Specific poem formats
Whenever life
goes off the rails,
Cheryl chews her
fingernails.
Chomp, chomp,
she chews away,
Chomp, chomp,
she chews all day.
They look bitten,
they look ragged,
so uneven,
really jagged.
She chews so hard,
goodness knows —
she’ll chew up to
her elbows!
Image from Pixabay
This post was scheduled for Tuesday 20th October, however we are currently having problems behind the scenes with the ACP website. Please accept our apologies.
KENNING LIST
Kennings are two words stuck together. They are compound nouns and originated in Norse Mythology with examples like “Sky-Candle” for the Sun and “Whale-Road” for the Sea.
Kenning means “Knowing”. Sometimes a bit of guesswork is required to work out what they mean. This makes them feel like riddles! They are also a great way to invent your own metaphors.
In this example of a Kenning List poem, each line of two words gives a clue to what the poem is about.
Everywhere, flowers.
Everywhere, fragrance.
Everywhere, blooms,
Everywhere, bees.
Everywhere, sunlight.
Everywhere, colour.
Everywhere, life.
Everywhere, smiles.
Everywhere, everywhere,
spring!
Spring flowers photo by poet.
If the sun is warm in the morning,
If the breeze begins to blow,
If I come to yours in a hurry,
Where will we both go?
If you run with me down the sand-dunes,
If the waves begin to curl,
If you jump with me in the ocean,
Then I’ll teach you how to surf.
Image from Pixabay
Doh ray me fah,
I’m going to be a music star!
Plinkety-plunk, plunkety-plink,
sounds pretty good, don’t you think?
Next, I’ll learn the violin;
I’ll tuck it underneath my chin.
I’ll slide the bow across the strings
and play all kinds of funny things.
Squeaky-squawk, squawky-squeak,
eeky-awky-awky-eek.
I can hear them clap for more
when they hear my music soar!
Herberton Historic Village, North Queensland. Photo by Ginette Pestana.
Train leaving,
Train leaving platform nine,
Leaving platform nine in five minutes,
I repeat, train leaving shortly.
Train leaving, tickets ready,
Tickets ready, have your tickets ready,
Have your tickets ready,
Get your tickets, tickets selling fast,
Get your tickets,
Roll up, roll up, and get your tickets
Roll up, roll up…
The circus is in town,
The circus is in town, forget about the train,
The circus is in town, the train’s left anyway,
Next train, will be leaving from platform three,
Next train, leaving in five minutes,
It’s your choice, the circus is in town
It’s your choice, support the clowns
It’s your choice, there will be other trains.
Image from Pixabay
Moon, I know
you’re rather fickle –
not long ago
you were thin as a sickle
but look at you now –
It’s night’s high noon
and you’re fat and full
as a blown balloon.
Moon, your face
is made of light
and you hang like hope
against the night,
waxing, waning,
sometimes gone,
always changing,
moving on.
Image from Pixabay
What have you been eating Brock?
That is causing quite a stink
Was it green and red
Or yellow, brown and pink?
What have you been eating Brock?
The smell is really bad
Was it a piece of carrot cake
You stole from snoring Dad?
What have you been eating Brock?
The whole house it does reek
Was it from the garbage bin
That’s been sitting there all week?
What have you been eating Brock?
Your gastric juices churning
One whiff and we will leave the room
Today, not be returning.
Brock, your plan is very clever
As you work your inner gut
To get your favourite seat at home
You whistle out your butt!
Image from Pixabay
And did they sing in Gaza?
And did they dance in Israel?
And did they harvest in Vietnam?
And did they love life in Cambodia?
And did Koreans yearn for freedom?
And did they live without fear in Germany?
And did they pursue a better life in Russia?
And did Armenians pray for their survival?
And did we all love peace?
And did we close our eyes to tyranny?
And will we ever do it again …?
Image from Pexels
International Day of Peace. https://internationaldayofpeace.org
2026 Theme: Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day
Teacher’s note: Anaphora is a literary device where a word or phrase is repeated at the start of successive lines or sentences. By repeating the sequence of words, students can add emphasis to their poetry. Poets.org states: “Not only can anaphora create a driving rhythm by the recurrence of the same sound, it can also intensify the emotion of the poem.”
There were flocks of hungry Pellies
breaking into deli’s.
They filled up their beaks
with enough food for weeks
and returned when they’d emptied their bellies.
image from Pixabay
