The sea making bubbles at Bethells Beach / Te Henga
To wrap up my Bubble Time on Poetry Box I invited children to write a poem to show someone in the future what it was like to be in lockdown. None of us have experienced anything like it. Everything felt different. Some things become ever so much more precious and some things just didn’t matter.
Six students from Russley School in Christchurch sent me these poems. I have been posting lists of comfort books picked my New Zealanders on my other blog Poetry Shelf for three months (final one posted yesterday). I have read some extraordinary books since Level 4 but nothing has affected me as deeply as reading these poems.
I love the way the poems come from experience, from heart, from the most bewildering unsettling time many of us ever known. These poems sing, they have made me smile and almost cry. I am so grateful to have read them.
I am sending each young poet a copy of Groovy Fish.
T h e s e v e n b u b b l e t i m e p o e m s
Best Bits of Bubble Time | by Finn B
Spending time with my dog
and sleep ins
going on more runs with my mum
running like a bolt of lightning
with my dog
chopping down a tree with a chainsaw
creeping up behind and scaring my Dad
he roared like a tiger
building a hut with chairs and pillows
rushing around my dad’s house
to chase my dog
like a bull shark swimming
at 10,000 kilometers per hour
My Bubble | By Henry P 7yrs
More schoolwork, no escape!
Yolks of an egg, in a bowl for baking.
Beds all cosy, lots of sleep-ins.
Underneath the hut roof we played.
Bits of leaves in my hair, from jumping in a leaf pile.
Bike rides on bumpy tracks.
Lego, lego, lego.
Everyday felt the same.
bubble time | Willow R
the worst thing that happened
in my bubble time
was having to stay with my sister all day
and not seeing my friends
that but I learned to shoot a hoop backwards
like a professional
I was flowing like a leaf in the air
I was flipping on the trampoline
like a champion.
Lockdown | Oliver P
When we went into lockdown,
I was sad and very happy
To spend time with all my family,
But I was also scared
I didn’t know what was happening,
I was worried for the world
But that didn’t stop me,
From having fun
For 6 long weeks,
I had to stay at home
No takeaways, no shops open,
I felt like it was never going to end
Me and My family did lots of things,
Playing board games and saving lots of money
At some point into lockdown
We even made some doughnuts
I knew this would be in history,
A concealed memory, deep down inside
We were doing well,
Just about there
With a few days to go,
We went back to school
Though things still weren’t normal,
I could still see my friends
Family Time | by James dW
Noisy dog yapping at
12pm like a smoke alarm
Irritating brother
yelling in my ear
like someone dragging a
chair across the ground
Extreme baking
like Nadia Lim
Bubble Time Fun | by Isaac E
Pouncing over the creek
at Crosbie Park like a jaguar
leaping for their prey
stretching my legs
after big tiring walks
like baby elephants
chucking the ball for the dog
like a bowling ball
dashing around the block
like Jesse Owens
Extreme Bubble Time | Annabelle K
Missing my friends was really hard
like Esther
she is one of my best friends
Esther is as beautiful as a shimmery star in the blue sky.
Searching for my brother and sister
like an owl hunting for scurrying mice hiding in a rubbish bin
Cooking like a master chef in a 5 star restaurant
acting like Patrick Dempsey
playing mum and dad with little sister (was not good)
climbing like a super spy up a tree
to get sight of the roof
(because there was a bird nest)
Hiding like a robber stealing precious jewels
in the eerie dark city.
Running like a super athlete
bolting across the sprinting track.
Poetry Box 