Mirror Image.
Looking in the mirror,
What do I see?
A very magnificent
Image of me!
Do others see me
Just like that,
Or do they see
A ginger cat?
I wish folk looked
Beyond the fur,
The very gentle
Kitty purr,
And see
The lionheart In me,
The part my human
Always sees!
Notes:
Beauty and bravery are much more than skin deep!
The poem encourages us not to be too quick to judge others, but to get to know them and appreciate the qualities that make them unique.
The people who love us are generally the ones who see our best qualities and try to help us develop them the more.
Activity:
Write a list of things that might not look particularly attractive but which have qualities we might really appreciate. Example – cocoa bean which is used to make chocolate.
HOW I WAS SAVED FROM CHOCAHOLISM!
Aunty’s got a chocolate box.
She said,”Have one or two.”
I had one wrapped in bright red foil,
And then a flowery blue.
I sucked them – oh, so slowly –
They were so VERY nice!
I thought, would Aunty REALLY mind
If I had a couple – twice?
They were the most delicious things
That I had EVER had!
Surely, if I had – just – two more
Aunt could not call me bad?
Oh, SCRUMPTIOUS! YUMPTIOUS! There were more
That I just HAD to taste!
Why – if I left them sitting there
They MUST all go to waste!
The box was looking emptyish.
The last ones left looked lonely.
I thought that it would be QUITE wrong
To leave a couple only!
And so I ate the last ones too,
But, very strange to tell,
They didn’t taste just quite so good,
And – I didn’t feel so well …
My tummy looked about to pop!
My throat felt – kind of queer…
My tummy started woooobelling –
I held onto the chair!
Then as I looked at the chocolate box
And wondered would I be whacked,
I remembered every gluttinous glob
And the box got its contents back -!!
BLARRRRUGH!
Now I wont touch a chocolate,
Not a bar, a block, a bite!
I will not even look at it!
Well, at least I wont – tonight…
Diving Into a Book
Summer time is a good time to escape the heat by bathing in the sea or in a swimming pool.
Diving into a good book is a bit like diving into a swimming pool according to the poet.
Activity: Write a short argument for why this might be a good comparison or why not.
Discussion: How can books –
Immerse us in ‘wondrous lands’
Get us involved in ‘plots and plans’?
Activity: Write a short description of the plot of a story you have just read or are reading and talk about what new ideas, information, or ways of thinking it has shown you. How is it different to other stories you have read? How is it different to your own life and experience?
THE GREAT CHOCOLATE HIDE!
Beware my Aunt! I’ve made a sign
To warn off friend and stranger,
“Committed Chocaholic!
Your chockies are IN DANGER!”
Whenever I hear her coming
I hide my chocolate bars,
The Milk Ways and Crumbles,
Snickers, Picnics, and the Mars.
I’ve buried them in casseroles
And bags of brussel sprouts,
But her nose is like a bloodhound’s
She always sniffs them out!
I hid them down the backyard
Amidst the potted flowers.
Ants found them before Aunty,
De-anting took us hours!
I hid them in a secret spot,
The best place I could find.
Trouble is I can’t remember where,
And that I really mind!
Now Aunty’s come to help me
Find out just where they are.
Her payment for detective work?
Of course, a chocolate bar!
S’pose eating chocolate’s better
When you don’t eat it alone.
Chocolate Hunts ARE fun with Aunty
But I wish she’d bring her own!
– J.R.Poulter
When the Parrot was Silent. by J.R.Poulter
“Twitter, twitter”, said the birds,
Perched outside upon a ledge,
“The wizard’s conjuring with words,
Some are wise and some absurd.
Tell us parrot what you’ve heard?”
Parrot, on his perch all day,
Hadn’t very much to say
But was noisy anyhow.
Parrot made a frightful row!
Showed off to his birdie friends.
Till the wizard hit wits END!
Parrot through the cage bars peaked,
Saw the wizard’s wand go, “TWEAK!”
Opened wide his beak to SQUAWK,
Found he could no longer talk!
Moral is, when wizards speak,
Wise birds seek but to be taught,
Say not a word unless it’s sought…
Australian Children’s Poetry 