
Drawing by the Van Clan family
Wow! I think you sent in a record number of colour poems which meant I had a weekend of poetry delights. But I always feel sad that I can’t post all the FABULOUS poems I get. You have to remember that every poem I read I loved and I told you in your letters just some of the things I loved. I am hoping poetry continues to give us little pockets of HAPPINESS as we READ and WRITE it.
Tomorrow I have a very cool September challenge and thanks to Te Papa Press four copies of a very cool book to give away.
There are so many ways to colour a poem. Some of you made lists, some just used colour here and there, some of you made a place come alive with colour, and others created a mood. Sometimes just one colour word or two was used (check out how Jacob does it). Sometimes a whole universe of colour words!
Poems can do and be anything – that is POETRY JOY!
I am sending a copy of Groovy Fish to Pranavi, Beau and Rynie.
The Poems
Pale blue
On a boring stormy day
Making paper things
While watching the pale blue waves
Crashing over the road
From my tiny beautiful house
While no one is at home.
Pranavi N, 11 years old, Year 6 at Churton Park School, Wellington
Black
The night covering penwood street
Ants running across the dirt
A sleuth of bears sleeping
A box of old fashioned telephones
A patrol unit of arrows flying at the target
A bundle of cables like snakes
Beau T, Y6, Russley School
green
granny smith apple falling
healthy grass moving in the sun
prickly cactus
growing a new branch
a grasshopper jumping
its last jump into the air
hot leaves in summer
swooping across the sky
Esme S, Y6, Russley School
Dear Mum
Your effort is gold
Your spirit is gold
You shine like gold
You are worth more than gold
And your heart is gold
People are like gold
Only those who can love everything
And stand out
Are pure gold
Everyone else is fools gold
And my mother is the purest gold of all
Daniel, age 11, Y7, Hadlow School, Wellington
Blue
With its clouds as fluffy as foxes’ fur
The sky is blue.
Blue is ocean water.
The colour of a forget-me-not
A little blue penguin with its navy feathers
As day fades, blue dies away.
Ivy M, age 7, Y3, Ilam Primary School, Christchurch
Orange
The time has come to see
the orange oranges
my favourite fruit
clouds can be orange
like the sun
windows can be orange
what if my whole body turns orange?
great it’s a juicy colour
orange orange orange
Layla A, 7 years old, Year 3, Ilam School
Hidden in Yellow
Neon yellow posters surround me with the same sentence: Unite against covid 19
Scorching yellow caution stickers, jumping at me to be less clumsy
Faint yellow sparkles booming at the stars
Yellow eyes staring at the busy streets
Honey-bee hives hanging in their tree houses
Yellow is surrounding us
Niya K, Ilam School
Yellow💛
Sunflowers, rubber, ducks,
bananas,
lemons and butter .
Buzzy bees,
sponges, chicks,
and omelets.
But most importantly
yellow is the colour
of friendship.
by Holly age 10 Fendalton School
Yellow
pollen shining in the sun
dandelion moon in the sky
sunflower waiting for a bee to land
Evrin M, Y6, Russley School
Red
Red. It’s fire. It’s blood. it’s fierce. Red.
My favourite color.
Red is in the dreams when I sleep.
Not blue, not orange but red.
Red.
My life is red.
Red.
It’s fire. It’s blood. It’s fierce.
Lev R, Year 3 and 7 years old, Ilam school
Four Yellow Riddles
Worth a lot
I live in the soil,
you must dig for me
to you I am loyal
dlog
We sing in your garden
we crackle like fire,
when you sweep us up
we will never fly higher.
sevael
I give guidance to sailors
I brighten your room,
I give comfort to coldness
you’ll no longer feel gloomy.
eldnac
You must knock on my door
till I answer,
then I’ll appear
as the golden dancer.
gge kloy
Tom N Age 11, Y7, Christchurch South Intermediate
(Paula: Hunt for the answers in the mysterious words)
Blue
Dolphins are blue as a stormy ocean.
Blue, the sky they look up to.
They bounce like blue balloons on the wafty waves:
Splash!
The dolphins glide, glistening under a shimmering moon.
Leaping and plunging playfully they click and giggle,
whistle-singing in the blue tidal waves.
Aneel B, age 7, Year 3 at St. Andrew’s College, Christchurch
Pink
Pink, the colour of the afternoon tea sky.
Pink, the colour of a clean, wet pig.
Pink, the colour of a tall tulip.
Pink, the colour of beauty.
Rynie, Year: 3 Age: 7 Ilam School
Restaurant Kitchen
Red peppers flying across the room,
Fingers brushing across hot stoves,
Red faces sweating,
Bubbling red soup spitting out onto the ground,
Red mushrooms sit still in the box,
Watching strawberries scramble onto plates,
Balloons popping,
Back home,
Cosy fire,
Red blanket being spread,
Time for Elmo toy to go to bed.
Eddie, age 10, Y6, Fendalton Open Air School
Colour Poem
I guess the grey clouds are back for another day
I mutter as I stare through the window
drops of water fall from the sky.
I put on my headphones and listen to some music
Hopefully that will shut the sound out.
but no, all I can hear are shatters of water
hitting the roof.
I put on my warm clothes
and wander downstairs
searching for something to do.
By Jacob age 10 Year 6 at Churton Park School
Coloured Memories
My blue jeans remind me of my first plane flight,
Watching us lift up into the air
In peace gliding over the countries
My pink t-shirt reminds me of our holiday in Fiji
Walking down the street with family,
Licking my chocolate icecream
My black boots remind me of the ocean,
The darkest deepest point,
Where the sharks hunt and swish their fins
My red headband reminds me of warmth
Lying under my favourite tree in the park
Under the warm sun, calming me
The rainbow reminds me of happiness and peace,
Like a crane flying through the sky
My coloured memories
Tilly, age 11, Selwyn House School
Red Face
red face fuming
stomping and growling
yelling and gritting their teeth
hitting walls then calming down
very
very
slowly.
Conor age 10 Year 6 Churton Park School
The World
The world seems red to a girl like me,
When fire is reflected in glass.
The world seems orange to a girl like me,
When the sun reaches down to earth.
The world seems yellow to a girl like me,
When the shaft of sunlight glows.
The world seems green to a girl like me,
When grass sways in the breeze.
The world seems blue to a girl like me,
When waves pour onto the rocks.
The world seems purple to a girl like me,
When the flowers of spring are in bloom.
The world seems pink to a girl like me,
When a rose releases it’s scent.
The world seems colorful to a girl like me,
When a rainbow is in the sky.
Ellora, age 10, Y6, Point Chevalier Primary School
Brown Hare
Wild chocolate eyes
Searching for danger
Cinamon fur wrapping around
a trembling body
Warn out peanut feet
Scratching his maple syrup ears
Coffee nose twitching
to catch a scent of toast
A gingerbread
Tail following the hare
Phoebe, age 12, Y7, Selwyn House School
Brown
The colour of chocolate
Warm, gooey, soft
The colour best mixed
With strawberry red, kiwifruit green
Or banana yellow,
Made of all natural ingredients
Like cocoa beans
Kyra, 11 Years, Year 6, Churton Park School
Red Not the Colour of Anger
The sun while rising.
The first colour of the rainbow.
The colour of lipstick.
Tomato and red capsicums in my hamburger.
Lexie age 9, Y4, St Andrews College
Song Of Blue
Splish, splash, go the sky-blue waves.
Owls hoot up to the midnight-blue sky.
A big blue iceberg drifts out to sea .
Blueberries being picked fresh.
The sky high above the clouds and planes.
Blue, the look of sadness.
Blue, the hard feel of navy denim.
Blue, the shade beaming off the Aotearoa flag.
Blue, the famous Blue Whale,
the best colour.
Charlie J, age 10, Fendalton School, Christchurch
Red
Red is a colour of fiery emotions,
Tall poppies grow on my lawn,
A sign of hope coming my way.
Red sunsets brighten my evening.
I see a Macau parrot flying in the sky.
My cousin and I go raspberry picking,
Secretly eating them as we walk.
Emily, age:10, Y5, Fendalton Open Air School
Biking home with colours
Red for the warning to warn others I am here
Yellow is the moon shining in my eyes
Green the grass waving side to side
in the cold wintery breezes
White for the lights leading my way home
Alyssa G, 9 years old, Y5, Selwyn House School
Red
Red roses surround me as I’m eating juicy watermelon – my favourite fruit
Picking handfuls of strawberries into overflowing baskets
Strawberries drop to the ground
“Time to go home now” Mum says
But I don’t want to go yet
I feel spiteful
My face is red with anger
Genevye Age: 9 Year: 6 Churton Park School
Red
A volcano
Born from red
Explodes with anger
Gasses that trigger it
Every so often
A crisp crimson apple
Perfect from the outside
Rancid in the inside
Don’t judge a book by its cover
A sparkling ruby
Meaning happiness
When the wearer looks at their reflection
They feel alive
Freya, age 12, Y8, Selwyn House
Orange
Hot steam slowly rising from inside the mountain
Molten lava creeping its way up
Bubbling, gurgling, boiling
Deafening explosion, rocks flying out of the crater
Sizzling magma oozing down the rocky mountain
Rocks smashing and destroying everything in its way
A thick blanket of ash covers all of its surroundings
Then silence with the occasional rumble
Lily,12 years old, Y7, Selwyn House School
Olive green
To make olive green you will need:
1 ripe lemon 1 dark night A glass of water
A single flame
Gather your ingredients and put aside a shallow bowl.
Pour a splash of aqua blue water into bowl.
Cut the lemon down the centre and squeeze the juice in with water.
Add a dark night and mix to combine into thick mixture.
Add a wisp of the flame, too much and could turn brown.
Finally stir with wooden spoon and use olive green. (Apply with caution)
Grace, Age: 11, Y6, Selwyn House
A Million Colours
I opened the box constructed of blue and a million colours came to bloom. I was thinking to myself is this really true?
I opened the wrapper and took them out my eyes as shiny as a silver snout.
A million colours in my hand, is this the best day I’ve had?
I sharpened them all nice and thin.
They all glamoured in the wind.
I went inside and got a rose book.
A million colours in my hand, I drew until I couldn’t withstand the pain in my hand.
Ibrahim, age 12, Mt Roskill Intermediate
Colour
I stare into the blazing eyes of my ancestors. FIRE
I look at the lumps sprinkled on top of my pizza. PUMPKIN
I glance at the sheet of plastic above my head. UMBRELLA
I bite into the delicious fruit. ORANGE
I munch on an orange stick. CARROT
I smile at the beautiful heads poking out of the ground. FLOWERS
Mia C, age 10. Y6, College Street Normal School, Palmerston North
Rainbow Ice-cream
Ice-cream.
Blue-berry, bacon, banana,
strawberry, sardines and hay
egg, grass and goodygoodygumdrops
rubber, radish and cockroach,
Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Brown, Black, and Purple
Ice-cream is colourful, “yummy”, and cold,
I think I might give cockroach a miss.
Van Clan family, homeschooled, Whangarei
Yellow
Yellow, reminds me of summer,
My cousin Abbie and I run through the sand
In our matching yellow dresses.
Running along the footpath,
Laughing happily.
Picking fresh, juicy lemons, fresh off the tree
Making lemon shortbread,
“Mmm, yum,” but Josh and Thomas disagree.
Alyssa, Age: 9, Y5, Fendalton Open Air School
Yellow
The shiny honey drips down my hand
But seeing the sun in sight
the best thing you could ever see in this world
The cheese coloured moon
is so cold it looks like a banana inside
egg yolk slips and splats onto the mustard rug
sun flowers sway
with the wind
sun shining on them
Morgan C, age 9, Russley School
Colour poem
Green is the colour of grass.
The colour of apples, pears, and trees.
Green tastes like pears growing.
Green looks like grass waving on the ground.
Green looks like slippery seaweed in water.
Green sounds like frogs going ribribrib.
Green smells like summer.
Aporo H, age 6, Year 2, Three Kings School
Colour poem
Black is the colour of whales.
The colour of ink, office chairs, and shoes.
Black tastes like black ice.
Black looks like a whale’s swishing tail.
Black sounds like fires.
Black smells like smoke.
Black is the colour of oil.
Louis S, age 6, Year 2, Three Kings School
Colour poem
Blue is the colour of sea.
The colour of rain, water, and sky.
Blue looks like snow.
Blue feels like my warmest jersey.
Blue sounds like wind in the snow.
Blue smells like salty water.
Blue is the colour of rain, water, and sky.
Moss B, age 6, Year 2, Three Kings School
Colour poem
Blue is the colour of sea water.
The colour of rain, berries, and raindrops.
Blue looks like water.
Blue feels like snow.
Blue sounds like a storm.
Blue smells like blueberries.
Blue is the colour of the sky.
Kaviyan V, age 6, Year 2, Three Kings School
Red
I am a poppy
standing in a field full of crosses
I can be dark like anger raging, swirling inside
or
light like Christmas carols galloping into my ears
I sound like a beating heart
taste like a strawberry bursting full of flavour
I am lipstick
a crispy apple
the smirk on a child’s face
the delicate ladybug getting blown away for a wish
I am the colour of love
the feeling of warmth
blood oozing from a cut
a clown filling the room full of laughter
I am red
Madeleine H, Age 13, Y8, Russley School
Scale Green
I am a vicious python,
slithering through the swaying,
thick grass
I sound like
a croaking frog,
bouncing tennis balls,
rustling leaves
I taste like fresh spinach,
peas and chives
I look like scales wiggling
flowers dancing
swinging vines
and poison ivy
Jay P, age 13, Y8, Russley School
A few things about orange …
I am a tranquil summer sunset,
filling the world with calm
I am graceful Monarch butterfly,
fluttering amongst grinning pumpkins
reminiscent of spring
I am soothing fire
crackling in the hearth,
a feeling of safety
I am a powerful tiger
roaming underneath the shadows of
alluring mangoes
I am a frisky fox
searching for adventure
or a reason to cause trouble
I am orange
Akhila S, Age 12, Y8, Russley School
Black
I am tar, ash, despair.
I am night,
mysterious, silent.
I am death,
grim and vicious.
I am a funeral,
gloomy and bleak.
I am a shadow,
silent and unnoticed,
like a knife in the dark.
I am everywhere,
hiding in plain sight.
I am black.
Joseph S, age 12, Y8, Russley School
Burnt ash
Heroic Batman standing in the dark night sky
thinking about overpowering the wicked Joker
Rotten tooth decay aching in my painful jaw
Gooey burnt marshmallow melting in my mouth
Runny ink dripping from a light quill
Sizzling ash from a burnt out fire
blowing away in the selfish wind
James, Age 9, Y4, Russley School
Burnt marshmallow
Tiny pieces of ash
spread on the ground in
world war two when the
tanks fired
Rubbery tires of a Fireblade
screeching on the ground like a night owl
at the big race
Warriors fans waving their flags around
uncontrollably
as they won the match
Isaac E, Age 9, Y4, Russley School
Watermelon Pink
Ballerina twirling like a spinning top
princess drinking tea
Mawhero morning sky, glorious
clouds and blue sky mixed.
Swirly cotton candy
Flamingos strutting like fashion models,
feathery tails poking out
Pigs snorting rudely.
Tongue of a cat licking its delicate, soft fur
Sunburnt cheeks as hot as kilns
Inside of a tasty, juicy watermelon
Fluffy marshmallows toasting on a fire.
Strawberry milk flowing into a cup
Blossom signalling spring
Bubblegum popping onto my face
Lips kissing good night.
Henry P, Age 7, Y3, Russley School
Arctic Sky
Arctic Sky
Snow White’s robe flapping in the cold winter’s breeze,
Grains of sugar, in the forbidden jar in the pantry,
Luscious clouds, up in the pale sky
Creamy milk, as chilly as a falling glacier
Gooey marshmallows on a warm summer’s day,
Clown’s makeup on their old, wrinkled face,
popcorn in the popper, bouncing like an NBA basketball game
eager eyes of children watching its every move,
Pop, Pop, Pop
Polar bears from the arctic ice caps, up in the North Pole,
Penguin’s belly, sliding over the Antarctic Ice Sheet,
Waggly lamb’s tail, drinking milk from a plastic bottle
Tui’s neck feathers, strutting along a silver birch,
chest puffed out
Oliver P, age 9, Y4, Russley School
As purple as night
Purple makes Morning open her eyes.
It fills my eyes with hope.
Purple is the sound of sun rise.
When I see purple, it makes me be creative.
Mariella is 7 and attends Ilam School in Year 3
Go well
Keep safe
Kia kaha