Flight and the Environment feature in this year’s poems:

Feathers for Flight  by Harmonie
Whitfield State School

Birds are feathered, birds are light
Their wings are wide; their legs are slight
Their eyes give them superior sight
But how does this all aid their flight?

Their contour feathers catch the breeze
And help them ride the draught with ease
Some pretty plumes are made to please
While down makes sure those birds don’t freeze!

Their feathery wings can fan out wide
In order to assist their glide
But when those feathers want to hide
They come to rest on either side.

Protruding peepers both are set
On either side of a birds head
These eyes don’t see just straight ahead
But each side and behind instead!

My fact-file’s not yet reached its close
To ensure your avian knowledge grows
Did you know that each bird owns
A set of lightweight hollow bones?

My Flying Bubble  by Coco
Whitfield State School

Once upon a flying time
Atop my little roof
A bubble gave a muffled chime
By popping with a poof!

Its soapy droplets sprinkled down
And cleaned my jewellery.
And if I was a dusty crown
Now sparkling bright I’d be!

Busy Buzzing  by Ava
Whitfield State School

I’m buzzing past
an apple tree.
You’re stuck in the grass
and can’t squash me!

Gravity
pushes you to the floor.
With wings so pretty
I move much more.

A flower or five
sucking nectar that’s runny
then back to the hive
to make more honey.

When Keeper is through
taking our wax
and honey too
we’ll buzz GIVE IT BACK!

A Long Way From Home  by Jonathon
Whitfield State School

The Moon is dipping out of sight.
My spacecraft is currently in flight
orbiting Earth so very high
like a diamond in the sky.

Travelling towards the stars
the only planet in sight is Mars.
But soon my flight must come to an end
so I can spend time with my friends.

Rainbow Birds  by Tabitha
Whitfield State School

Graceful creatures in the sky
flapping their wings as they fly by.
Circling, soaring into the blue
glimpsing the ground in tiny view.
Glimmering in the sunlight’s kiss.
Radiant in their blue abyss.

In a Flap About Flight  by Evie
Whitfield State School

Although mankind has conquered the skies
with aeroplanes of every size,
despite our best scientific gains
we’ll never fly as well as planes.

It seems our bird-winged counterparts
have the ideal body parts.
A balance of wingspan, weight and strength
makes perfect engineering sense!

Hollow bones are strong yet light.
No wonder they are good in flight!
With an extra air sac on their lungs
a bird breathes better than anyone.

Yes, we humans grow tall and strong
but our weakly wingspan is all wrong.
As much as we’d like to get it right …
humans were never designed to take flight.

Cane harvest kites  by Helen Ramoutsaki

Dr  Sukarma Rani Thareja is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Christ Church College, CSJM Kanpur University, Kanpur, India.  She took the photo accompanying her poem near her home, depicting the first rays from the morning Sun encountering a pollutant in our atmosphere.

A Pollutant  by Sukarma Rani Thareja & Celia Berrell

An uninvited guest in our atmosphere
touches my face
taunting me.

“When are you leaving uninvited guest?”
I’ll count days on my fingers
and then make a wish.

When I was a child I remember being told
“Don’t cook your tea
with wood on earthen stoves.

Don’t throw garbage onto the roads
contaminate our rivers
like an uninvited guest.”

Now I am old  see through watery eyes.
My footprint ecological
has grown in size.

Somehow I’ve become an uninvited guest.
I’ll count days on my fingers
and then make a wish.

Just over ten years ago, the town of Picher in Oklahoma USA was declared the most toxic place in America. It used to be a lead and zinc mining area, but the region’s natural water supplies became so poisoned with mining waste, the local creek turned red and the town’s residents became ill. Everyone had to leave.  Sarah Roehrig says her new poem, inspired by these events at Picher, is a ballad about the environmental and social impact of mining.

Tar Creek Runs Red by Sarah Roehrig

Heavy, heavy song.
Rosebuds recycle rain.
Move the people upstream
And the voice of pain.

Repeat, repeat, mountains recoil
Dead like the Queen of the Nile
Pitchers of souls mine the coal
Smile a smile all the while.

The backhoe pulls, rolling right
Cut through the plug
Blood stains the biting clouds
Move the artificial light.

There is no beauty nor rest here
Rivers of blood
Cold mechanical lies
Drag through the mud.

Ashes fall, the fire is lit
One day they will arise
Spirit through bones, rhythm so strong
To hear their troubled cries.

Joel is 25 and believes as long as we stay true to ourselves, we will succeed in life, however crazy it may be. Thanks for sharing this touching environmental poem with us Joel.

Return to What Should Be  by Joel Ewing

All the tears I’ve tasted
for so many trees we’ve wasted.
It makes me wonder; wonder why
so few of us will ever try
to relieve mankind of ignorance
and shake us from this foolish trance.
Living the way some people are,
every day creates a scar.
Although our Earth is vast and great
at healing, making all things straight,
there’s no time for the world to wait
while we create a toxic fate.
Perhaps one day mankind will see
significance in every tree;
clean rivers flowing to the sea;
with everything as it should be.

Reinhold Mangundu is an environmental activist in Namibia and youth advocate.
He writes blogs and has just started to write environmental poetry too.

A Call for a Cure  by Reinhold Mangundu & Celia

Our world really needs you
to come to her rescue.
To work on a clue
of what we can do.

Our fumes give her fever;
a heat-rising danger.
Her life-blood of rivers
are choking with papers.

We’re losing more species
by chopping her fine trees
so birds are distressed
with nowhere to build nests.

Our world really needs us;
a people that she trusts.
Please work on a clue
of what we can do.

Celebrating World Space Week (October 4-10):

Stars by Holly
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

When it’s dark and cold
and there’s no light
look up and you’ll see
a big star so bright.

A star’s full of gas
that wants to get free.
But don’t go near.
It could burn you or me.

Their cores are dense.
Some only look grey.
We can’t really see them
during the day.

The gravity force
that holds them together
turns atoms to plasma
and makes solar weather.

And when they explode
with not enough room
they run out of space
and go KABOOM!

They’ll turn bright colours
as they explode.
It’s what stars do
when they get really old.

If they shoot through the air
and across the sky
they’re not really stars
just fallen and shy.

Stars burn like fire.
They burn all day.
But it’s not their fault.
They were made that way!

Up in the Milky Way
where they all live
is a dazzling family
that just wants to give.

Stars are beautiful.
They light up our night.
When things seem wrong
they make it seem right.

Magical Mars by Zarbakht
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

The second smallest planet, Mars
has lots of craters, many scars
that make a pretty pattern
but not the same as Saturn
surrounded by the stars.

Mars, named after the God of War
might be lovely to explore.
You can’t just simply have it
because it’s THE best planet
as you would ask for more.

It has two little lumpy moons
with no baboons or crazy tunes.
But has a massive storm
of dust clouds after dawn.
Be warned, or we are doomed!

Frosty Mars by James
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

We have a planet called Mars, Mars!
Don’t mix it up with those Mars-bars!
It has two moons. One’s called Phobos
and the brother to him is Demios.

Mars is closer to the stars
and Mars has polar ice caps.
Like frosty frozen water traps
that used to be splishity-splash.

Mars has a huge canyon maze
that gives you a heck of a daze.
Its giant volcano looks bronze
and we named it Olympus Mons.

There’s dancing dust storms
we view as a haze
of rusty red sand
like a fiery blaze!

Miss Neptune by Jarrod
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

There is a gas planet called Neptune
where once was a raging typhoon.
It has pretty thin rings
and many more things
and looks like a giant balloon.

At one-hundred two-quadrillion
four-hundred and ten-trillion billion
its kilogram mass
is too huge for a gas.
There’s atoms of rock in their zillions.

At fifty thousand kilometres wide
nobody could survive inside.
We can’t breathe its air
there’s no oxygen there!
And the gasses move like a big tide.

Only one craft has ever flown by.
It’s so far, we’d probably die
before we got there
and I hope you’re aware
it’s not visible to the naked eye.

I wonder if Neptune is nice
and was she created by Christ?
We’ve found fourteen moons
like some bumpy balloons.
She’s a giant of gasses and ice.

Mind-Blowing Mars by Millie
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Next-door is a planet called Mars
with the highest mountain of all.
It has caverns and craters and more
with a volcano, silent and tall.

A year there is longer than ours.
A day lasts for just a bit more.
Add thirty-odd minutes to twenty-four hours
to balance our day-time scores.

Mars has two moons: Phobos and Demios
named after two Greek mythical men.
Mars is named after a Roman god
and looks like it’s coloured in red pen.

Mars has two polar ice caps
so water on Mars has not gone.
And now we believe that life was there.
But living here wouldn’t be fun.

Mars has the largest deep canyon.
You can see it from far out in space.
Although Mars is Earth’s planet-neighbour
it can still be a very cold place.

Gigantic Jupiter by Katie
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Jupiter is a big planet.
It has a very big mass.
As well as many moons
It is even made of gas.

Jupiter is fifth from the Sun.
It has a giant dot
which is the size of Earth
instead of a small red spot.

This great big golden gas ball
really stands out in space.
He turns as fast as a whistle
but remains a lifeless place.

Jupiter has a big storm
that is constantly on-going.
It could blow you right away
as though someone was throwing.

You are a wonder to me.
It seems like he can fly.
I couldn’t live without him.
Jupiter’s king of the sky!

Our Neighbour Mars by Joel
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Out in the Solar System
there’s a planet we call Mars.
It dances out in space;
the hue of rusty cars.

The fourth planet from the Sun
it’s fairly small and red.
A terrestrial rocky planet
where any life seems dead.

Mars is as red as blood.
A rusty dusty ball.
It has a North and South
and size-wise it’s quite small

Mars is a wonderful planet
that orbits round the Sun.
Our Sun is so huge and colourful;
is very hot and heaps of fun!

Jolly Jupiter  by Maya
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Oh giant, jolly Jupiter
You are bigger than a thousand classrooms
You are a perfect pretty planet
And I won’t be visiting soon.

You are an amazingly large planet
With sixty-three magnificent moons
There’s helium in your atmosphere
Like many big beautiful balloons.

How stormy you are
With your big red spot
Your spot is a raging solar storm
Which could not be mistaken for a dot.

You are the king of the sky
For you are my largest client
You are Zeus in Greek mythology
You are an amazing gas giant.

Twelve years to orbit to Sun
When you are extra stormy you cry
You have fairly faint narrow rings
Oh, Jupiter! King of the sky.

Saturn’s Wonderful Features  by Jason
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Saturn has lots of moons
But sadly no lagoons.

Saturn has thirty-two rings
And many other things.

It can be seen from Earth
In places such as Perth.

An orbit takes twenty-nine years
Like some spinning souvenirs.

At night our sensational Saturn
Looks like a luminous lantern.
It appears that it has ears
But that’s really ring rotation.

Its temperature’s one-thirty-nine degrees Celsius;
Over fifty-eight thousand kilometres, radius.

It’s mostly made of hydrogen gas
And a place that doesn’t have any green grass.

Our Solar System  by Raphael
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun.
A year is almost eighty-eight days long.
Its surface has many wrinkles;
gets hot and is very strong.

Mars is the fourth planet
and looks rusty red and old.
It takes a long time to orbit the Sun
and its temperature’s very cold.

Let’s move to warm bright Venus
with its rocky crust of granite.
Where a day is longer than a year
on this second closest planet.

The Sun is a very big star.
All the planets surround this fire ball.
It is one million times the size of Earth
and I think it’s very cool!

Saturn is a gas giant
Around it are many rings.
It’s the second largest planet
with its rings of pretty bling.

Neptune is extremely cold.
The furthest planet from the Sun.
Its atmosphere has no oxygen.
And it is the eighth one of them.

Orbiting dark awesome space
and mostly made of granite,
our Solar System is amazing.
And those were my favourite planets!

So Far Up There  by Isaac
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

The Sun is a ball of boiling gas.
The Sun is a twinkling star.
Its radius is oh, so big
and it’s also very far.

Our wonderful super solar system
is home to many a planet.
Some are gassy and very big
and some are made of granite.

Mars looks like a rust ball
so high up in the sky.
I will never grow that tall.
I’m up to my Mum’s thigh.

 

Saturn is the sixth one out
and is a gassy giant.
Should you want to land on it
you’ll find it’s one bad client!

Far out, a dwarf planet
that is bigger than my toe.
We think of it as very small.
Its name is poor Pluto.

Close to home, the Moon looks like
a disc in a glistening sea.
It’s showing off its beauty
for the whole wide world to see.

Mysterious Majestic Mars by Sophie C
Trinity Anglican School, White Rock

There is a planet called Mars.
It is half the size of Earth.
Mars is our next-door neighbour.
It might be under a curse.

There is a planet called Mars
and Mars has two marvellous moons.
The fourth planet from the Sun
is where we might visit real soon!

There is a planet called Mars
which has the tallest mountain.
It has some amazing views.
Over twenty k’s high and counting.

There is a planet called Mars.
She has some beautiful hills.
Her ground’s a ridiculous red
and her dust storms could get you killed.

There is a planet called Mars.
If we moved there, could we survive?
There is not much air on Mars.
Not sure we could stay alive.

If you ever go to Mars
be careful of those dusty storms.
They’re known to rage for days and days …
and now you have been warned!