Tag Archives: poems for the classroom

Time Flies by James Aitchison

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A billion hours ago,

(count them if you must),

our ancestors were living

before they turned to dust.

It was the Stone Age then,

and Man was in fine fettle,

after which the Bronze Age

saw Man start using metal.

I wonder if their knives and forks

back then were made of stone?

Or did people eat without them,

or maybe they used bone?

Did they go to school back then,

or did they work all day?

I think that I am lucky

to be alive today!

Teacher’s note: The prehistoric Stone Age period, when stone tools were used, lasted 3.4 million years, ending with the advent of metalworking. It is believed that the Stone Age represents nearly 99.3% of human history.

Casanova Can by Kylie Covark

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 Casanova caterpillar

Had a bold ambition,

He wouldn’t be a butterfly

(Though that was the tradition).

He’d seen the others growing wings

And didn’t fancy that,

Instead he’d shed some letters

And turn into a cat.

Cousin Costa chaffed him.

“It cannot be”, he said,

“Come on Casanova,

You’ve really lost your head.”

“I can! I can! I can!”

Casanova cried.

He could do most anything

If he only tried.

And when it was the moment

To weave his own cocoon,

Casanova said “Farewell,

I’ll be a real cat soon.”

And so with bated breath,

(It really was a thriller),

He wished away the e and r

And the entire pillar.

And then oh joy of joys

The time came to be free,

And life was so much lighter,

As just a C-A-T.

By Kylie Covark

Car Sick by Dianne Bates

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Green

Our fast green car

Green world

Stomach churning

Head spinning

Spinning

The world turning

Upside down

Downside up

Around and around

Wheels rolling

Streets passing

Blurred buildings

Blurred faces

Blur blur blur

Ur…

Dad, stop!

I’m going to throw …

 

Too late.

 

 

Warm and Fluffy by Celia Berrell

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The animals have hairy fur.

The birds have got their feathers.

These keep their bodies warm enough

throughout the chilly weather.

 

The fibres in those fluffy coats

criss-cross to form some air-holes

that can’t escape or waft away

because of all the hair-folds.

 

Their skin gives off some body-warmth.

Just like a radiator.

Their fluffy coats help keep that heat

as thermal insulators.

 

The warm air’s trapped inside the fur

to shield them from the outside.

The way that blankets on a bed

are cosy on the inside.

 

But if that fluffy coat gets wet

those air-holes fill with water.

Their body’s warmth escapes as that

wet coat’s a heat conductor.

 

The soggy fur clings to their skin.

No longer insulated.

And water makes their body cold

as it’s evaporated.

 

Any fluffy animal will

shake that water well away.

So if your puppy’s had a swim …

Watch-out for all that water spray!

 

 

Feathers Fur or Fins by Robyn Youl

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Vertebrates are covered

In spikes, feathers and scales

Most mammals wear fur

Skin covers humans and whales

 

With skeletons covered

In scaled skins.

Fish breathe under water

And glide with their fins.

 

With skeleton covered

In thick armored plates

Eyes and nose above water

The crocodile waits

 

With skeleton covered

In skin soft and cool

Tadpoles become frogs

In creek, river and pool.

 

With hollow skeletons

And fragile feather

Birds swoop and soar

In flocks together

 

With skeletons covered

In thick fur or fine hair

Bats, seals and elephants

Share earth water and air

 

The Dreamers by Monty Edwards

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Once a waddling goose and gander

On a search for something grander

Left their farmyard to meander

Down a stream.

Now the goose was named Cassandra

And the gander, Alexander,

With a new home by the water

As their dream.

 

They had found the farmyard boring

With the crows’ incessant cawing

And the sleepy dogs all snoring

Through the day.

While the river looked appealing

And it gave the pair a feeling

In their new home by the water

They would stay.

 

But the farmer had been boasting

Of the geese he planned on roasting

At a dinner he was hosting

For his friend.

So he searched in haste to catch them

And he speedily despatched them.

Thus the dreamers by the river

Met their end.

 

Fantastic Feathers by Celia Berrell

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Compared to fur or human hair

feathers are a smart affair.

As down, their fluffy unzipped form

of under-feathers, keeps birds warm.

 

But barbs and barbules, shaft and quill

hide clues to how birds fly with skill.

Their contour feathers, zipped and long

make wafting wings so light yet strong.

 

From dowdy mums to vivid males

with crazy crests and splendid tails;

for camouflage or bright display

feathers have lots of roles to play.

 

First published in Double Helix (September 2015)
Reproduced with permission of CSIRO
www.doublehelix.csiro.au

 

Poem of the Day

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Silvery Riddle

I will give you a smile if you care to look up

but I won’t show my face on a dark, dark night.

 

I will rule over oceans as though they are slaves

but I won’t ever say if that’s wrong or right.

 

I will make a lake’s surface a silvery spread

but I won’t share my shine when the day is bright.

 

I will block out the Sun every once-in-a-while.

My Solar Eclipse is an awesome sight!

Celia Berrell

 

  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #36

Celia said: There was a Total Solar Eclipse over part of the USA recently.  Our Moon is 400 times smaller, yet 400 times closer than the Sun.  This precise difference makes them appear the same size from Earth.  When they line up perfectly, it can take our breath away!  Imagine what a riddle this event must have posed to people centuries ago, before we really understood the movements of the stars, planets and our silvery Moon.

Poem of the Day

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I wish

I wish I’d see a world at peace

With harmony, not strife and war;

Where we care for one another,

And nobody is sad and poor.

 

I wish my school would safer be,

No playground bullies anymore;

If we forgave each other’s faults

How happy we’d all be, I’m sure.

 

I wish I’d see our oceans clean,

Without pollution’s ugly blight.

I wish the whales would live and thrive,

I wish for coral colours bright.

 

I wish, I wish, for happiness

For everyone — especially you.

If you wish with me, fingers crossed,

We might just see our wish come true.

 

James Aitchison   
  • Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #35
   

Poem of the Day

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60 seconds

A lot can happen in 60 seconds and even more in a minute.

You can floss your teeth

and tie your shoes

or blink 12 times within it!

A hummingbird flaps 4,000 times,

there are 59 weddings

and 3 parking fines

(in Melbourne).

300 lightning strikes hit Earth.

250 mothers give birth.

5 earthquakes rattle the world someplace,

but have you ever wondered what happens in space?

 

For every minute of every day

there’s a cosmic supernova display.

Fireworks on the grandest scale,

a blinding, flashing starburst wail,

as 60 stars begin to implode

their cores superheating until they explode.

Imagine?

 

Who’d have thought there was that much power?

Makes me wonder what happens each hour.

Alys Jackson