Tag Archives: poems for children

A Cinquain for a Train by James Aitchison

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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!)

Administrator/s Needed

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The Australian Children’s Poetry website is looking for a new administrator to manage and maintain this wonderful site. ACP promotes poetry for children, has almost 900 subscribers, and has been showcasing Australian poets and quality poetry since 2014. The site uses the WordPress. com platform and the domain name is managed through GoDaddy.

If you are interested and would like to know more please contact Kerry Gittins at ozchildrenspoetry@gmail.com

All The Things by Liz Bennett

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When we’re asked what jobs we want
my friends and I like thinking big,
by imagining a future
doing ALL the things we dig.

I might be a figure skater,
and invent the flying car,
start a business selling cupcakes,
then become a football star!

Tess could be a brilliant doctor
(maybe operate on brains),
play the keyboard in a band, and
spend the weekend flying planes!

Jingyi wants to dig for fossils,
run a kitten shelter too,
show his skills at table tennis
and then join a hip-hop crew!

A detective scuba diver,
or an astronaut who sings….
what do you think YOU’D be doing
if you could do all the things?

Image from Pexels by Collin Guernsey

Why We Have Two Ears by James Aitchison

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Have you ever wondered 

why we have two ears —

they’re very nice,

one on each side —

but why do we have

only one mouth?

I asked a man called

Epictetus who said:

“We have two ears 

so we can listen 

twice as much as 

we speak.”

Now, I wonder what he meant by that?

Teacher’s note: Epictetus was one of the great Stoic philosophers. This quote could stimulate a class discussion.

Photo from Pexels by Yan Krukau

I See A Ball by Marcus Ten Lowe

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i see a ball,
and i hear scurrying, nearby.

and then a trundling
thing, in the tall grass, who’s smiling at me,

and then the thing
pushing the ball from motionless.

i see, now, the feet
of the thing, pushing the ball,

edging it, moving it
quicker and quicker,

through the grass,
spinning, loping, disappearing…

The Skeleton by Jenny Erlanger

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I stare into the hollows

of his smiling, bony face

and I wonder how he looked

with all his other bits in place.

Was he beautiful or ugly?

Was he fat or was he lean?

Was he just a little weakling?

Was he built like a machine?

Did he have the smooth complexion

that belongs to movie stars?

Was his face a mass of pimples

or of scary-looking scars?

The skeleton says nothing

but I’m judging from his grin

that he’s rather glad he’s free

from all that muscle, flesh and skin.

Not A Dinosaur by Graham Seal

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If a Thesaurus

came before us

would it claw us?

Or even gnaw us,

as soon as it saw us?

Not really.

A Thesaurus is a book

stuffed full of words,

so it would probably

just ignore us.

(As published in The Dirigible Balloon)

Foster Boxer by Jeanie Axton

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This poem was inspired by a news story I watched, then researched, about a boxer named Treasure, who became a mum to eight little piglets on a farm in Queensland.


Eight cute little piglets
grunting and squealing today
because a boxer named Treasure
came bounding their way


A stray herself
Treasure played her part
taking the eight little piglets
straight into her heart


She rounded them up
with cuddles and licking
her milk came in
with the suckling and kicking


On a farm with eight kids
and eight piglets in tow
Treasure the Boxer
put on a great show


She now has a family
Treasure loves them to bits
a boxer and eight piglets
the perfect farm fit

Bubble Poem by Marcus Ten Low

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“how do you write a poem?”

the youngster cries.

“i hear with my ears,

and see with my eyes–

i pick a thing, a seed,

to softly blow, and blow,

and blow into a dangly,

loopy bubble…

seeing how it stirs,

or bulges,

and how my mind believes,

reflects, indulges

in its pause; and does it

look for trouble?

quicken the heart?

or make one feel so smart?

all these things a poem is,

once nothing, into synthesis.

you have a go now!

and let me know!”

“Thongs and Boardies” by Sioban Timmer

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Thongs and Boardies

Songs of yore, can be a bore

When they speak of snow and Holly.

Songs of sun are much more fun

To make our Christmas jolly.

We don’t ride sleighs – we catch some rays

As temperatures are soaring.

Hams to slice and prawns on ice

The feast is never boring.

Thongs on feet are not complete

Without our favourite boardies.

And by the pool, we’re staying cool

As Christmas hits the forties.

We don’t admire yuletide fire

Where chestnuts sit to roast.

We find fun with water guns,

Watch the sunset by the coast.

Raise a cup, with head held up

And toast the winter failure.

Sunshine above, what’s not love

That’s Christmas in Australia.