The sun is warm, the fish are biting
Snapper, squid and shoals of whiting
Ice-cream jingles sound inviting –
Summer’s on its way.
The breeze is up, the current’s running
Tourists bare their legs for sunning
Seagulls stealing chips are cunning –
Summer’s on its way.
The sky is bright, the waves are rolling
Zinc-nosed lifeguards are patrolling
Cricket-crazy kids are bowling –
Summer’s here – let’s play!
Sometimes in the sunshine,
Sometimes in the shade;
Hiking through a forest,
Marching on parade;
Sometimes seeking shelter,
When the sun is hot;
Sometimes craving sunshine,
When the weather’s not.
Sometimes we are wanting
Warmth upon our skin;
Other times we’re wearing
What can keep warmth in.
When the weather changes,
We start changing too.
So it seems the weather
Tells us what to do!
Monty says: Thinking about sunshine, I began reflecting on how our varied experience of it constantly affects us. Using brief couplets seemed to underline the changeable nature of the weather and our response to it.
(after Charles Causley)
I am the song that lifts the sky
I am the earth that flames the fire
I am the cloud that calls the flood
I am the stream that draws the sun
I am the tide that drinks the moon
I am the air that sings the leaf
I am the bird that stirs the branch
I am the tale that flies the word
I am the note that spreads the song
Katherine said: Charles Causley, the Cornish poet, was a wonderful children’s poet. His poem (that inspired my poem) is full of music.
I’m sure that I can eat an orange egg.
You do not have to plead. You needn’t beg.
I do not think that I have ever tried
An orange that’s been boiled, poached or fried.
Nor have I yet consumed an egg that’s raw,
Been neatly peeled, and sliced up into four.
An orange placed on toasted sourdough
Is not a taste sensation that I know.
I haven’t eaten egg as marmalade.
I’m not convinced that it would make the grade.
I know! I’ll mix the two into a goop,
And eat them as an eggy, orange soup!
I say to my mirror: “Well, how do I look?”
The mirror replies: “You use your two eyes.”
“No, you don’t understand! Tell me how I appear.”
“You come through the door and then you are here.”
“But mirror of mine, tell me what you reflect.”
“Whatever’s in front of me, as you’d expect.”
“So, mirror of mine, have you no more to say?”
“Only: ‘Why stand and stare? There’s a party today!'”
Monty says: The desire to look good for a special occasion is common to children and adults alike. In this, the mirror is an indispensable tool, but we still have to make the judgments ourselves.
I love to look at snails,
‘cos they’re slimy little things.
I like to see their silver trails
on the grass’s wrinkly fringe.
I love the eyes that vanish,
when I poke them with a stick.
I love the way their spotted shells
crunch from just a little kick.
Mummy says that’s naughty
and I shouldn’t be so cruel,
but she poisons her whole vegie patch,
who does she think she fools?
My sister, she won’t touch them,
‘cos they make her skin go crawly
so I stuffed one down her neck
and now she feels quite poorly.
Still, I’d love to have a snail
as a very special pet
I’d take it to the letterbox
so it could eat the mail.
I’d set it in a gutter,
on a leaf made as a boat.
Mummy told me not to,
‘cos it will never float.
I wouldn’t let it try to eat
my nanna’s pretty blouses,
or let it make a silvery trail,
upon my grandpa’s trousers.
I said I’d wash it in the sink,
I know it likes the water,
but Mummy said she didn’t think
that I had better oughta.
I’d like to take it into bed
to watch it slowly slither
but Mummy told me if I do,
I might just wake up dead.
(and not from the snail!)
I’ve learnt it’s cruel to poke snails’ eyes,
it’s mean to crush their shells.
So, what I’ll do is watch them trail
through Mummy’s garden patch,
but write a sign to warn them
that they may have met their match.
Will you come to lunch with me,
Upon the grass, beneath the tree?
Will you bring a mat for three,
And picnic ‘neath the sky?
Yes, I’ll come to picnic there.
The grass is green, the day is fair,
And then we’ll play without a care,
My two best friends and I.
I’ll bring the fruit and fairy bread,
Cool drinks and cups and (as you’ve said)
A mat with checks so bright and red,
To sit on ‘neath the sky.
We’ll feast and laugh and climb and run
Our picnic day will be such fun!
We’ll spin cartwheels and when we’re done
We’ll watch the clouds go by.
Then when the sun is sinking low
And stars are warming up their glow
Fold up the mat, it’s time to go
We’ll bid a fond goodbye.
Until we meet again my friend,
We’ll bid a fond goodbye.
Tegan the vegan
Won’t eat meat
She says fauna are friends
Not food we should eat
If it runs or blows bubbles
Brays, baas or moos
It‘s not destined for dinner
Or handbags or shoes
Tegan the vegan
Won’t eat meat
She can’t stand the idea
That her food once had feet
She munches on mushrooms
Scoffs spinach and greens
Eats vegies galore
Gobbles all the good beans
Tegan the Vegan
Won’t eat meat
She moves to the rhythm
Of her own silver beet
And while it’s not understood
By all those she holds dear
Her tummy is full
And her conscience is clear
Sammy the seal loves to swim in the sea.
He eats fish for breakfast and eats fish for tea.
He doesn’t much mind all their bones and their scales,
For he swallows them whole from their heads to their tails.
Then once he is full he is ready to rest
And a rock in the sun is the spot he likes best.
When Sammy is swimming a shark may glide past.
And that’s time for Sammy to move very fast!
For Sammy is smart and has more than a hunch
That a shark thinks a seal makes a rather nice lunch!
Since sharks have sharp teeth like the points on a saw,
They’re clearly a threat that no seal can ignore.
If sometimes you find him asleep on a beach,
Make sure that you keep yourself out of his reach,
For if you should rouse him and give him a fright
He may be upset and get ready to fight.
So better by far that you give him no cause,
Since though without fists, he has very strong jaws!
Monty said: I liked the alliterative possibilities of Sammy the seal for the opening line of the poem, but soon realised why I had chosen Sammy and not Sally. Not only are there seals in the area quite close to where I live, but also an opportunity shop run by Good Samaritan Industries as “Good Sammy’s” with a seal featured in their logo!
There’s a broccoli in my wardrobe
and a cucumber by my bed.
Something green was on my pillow
but now it’s green goo on my head.
There are lettuce leaves by my mirror,
some snow peas in my drawer,
and I think I saw a brussel sprout
lurking behind my door.
I don’t know what they’re up to
or what any of this means.
But if I want my bedroom to myself
I’d better eat my greens.
Kristin Martin
