When I was at Featherston Booktown Festival in May, I got to do a Speed Date an Author event with local tamariki. It was fast flying poetry! I got thirty minutes with each group and I got the children writing poems with me on the whiteboard and their own poems they could take away and finish. I challenged them to use their ears and eyes. I loved the way children got into the poetry zone and let their ideas and words go exploring.
I so enjoyed my time in the magnificent Wairarapa. I got the children to write poem postcards – poems that showed me somewhere in the Wairarapa they loved. It could be the ocean, a river, a maunga, a grandmother’s garden, a street, a cafe, a bookshop. Poems that showed me places I might like to check out! And because we had only a few minutes to share, I invited them to send me some.
How delighted I was to get this poem bundle from South Featherston School. Thank you for taking me back to your glorious region. I can tell your eyes and ears were working magnificently. Thank you!
Best yummiest dumplings ever at The Offering Cafe in Greytown.
The Poems
Loco
The buzzer on the
door went beep
as we appear
through the door.
The books are clapping.
The scanner is scanning.
The coffee machine is
GURGLING.
The floor board is
CREAKING.
The people are chatting.
The cicadas chirp
as we Exit on to the
busy street.
Indigo
Wairarapa Ruamahanga River
Glistening emerald green
shining in the beam
of the sun rays.
River rustling round
banks rising over
the ripples
wakes running high
boards flailing
banging the break.
shwish, shwish, shwish
People call the speed.
Getting ready.
Bailey
Tararua Ranges
The trees swish
The trees crash
High winds howl
Gravel scattering while people walk
Floor boards creek
Swing bridge sways
River crashes splashing on rocks
Birds flap
Birds squawk
Cicadas chirp throughout the forest.
Bridget
Rugby
Rugby is cool
Rugby is great
Rugby is a game
I play with my mates
Sometimes I get muddy
And sometimes I get hurt
The game gets frustrating
And you might rage
But at least I’m with my mates
Skyla
Wairarapa
Balls flying
Birds chirping
Bush swaying
Rivers swishing moving
Hammers clanking
Wind howling brushing against you
Boots trending on the muddy ground
Rain hosing down
This is the Wairarapa
Florian
Bedroom
The wind whistles
The trees sway
It was a cold day
The crackling fire sizzled
My blankets ruffle
The stars glimmer in the sky
The moon glides into
The dark deep blue sky
I gaze off into
The galaxy next to us
Araminta
The Lake, Wairarapa
it’s pretty fun,
trees, bushes, and water together,
children building, swimming, and laughing,
watch the ducks and swans glide across the water,
hear the tūī chirp above,
the clouds forming waves,
you should go there sometime.
Joaquin
Lake Wairarapa
Motor roars away
I vibrate as water crashes
Water pellets hit faces
Screams echo far
Hills covered with green
Big wave hits
Splash!
We fall off.
Angus
Castlepoint
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Crunch! soft soft sand
SQUAWK! Go the seagulls
Boom go the waves
It’s going to be a very, nice, day.
Ellie
It’s going to be a very nice POETRY day!
Featherston’s main road, a town with seven bookshops!
a very very very good children’s bookshop
On my way home after a heart warming week of words and very very good food! Thanks Wairarapa and Featherston Booktown.