day October 7th)
In days of old,
out in the cold,
this is where you’d wash.
Rub-a-dub-dub,
in a public tub,
oh my golly gosh!
Hop right in,
up to your chin,
give your skin a sheen.
And let’s all hope
there’s enough soap
so everyone is clean.
Think of the queue
following you,
eager to get in too.
So don’t delay —
scrub right away —
I’m the one after you!
Street bath, Europe. Photo by Ginette Pestana
I found gold,
at the end of the day.
I found gold,
more than I could say.
I found gold,
how I wished it would stay.
I found gold,
but it slipped away.
Sunset in the Gulf Country, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Stop the train,
I want to get off —
that bridge looks a disaster!
It happened when
they had a flood
and the river ran much faster.
It twisted the rails,
it bent the bridge —
any train would roll and sway.
So until it’s fixed,
until it’s safe,
no more trains will pass this way!
Rail bridge at Einasleigh, Gulf Country, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
First I saw bubbles —
just two or three —
breaking the surface
of the water near me.
And then into view
came the beast’s ugly snout —
“Crocodile! Crocodile!”
the world heard me shout.
I ran up the bank
as it clambered ashore
and sat in the sun
where I’d been before.
When it opened its jaws,
I had a strong hunch —
if I hadn’t moved quickly,
I would have been lunch!
Freshwater crocodile, Cobbold Gorge, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Every spring I lose my house —
it likes to disappear —
behind the flowers and bushes
that grow so fast round here.
No more bare old branches,
no more empty beds;
there’s greenery and colour
that everywhere turns heads.
Spring wakes up my garden,
puts magic in the air,
along with different scents
a-drifting here and there.
Springtime at an old miner’s cottage, Creswick, Victoria. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Australian Children’s Poetry 