These students go to Russley School in Christchurch and they LOVE writing poems!
This looks such fun – I really want to give it a go.
Check out my June winter video poem challenge
Emma K goes to Russley School in Christchurch. She did both the drawing and poem.
Listen out for the stomping boots!
Check out my June winter video poem challenge
So many wonderful Autumn poems arrived in my mail box – it was like a big mound of beautiful leaves to shuffle through.
With so many poems it was extra hard to pick a few to post – lots of wonderful poetry so I have made an Autumn festival of poems on the last day of Autumn. Poems can do so many different things!
Thank you so much for giving this challenge a go – just as winter is about to hit us.
I am sending Finn a book.
Please don’t feel sad if I didn’t pick your poem as I got so many it took all Sunday to read them and I have to leave out so many amazing poems. I will have told you what I loved about your poem in my letter to you. I am so happy there is so much poetry buzzing in schools and families.
Do try my new June challenge on Wednesday June 1st (tomorrow)!
A Small Boat
Sailing on the
deliciously warm
autumn days
when sunlight
dapples the sea
Finn P age 9, Ilam School
Leaves
The gentle leaves fall and flow
down from the trees.
They change to lovely colours,
like kakariki,
to kowhai,
to whero.
They float down to the grass.
I wish I could be a leaf.
Erena H Age 6 Year 2 Epsom Normal Primary
The Autumn Wind
the autumn wind is a crunchy cookie
the autumn wind is a soft pillow
the autumn wind is a bird singing
the autumn wind is a beautiful mountain
Maddy W 7 years old Year 3 Pāpāroa Street School Christchurch
The Autumn Wind
the autumn wind is my great grandad’s wrinkly face
the autumn wind is a bird playing F-sharp minor being played on the piano
the autumn wind is a tornado blowing leaves down form the sky
the autumn wind is a swaying, turning whirlpool
the autumn wind is a cyclone lost from a breeze of wind
Jack S 8 years old Year 4 Pāpāroa Street School Christchurch
Windy Autumn
Crackle, crackle went the dry leaves as they bounced on the ground like they were on a trampoline.
I heard leaves making music as they crashed, crunched and clashed on to the ground like an enormous tom tom drum being beaten.
It made a sound like thunder.
I could see a crimson leaf swirling and twirling – twirling – twirling in the bright sunny morn. Leaves are memories floating down to be free.
I splash in pools of everlasting leaves.
Autumn, she blows the leaves.
Charlotte H 9 years 5 months, Year 5 Kohia Terrace School, Auckland.
Autumn
It is a dull autumn morning.
The sun is peeping out from the clouds.
Insects are hiding in the golden leaves.
The colourful leaves look like a carpet on the damp ground.
Zihao L Year 4 Age 8 Epsom Normal Primary
Autumn Treasure
The amber colours,
flutter down like soft balloons,
my cat follows the hibernating hedgehogs,
I get ready for the cold,
the blanket of sunset colours falls over me.
Ruby T Age 8, Y4, Ilam School
The Caretaker
As the children leave school
he sneaks out of his shed
with a rake and lawnmower.
He ruffles the bushes
and attacks the grass.
He rescues the leaves
and walks home.
His day is done.
Malo G 8 years old Fendalton Open Air School
Autumn Poem
Soft breeze pushing amber
Down to the lime green grass.
Popping candy pops
When I scrunch up
Scarlet red.
Twirling ballerinas
Falling to the ground.
Soft breeze
Pushing me away
From the beautiful leaves.
Oh, I love Autumn.
Abbie M, 8 years, Year 4 Ilam School, Christchurch
Autumn
The brown leaves
smell like sweet cinnamon
and are as crunchy
as a twig.
Light red leaves
slowly fall.
The ground is as bumpy
as a potato chip.
Trees are wet and bare.
William S 8 years Year: 4 St Andrews College, Christchurch
Falling Autumn Leaves
When I stepped out down came an autumn leaf
and landed swift and sound
with all the others,
all the autumn leaves in their many colours,
I watched in wonder.
By Lachie M 8yr Year 4 Mairangi Bay School, Auckland
Fire Red, Deep Brown, Pale Yellow
The Autumn leaves whirl around
like a hurricane in the chilly weather.
They have colours like fire red,
deep brown and pale yellow.
The trees, bare to the brim
are covered in sharp twigs.
It is as cold as ice.
My fingers are becoming numb
and my lips are turning blue.
Meg S, 9 years old, Year 5, Saint Andrew’s College, Christchurch.
Moonlight Autumn
In the sun of the Moonlight
I lay on the grass
with seven fireflies around me
I stand up and let the wind go by
I stand and say goodbye to Summer
and hello to Autumn after midnight
Seven minutes pass and I’m still
not tired.
Max Wilson Aged 6 Ilam School
Autumn
Leaves fluttered down.
Trees blow in the wind.
They look like a skeleton.
Crunching like a ball of fire.
Maddie Age 8 Year 4 Pāpāroa Street School Christchurch
Autumn
Old ugly branches hung
like bats in their cave.
Bald tree
with curved witches nails.
The wind blew
like a tornado.
Leaves like red flames.
A nosy fantail followed me
for food.
By Soverin T Y5 age 9 Russley School Christchurch
Autumn Wind
The autumn wind is a blowing circus.
The wind is like a tsunami.
The autumn wind is a rumbling tummy.
Nicholas T Age 7 Year 3 Pāpāroa Street School Christchurch
Fall
It’s getting darker now
My friends and I discuss in hushed voices
About how were getting ready to fall
When mother tree tucks us in
I dream about a world on the ground
By Daisy-Jane Lowe, age 11yrs Russley School
Autumn
An innocent pile of leaves,
Drying in the morning sun.
The red-brown colours,
Fluttering in the crisp air.
The pile shifts,
Ever so slightly.
Then,
Rah!
Out jumps my brother.
With damp leaves in his hair.
Isis W 13 years old Year 8 Selwyn House School
Autumn
Thin old leaves
hang like a wrecking ball
on the end of a chain.
A curved purple leaf
quivers
on a thick brown branch.
A bald Silver Birch
stands like the Statue of Liberty
a leaf stem
as long as a baby snake.
Saffron leaves
like a bowl of nachos.
A game of rugby on a freezing icy day,
getting thrown on the ground
walking home with dirty legs.
By Gustavo D, age 10yrs, Russley School
I Love Autumn
I love the nice and cool autumn breeze
The way it raps its cold fingers around my knees.
I love watching the leaves get blown around
Down, down towards the ground.
I love the sound of the whispering trees
Moving back and forth as they please.
I love the taste of boiling hot stew
Waiting for winter to come to you.
I love the smell of sweet apple crumble
As soon as I see it, my tummy starts to rumble.
I love the feel, taste, sound, smell and sight.
I love autumn, but try as I might
I can’t find a way
To love winter in this way.
By Paige M West End School
Autumn
The sun peeked behind the dead trees.
Wind raced around the place.
Leaves float gently down to the ground.
Ella X Year 4 8 years old Epsom Normal Primary
The Autumn Poem
Leaves, crackling, gold,
like a crunchy bar. Branches,
brown, thin, like an old man’s arms.
Leaves, quivering, hanging off.
Me and my friends play
rugby union at school, I hear people
yelling from the side line, I have
dirt on my legs and I’m laughing
and I have butterflies in
my stomach.
by Makenzy M, age 10 Russley School
My Little Autumn Tree
My little Autumn tree,
Stands strong and tall beside me.
Flaky branches reaching high,
Fingertips just scraping the sky.
The early morning frost makes you shiver,
But the warm fiery sun makes you shimmer.
Your crisp golden leaves twinkle and twirl,
And in the wind the whirl.
But my little Autumn tree,
What happens when your leaves begin to flee?
For they leave you all alone,
Cold and bare to the bone.
You watch them fly away,
Day after day.
Scattered beneath you,
Slowly drifting far away.
But don’t worry my little Autumn tree,
You’ll always have me.
Amy B Opaki School Age 12
Autumn poem
Leaves fall
slowly to the cold ground.
Red, orange, yellow everywhere,
not a drop of green in site.
Running through the colourful
crunching leaves, jumping
in wet leaf mountains.
Sleeping in warm toasty bed,
when the fire is out.
Waking up to a cold damp morning, ready for a new day.
Jenna L Age: 12 School: Opaki School
Leaves
brown, old and ugly
like a witch’s nose
crunchy like stale bread.
Branches,
bumpy like a climbing wall
swerve like big waves.
Leaves, red like a mad man
orange like juice
yellow like hard cheese.
By Bridget Egan, age 10yrs Russley School
c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s !
So many fabulous poems came in for this i want to post a small collection of some of my favourites. It was hard to choose as I had so many.
What I love is the way a poem can surprise you. You know you want to go back and read it again. You know eyes and ears have been hard at work.
Congratulations young poets. You have done a fine job. I do hope you try some of my Monday challenges in term time.
A challenge for you all: If I get 30 comments on this post, I will pick one child to send a copy of A Treasury of NZ Poetry for Children. Tell me which poem you love and why. Extra points if you pick one that is not from your school! Tell me your age, year and name of school and teacher’s email. I have an copy of Dear Heart: 150 NZ Love Poems for an adult who comments on a poem.
Panther
I am a cunning panther
Black as pitch black night
I leap quite majestically
I silently stalk my prey
I spring up to scale large trees
I growl like a deadly beast
As I am a cunning black panther
Black as pitch black night
Quin aged 10, Year 6, Hauraki School
Bright Green
Prickly, wet grass
yummy, juicy grapes
wobbly, slimy seaweed
bumpy, hard broccoli
Lincoln, Y2, Age 6, Barton Rural School
Demon
Big scary creature of the night
eagle like wings and fur not light
big scary creature of the night
claws like razors teeth like knives.
Big scary creature of the night
howling out my name
big scary creature of the night
please tell me you are tame.
Lucas, Y5, Age 9, Good Shepherd School
Sun
The shimmering sun.
The quailing wind smashes me.
The sand is so soft.
Logan, Y5, Age 8, Good Shepherd School
Night is a Fright
All the shadows on the wall make me fall, fall, fall
All the spooky sounds make me scramble
slip and fall
I try to think about my love of ponies
Bur it doesn’t help
I listen to my Mum and dad drink Sprite
oh how fizzy “oooo” what’s that sound? “ahhh”
I think only think night gives me a fright!
Jemima, Y2, Age 6, Good Shepherd School
The Night Sky
the stars glisten like Lake Tekapo
with the sun on it
the stars are shiny like black ice
white, like paper from the Bible
stars shoot through the sky
like rockets
Alex, Y6, age 10, Russley School
My Grandad
My grandad is as tall as a giraffe
My grandad is as friendly as a monkey
He wears blue glasses
like me
He used to sew up shirts in the air force
Now he carefully sews up my teddy bears
Josh, Y4, age 8, Russley School
Nana
She is as happy as a beautiful bright fish
She looks interested when she is watching
Chinese news
She helps me when I am scared
of the dark
She is a Chinese teacher
and artist
She draws flowers
fish
mermaids
turtles
and fire-breathing dragons
Sophia Y4, age 8, Russley School
Black Beard Dad
One time my dad caught a leaf
instead of a fish
He runs
a bit like Usain Bolt
He is a geologist
he blows up rocks
He wears a soft checked shirt
and has fillings between his teeth
like silver stars
Fergus Y3, age 7, Russley School
Rain
Plink, plonk, plink there is the rain
Plink, plonk, plink there it is again
Rain splashes on the roof of my house
like little girls doing tap
pitter, patter, pitter, patter
like a possum scampering
across our roof.
Meg Y3, Age 7, Carncot School
The Raging Bull
The ocean is an angry bull
Charging to the water’s edge
Pounding the seabed with its powerful horns
As the day goes on, he roars and roars
Carrying away sticks and stones
Licking his greasy hooves
The storm passes through
He sits with his head hung low
Calm and still
Waiting for the wind to blow and for the sky to turn grey
Sophie, Y6, Age 11, Carncot School
Monsters
There is a giant monster in my house
Searching and perching on my couch
Munching and crunching on my favourite snacks
He hears the floor crack and is tempted to look back
I run upstairs, knock my head
Only to find another monster in my bed
Antoinette, Y6, age 11, Carncot School
Winter Is Here
Icing sugar is falling from a crying cloud.
White messages are falling from the sky.
White owls in the sky are dropping their feathers.
Angels are losing teeth and are dropping them.
Little girls have frozen wands,
they are making it snow.
Sabina Y3, Age 7 Arrowtown School
Mapua Estuary
Where the shy hermit crabs scutter away from prying hands,
Where the nimble swallows flutter while chirping their careless songs.
Where the old boats gently bob like nodding heads,
Where the flapping flags cast a jittering shadow.
Where moorings fight an endless struggle against the tide,
Where live music drifts around crimson pohutukawa.
Where an army of pines sway in chorus with the rolling breeze,
Where seagulls clutter the skies scaring away the gently peace.
Where mud flats offer a feast to the restless oyster catchers,
Where driftwood quietly slips away, away to another faraway land.
Hamish, Y8, age 12, Arrowtown School
Winter River
Pebbles line the riverbed,
The bare willows lie above,
Riverweed starts to freeze,
Dead leaves rustle in the wind.
The bare willows lie above,
Sparrows fly overhead,
Dead leaves rustle in the wind,
With the crisp smell of the air.
Sparrows fly overhead,
Riverweed starts to freeze,
With the crisp smell of the air,
Pebbles line the riverbed.
Sarah Y8, age 12, Arrowtown school
Chocolate, a musical sensation
I tear open the purple wrapper
with a satisfying rip!
The taste is soothing and mellow
like smooth jazz,
an orchestra of flavours on my tongue.
It fills me with addictive adrenaline,
once I start I cannot stop,
a drum solo in my mouth.
My taste buds explode
all the flavours in harmony,
I give in and admit defeat.
Chocolate is …
the ultimate beat.
Paddy-Kees Y8, age 12, Arrowtown School
Rain Guardian
If I could control the rain
I would be called the Rain Guardian
I would go to places like Egypt, Africa and Iran
And water the crops making them come to life
I would donate water for dying children and people
I can help the Earth become a better place
I can heal the hearts and souls of people in the world
BECAUSE I AM THE RAIN GUARDIAN
Anna Y6 Age 10, Fairburn School, South Auckland
Lonely Fox
Rain falling
leaves tumbling
fox squeaks
bush rumbling
water leaks
bees buzzing
fox drinks
spots a lynx
(unlikely),
best friends
will never end.
Clara age 8, Ilam School
Waiting
There is a boy waiting on a fence.
Waiting, just waiting
for his father to come home.
There is a woman looking out a window down a gravel road
waiting.
Waiting for her lover to come home,
home from the horrible battlefield
There is a mother with wrinkles of age painted on her face
sitting on a porch rocking back and forth, waiting.
Waiting for a child to come home.
She waits for the horror to end.
Waiting just waiting.
For a son,
a husband,
a father,
a man.
Waiting, just waiting
for a loved one to come home.
Jackson, Y8, age 12, Chisnallwood Intermediate, Christchurch
Melanie works with a writing group at Russley School in Christchurch and sent in some poems which I really loved. So I am going to share them with you.
But first …
Melanie also sent me on a fascinating train of thought as she said she used what she calls ‘The Paula Green Method.’ Which was rather cool but got me wondering if I do have a set method.
I guess there are some key things at work when I do poetry workshops.
I want children to fall in love with language and play.
Sometimes it can be a bit daunting to write a poem cold so we often go on word hunts. Which is what they did. There is no one way to do this but helps build a word field to play in.
I also strongly believe poetry can ignite the most reluctant writer and set them on all manner of discovery paths. Important!
Poetry can also challenge a sophisticated writer to take new risks.
I am more inclined to open doorways and paths than have a set goal in mind. If the child has sparked that is gold.
One day I need to down and write up the method(s) to my poetry madness!
I love the sound of these poems and the glorious detail. They are surprising. They build pictures and they build mood. I love the way they have played with how the poem sits on the page (form) and the way the lines move. Wonderful job! I am honoured you used a bit of my method to get here.
Here are the poems:
Russley School hosted the Christchurch event of The Hot Spot Poetry Tour of NZ at their school. Many of their children performed in the programme. The whole event was glorious but so good to see their students on video. The event finished with their fabulous rendition of Apirana Taylor’s poem, ‘haka.’ You can watch the performance here.
I had such fun reading all the poems that took a Treasury title as their starting point. Many of you know I collected titles for my next collection at all my events and school visits on my tour so I can’t wait to start writing those .. but it won’t be until next year. Lots of writing projects for next year which I am very excited about.
I loved the way your poems took the title and then went off in all directions. Just what poems and poets like to do! Some played with how they looked and all sounded good! Lots of sizzling imagination too!
I LOVED all the poems you sent me, but I couldn’t post them all. If you missed out this time do try again. I have picked Noah from Adventure School to send a copy of A Treasury of NZ Poems. Noah was inspired by Margaret Mahy’s poem, ‘The Dictionary Bird.’ His poem is full of delicious sounds and scrumptious words just as her poem is. Congratulations to all the young poets.
Inspired by Harry Ricketts:
Inspired by Greg O’Connell:
Inspired by Stephanie Mayne:
By Ollie, Year 6 aged 11, Gladstone Primary School, Auckland
Inspired by Bill Nagelkerke:
Inspired by Pauline Cartwright:
Spaghetti
Sloppy curly spaghetti
Very good for lunch
Yummy slurpy spaghetti
My brother goes munch
Toasty cheesy spaghetti
I love it in my tum
Messy messy spaghetti
Tum tum spaghetti yum yum
Ruby T age 6, Year 2, Ilam School
Spaghetti
Slippy spaghetti slides down my chin
Slimy spaghetti makes me grin
By Gemma and Daniel, Adventure School
Russley School sent in a bunch of terrific poems. Here are a few of my favourites:
Inspired by Roger Hall:
Inspired by Joy Cowley:
Inspired by Greg O’Connell:
Inspired by James K Baxter:
One Breath Poems (inspired by Greg O’Connell – to be recited in one breath!):
I also received a tremendous bunch of poems from Room 8 at Adventure School. Again it was very hard to pick just a few to post.
Inspired by Pauline Cartwright:
Inspired by Bill Nagelkerke:
Inspired by Peter Bland:
Inspired by Stephanie Mayne:
Inspired by Paula Green:
Inspired by Margaret Mahy:
Inspired by Greg O’Connell:
Inspired by David Hill:
The interviewer:
My name is Izak, I am 9 years old. My hobbies are electronics, gardening and pottery. I also play the drums, basketball and soccer. I have a sister called Monica, and two cats called Ziggy and Mischief. My favourite author is Andy Griffiths and my favourite book is the 52 Storey Treehouse. I don’t like writing much, but I do like writing poems because they can be very short! (Note from Paula: I have seen some of Izak’s pottery and it is astonishingly good!)
The interviewed:
David Eggleton is poet and writer who lives in Dunedin. His books include Time of the Icebergs, a collection of poems published in 2010. His new collection of poems, The Conch Trumpet, will be published by Otago University Press early in 2015.
I didn’t have a favourite book as a child, but I still remember my excitement at primary school when a teacher whose name I forget read Grimm Brothers fairytales to us every week for what seemed like a whole year, but was probably only a few weeks. There were scary but also really good. I had never heard anything like them before.
One of my favourite books for a long time has been Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. It’s a story of a great white whale that turns on the American sailors who are hunting it and then destroys their ship. It tells you lots of things about whales, and also about whale-hunters.
No, I don’t have one favourite author, but I do have lots of favourite poets. Here are some of them: William Blake, Lewis Carroll, Hone Tuwhare, Wendy Cope, Emily Dickinson, James K. Baxter. They have all written some magical poems.
A poetry performance event is not quite the same as a poetry reading. I first learnt my poems off by heart, and then recited them on-stage in a break between two rock bands to a noisy crowd, when I was in my early twenties. I was a bit nervous, but most of the crowd liked it. That was my first poetry performance event.
I used to own a Holden Belmont that was made in Australia. It had a powerful engine. I travelled all around New Zealand in that car.
I liked some subjects at school more than others. I liked music and English and art.
I remember when I was at secondary school — I went to Aorere College in south Auckland — a teacher read out the poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins to us, and she made us study his poems very closely because he was her favourite poet. And he became a poet I liked, to the extent that that my poems are sometimes compared to his. So she — Mz Wellsford — would have to be one of my favourite teachers.
Well, there were many naughty things, but one of the most dangerous was when I was eight years old and me and my friends wandered, on a Sunday when it was closed, onto an air-force base firing range, looking for unexploded bullets which we could bash with rocks to make them explode. We were collecting bullet-shells and bullets, and we had just started smashing them with rocks and bits of wire and nails when we were caught, and not just chased off but escorted back home.
I have one sister and two brothers. I have written poems about some members of my family and I hope eventually to write about all of them. One of my brothers is an artist, and we are working together at the moment on a collection of poems about animals of the South Pacific. He is making woodblock prints for my poems about whales and frogs and lizards and bats.
Thanks David and Izak for a great interview. David has a poem in The Treasury about bats, and having heard him read it in Dunedin, I can tell you it is an excellent poem to read out loud!
Monica Koster I was born in Christchurch in 2002. My passions in life are running, writing and music. So far, I have published three different things. In 2010, when I was 8 years old, my earthquake poem was published on the NZEPC website along with Jeffrey Paparoa Holman’s. In 2013, I was published in the Margaret Mahy Governor’s Bay Poetry book when I won the Senior Poem with Illustration Competition. In 2014, I was excited and honoured to be published in Paula Green’s book, The Letter Box Cat.
Adrienne Jansen
Adrienne Jansen writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction for children and
adults. In 2014 she edited The Curioseum, a collection of strange and
wonderful stories based on weird objects in Te Papa’s collections. She lives
in Titahi Bay, with a big ocean view and lots of wind. (note from Paula: I adore The Curioseum so much I posted about it on Poetry Box!)
When I was a kid, I absolutely loved Ian Seraillier’s The Silver Sword and the family in that novel.
When I was a kid. The Evening Post (which was a Wellington newspaper then) had a Children’s Page, and I started sending little things to it when I was about 8.
I played badminton a lot, bit of tennis, but my real love is swimming. In the sea and in the pool both.
Probably a man we met the summer we went to the Yukon. He’d been goldmining up there for years. They’re a different breed, people who live long periods of time in huge remote places like that.
It was fun – and hard work both, because quite a few of those writers didn’t usually write for children, so the stories needed quite a lot of work. I don’t think I can pick a favourite – I like them all a lot, and the writers as well.
Yes it was our younger son. And that’s exactly what happened (except that he was cleaning the laundry floor and I made it the kitchen floor). But everything else is exactly as it happened. I didn’t read it to him for quite a long time, but then he thought it was very funny! It was very unusual for him to clean the floor – he must have wanted something!
We’ve got a little yard out the back of our house. It’s very sheltered (that matters at our house because we get a big sea wind), there are tuis everywhere now, and there’s a big chunky table and two benches. Every morning that it’s fine I have breakfast there, and more and more I write out there. But really I write any old place.
Thanks Monica and Adrienne for such a wonderful interview. I really loved reading this. Adrienne has two poems in The Treasury including one of my all-time favourite poems about the wind!
Take the lovely Russely School Hall, loads of young participants, a handful of local authors, two new books, an audience of 200 plus, poems new and old — and you get one very good event.
I didn’t know at the time, but Jenny Cooper, the very cool illustrator of A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children, was in the audience. If I had known, we would have made a song and dance about her fabulous illustrations. Yes I would have sung a song for her! Her heavenly illustrations transform the book into the treasure box that it is. I keep replaying the whole event in my mind and these photos bring it all back. Thanks to a Russley parent for them (only Russley School children in these as we only had permission to post participants from that school). But great offerings from Fendalton School, Lyttelton School, Ilam School and Selwyn House amongst others. In one photo, you can see Caleb reading his poem from The Treasury and in other Ewen and Monica reading their pieces from the back of The Letterbox Cat. Special guests! A highlight at the end … a magnificent performance of Apirana Taylor’s poem, ‘haka.’ Definitely deserved that high five!
Poetry Box 