Archive for the ‘Your Science Poems’ Category

Bright Ideas for Science Week 2023

Sciences with Essences by Russell Fernando
Project Manager, De La Salle College, Malvern Victoria

Endless streams of galaxies ought to bounce.
Do distant stars shine like some cosmic ounce
where exo-planets echo, gather, mount,
appearing too many times for us to count?

To know them all, while yet too many to learn,
we search for ones with Earth-likeness to earn.
They say we’re bound to want and wonder more,
explore where no man’s ever been before.

Are perfect life-forms living here unknown,
clueless to how outnumbered they have grown?
Should bright-lit future-dreams be what we chase,
as though we’re blind to see our Earth’s embrace?

During our quest for progress and control,
we’re failing Earth, our mother, home and soul.
It seems our climate’s harmony is lost.
Our actions now impose a perilous cost.

Let’s ponder stars, and contemplate our ways,
to calculate, redeem, ahead of days.
In seeking truth, may mankind also find
a path to heal, to mend and to be kind. 


Fight Microbes for Health  by Harsheen Kaur
Masters Student in Agriculture and Food Science at the University of Tasmania

Here’s some helpful hints we all should know
starting from our head down to each toe:

Soapy water washes bacteria away.
We recommend you try it every day!

Likewise, brushing teeth at least once daily
keeps our gums and breath more sweet than smelly.

Washing hands before we touch a meal
can block infections.  Such a happy deal!

Cleanliness and hygiene are the key.
This can make us feel so very lucky!

Wash raw fruits and veg appropriately.
The naked eye can’t see those microbes properly.

Handle food and cook as recommended
to keep your insides safe and unoffended.

Don’t let harmful bugs become a tyranny.
Our body’s health should surely take priority.

 

 

The Surging Tide by Jacinta Lou 

In the sea live many ghosts
of pirates, convicts and more.
Lost sunken treasure.
The remnants of war.

In my yard are fossils
where the sea used to be,
billions of years ago
before there was me.

The sea is claiming back the land.
On islands, it’s a disaster.
The billion year shift of tides
is coming. It’s coming even faster.

It’s speeding up as the globe heats up.
Is that about how we live?
To slow it down do we need to change
how we live, what we take, what we give?

Give back to the sea by keeping it clean
of plastics, oil and junk.
Keep the land cool by reusing more
or one day the land will be sunk.

The tide is turning.

 

Ultra-black Fish  by Sukarma Rani Thareja
(Associate Professor Retired, CSJM Kanpur University, India)

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
hide in plain sight in the deepest sea.
So how does it work, this trickery,
their magic invisibility?

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
have melanin, just like human skin,
but pigment structures found within
are packed so tight –
like a gumball machine –
that almost all light gets trapped right in.

By taking a lesson from fish-skin designs
we could make-up a pigment, right shape and size.
The blackest of blacks would be our prize
for material science that tricks human eyes!

first published 2020

 

 

The Curious Unknown  by Elizabeth

The waves crash against the rocks
stumbling about like a teenager,
never knowing when to stop
those tireless tides of flows and knocks.

Carrying others everywhere it goes,
carefree about where it will lead.
A resting place or back for more?
With curious currents – who knows?

Mysteries of the deep adore
diving into endless questions,
searching for new answers,
surfacing each time with more.

first published 2020

 

 

One Big Step for Me  by Ruby

Gathered round old televisions
or listening to radio stations
witnessing that “one big step”
fifty years ago.

Moon:
rising and falling,
controlling the tides,
radiant and bright
though never alight.

Your dusty black land
with rocks, shards of sand,
highlands and craters
makes Moon’s unique textures.

There’s still so much to learn
so, to the Moon we will return.
I wonder … will I ever get a turn?

first published 2019

 

An Ode to Stephen Hawking  by Rowen

Stephen Hawking, a brilliant mind!
Very clever, successful and kind.
One of our best scientific pioneers
with one of the most glittering careers.

Incredibly gifted throughout his time,
a theoretical physicist in his prime,
he became a role model to many young people,
but sadly one day he was rendered near-feeble.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease
his health declined in small degrees.
But he didn’t give up, no, he pushed ahead,
although his peers thought he’d soon be dead.

He kept living on, yes, he cheated death
until March 14th when he took his last breath.
His students, and theirs, talk of him in a way,
that connects with us all, every hour, every day.

They say this great man was one-of-a-kind.
Stephen Hawking enshrined that brilliant mind.

 

first published 2018

 

Lucky Galileo  by Imogen

Renaissance astronomer Galilei
showed that the Earth revolved round the Sun.
Defying the views of the holiest place,
some Catholics wanted him burned at stake.

Instead, he’s imprisoned in home-arrest
where Bubonic Plague wasn’t a pest.
This “Black Death” caused headache, fever and chills
then lymph glands, like boils, began to swell.

Safe from disease, his life was enhanced.
Protected from getting boils in his pants!

 

first published 2018

 

 

Saving the System  by Reinhold Mangundu

 

The system is life; this system provides.
Such system collapse is people’s demise.
So what are we doing with unthinking minds?
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s desperate signs?

Bleached coral reefs; no fishing, no work.
Unemployed poverty mustn’t be shirked.
Less copper, less diamonds: they’re closing the mines.
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s depleted signs?

Our Earth’s system needs us to save, not plunder
her life-giving riches in all their wonder.
So let’s save the system. Let’s roar out her worth!
And join in becoming Guardians of Earth.

 

first published 2018

 

Water Worldwide  by Jonathon

Water glistens, shiny and clear.
From every stream runs Earth’s long tear.
Its floods can cause a lot of strife
and yet it is the gift of life.

Water problems happen worldwide.
With too much water many have died.
With too little water; nothing lives.
So water takes and water gives.

 

first published 2017

 

Light Duties for a Photon by Ava


Photons who are unemployed
but keen, hardworking, bright,
we’d like you to be part of
a brand new ray of light.

To be a working photon
you’ll set the world aglow.
Helping plants to make us food
so we can live and grow.

You have to be a lightweight,
move quickly, still be calm.
You must be an optimist
to keep your sparkle on.

After you have left the Sun
aim straight for Earth’s blue sky.
If the photon job’s for you,
we’d like you to apply!

 

first published 2015

 

Evolution  by Claire

Changes happen every day
slowly gradually in many ways.


Like humans used to be one little cell.
Now we are complex strong and well.

 

What is this process called evolution?
It’s like a slow-motion revolution.


Creatures adapting to their home,
wherever they may choose to roam.

 

Evolution is here in many ways
and doesn’t happen in a matter of days.


Adjusting and adapting to a new area
can take a species many millennia.

 

Evolution is the fish in the sea
that turned into apes, wild and free.


From those apes humans emerged.
From their trees they scattered and surged.

 

We wouldn’t be here on planet Earth
if that small cell hadn’t been in the surf.


To think we wouldn’t be alive
if one little cell hadn’t arrived.

 

first published 2012

 

Did you know that Australia now has a POETRY MONTH each AUGUST?  What a great combination for celebrating a decade of your BRIGHT IDEAS for Science Week in rhyme!

The Webb Telescope revealed so many amazing and beautiful things about our universe over the last year after successfully unpacking itself in space.  You can see some of those images HERE.

Unpacking the Webb Telescope  by Celia Berrell

First, un-pleat some solar cells
and wag that space antenna tail
to give our telescope some power
for data-sending mail.
Open sides, like two long arms,
then stretch-out layers of silver veils
to make a heat-shield from the Sun.
Too hot, our Webb could fail.

Next, erect the smaller mirror
then a radiator,
before reflective parts hinge wide.
That giant mirror’s locked, both sides,
to make a golden-petal flower
with infra-red its viewing power,
to be an ancient star-locator.
Deepest history translator!

inspired by animation of deployment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzGLKQ7_KZQ

The Many Faces of GLASS

We have fourteen poems in celebration of National Science Week 2022 – GLASS: more than meets the eye.  Congratulations to all the poets who kindly participated, sharing their words of intrigue, history, science and beauty.  Please enjoy!

Glass 
by Rylee (Gunnedah South Public School)

Glass can easily smash
Glass can break in a dash

People use glass for mugs
But it’s not for pugs or bugs

It is used to make lots of jars
And there’s actually glass on Mars!

 

Corners that meet the eye
by Michaela

Glass
in the four corners
that meet the eye.

Rooms
filled with the
reflection of yourself
show who you really are.

Formed
with tiny pieces of sand with
the minerals changing its
colour in every corner.

Cracks
consume the many faces
like thunder and
lightning striking them.
And everything in its path

slowly builds it up again
but not as strong and
solid as before.  These
are the faces, the many
faces that meet the eye.

 

Mirror: more than meets the eye
by Ksenia

From one angle of the mirror, 
a young girl is studying. 
From another, 
an adult is partying. 

Only one thing can affect our decisions, 
one thing becomes a guide. 

Our Mind. 

Where we store dreams, hopes,
things we want no one to know.

Yet, it has
more secrets of its own.

More…
than we will ever know.

 

Glasswork Skin
by Jasmine (St Thomas Moore College, Sunnybank, QLD)

I am a stained glass terrarium.
From the outside looking in
my organs float,
structured with nature’s perfection
which is to say
exquisitely organised.

The glass itself is
streaked with human touch:
fingerprinted with ridges
fogged-up with breath
feverishly wiped
and repeated.

This body of mine is fragile
beautiful, in theory 
vulnerable, in reality
every scratch is disillusion,
making me undeniably
still life.

 

Cloak and Dagger 
by Cheryl Polonski

Glass manufacture goes back a long way. 
The skill was a secret, they kept it that way.
It appears that the knack from the Middle East came,
but when it reached Venice things weren’t quite the same.

1200 AD saw the Syrian men,
come under the rule of the Council of Ten.
The Venice Republic security arm,
made sure that the craftsmen would come to no harm.

When furnaces failed and caused fires uncontrolled,
they’d move to an island the craftsmen were told.
Because all the knowledge was fiercely protected,
what happened there next was still not unexpected.

The glassmakers stayed under threats to their lives.
This involved all their family including their wives.
They never could leave but were somewhat rewarded,
with several benefits being afforded.

The glassblowers’ daughters could marry nobility,
bestowing upon them a sense of tranquillity
Producing the best of all glass on display,
the fame of Murano exists to this day.

 

The Art of Glass   
by Sophia Healdgrove

The sandy mineral silica
makes stained glass for the basilica.

Melted with other elements
its colours and hues are brightly intense.

Hot glowing balls of fiery glass
Used in making scientist’s Erlenmeyer flasks.

Beautiful bowls, moulded and curved
a delight on which food can be served.

For hundreds of years, glass artisans toiled
As the glass in their furnaces boiled

They created such delicate works of wonder.
But recently trade began to go under.

The German city of Hamelin
has one glasshouse where many had been.

Machines taking over from made by man
will never achieve what humans can.

The craft of glass-making is precious and rare.
Hand-made, beautiful, intricate glassware.

So let us conserve this beautiful art.
Please trust that I give these words from the heart.

 

Obsidian spear head

Humble Beginnings 
by Cheryl Polonski

A natural glass was once found on the land
near the mouths of volcanoes which melted the sand.
Those obsidian pieces were sharper you see,
than anything else in 4,000 BC.

Our stone-age ancestors then used them for spears.
The benefits recognised down through the years.
For surgeries stainless steel scalpels are made,
but some still prefer an obsidian blade.

The earliest use was for jewellery and beads,
but soon ‘twas discovered, glass filled other needs.
By focussing through a shard, rays of the sun,
the lighting of fires was easily done.

When open wounds threatened life, it was thought wise
to make use of this method and thus cauterise.
The heat focussed through the glass stopped the blood seep.
Experimentation then took quite a leap.

So from humble beginnings there was such a race
for this startling discov’ry to find its true place.
In just about every conceivable science,
there is upon glass a specific reliance.

 

Curious Sand 
by Toni Newell

On a stormy night
If lightning strikes sand
Glass can be formed
On the beach unplanned.
Making glass commercially
Comes in many shapes
Can be a glass or a vase
Even a bowl of grapes.
Just add a few minerals
To make it coloured glass
Formed into a different shape
Sand of a different class.

 

Mystic Glass
by Toni Newell

Walking on the beach
Beneath our feet is sand
However those little grains
Can become a glass in hand.
Sand, lime and soda ash
Using extreme heat
Can form many objects
From which we drink and eat.
It can take a million years
For glass to decompose
That’s why we should recycle
And save our planet woes.

 

Prince Rupert’s Drop
by Myra King

There is a strange phenomenon,
that many may not know,
it’s a drop of glass, a rounded shape,
from firing’s heating glow.

Prince Rupert’s Drop a splendid name
in royal connotation
has a strength that’s way beyond
most imagination.

It can’t be wrecked or smashed by hand
in any way or form
but a fragile state belies its fate
way outside the norm.

Rupert’s Drop’s Achilles’ heel
is its tail long and thin
and if this is snapped the tension’s broke
from just beneath its skin.

A million pieces shatter
to burst the lovely drop
it all happens in an instant
in one explosive pop!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt-zvsGvtqg

 

Glassical Music 
by Sukarma Thareja

Fine glassy goblets for dinner wine
when gently tapped, will tinkle and chime.
If rubbed with damp fingers around their rim,
like an upside-down bell, they start to ring.

Their shape and their size dictate how each hums.
Large empty glasses might groan like a drum.
Pour in some liquid to make their pitch higher.
Together they’ll sound like an eerie choir!

https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/question603

 

GLASS for the CLASS  
by Stefan Nicholson

You are tough and often stand guard within a frame,
Like as a window, or fronting a picture,
Or focussing our gaze, when our eyes are not the same.
And I often see through you, unless disguised by your coating,
Put on to dull your amorphous transparent mixture,
Of soda, silica, limestone and ‘fancier’ bits, you often say when gloating.

And it’s obsidian to say that you can’t be naturally found,
A universal secret without human intervention.
And your boast about rapid cooling makes my blood boil,
For when you were made, you were just too hot to handle,
Making parched lungs wait, for when you were of malleable intention,
Else creating such strange objects, as if made by a mischievous vandal.

Yet, I am overwhelmed by the stresses that you quietly hide
Within your new shape or moulded design,
Made whilst gooey like molten plastic, where no animal can abide.
Which makes for great fun when a glass animal is ‘born’
And you see its wonders in detail and colours and lines
Made by us humans, as we’ve been doing from time’s early dawn.

As an art, you are an object of delight in many ways,
Mimicking nature, abstract designs and useful objects to name a few.
Modern buildings tease out new conceptual uses for your display,
Fish swim within your bounds and plants bathe in wind-less sunshine.
You protect and make for easy cleaning – to let us enjoy a safer view
From the sky, on the water, where we can watch the world as we dine.

Broken items can be accidental and there is none more dangerous than glass,
With your warped sharp edges and shards that can stick you like a pin.
But no blame to you, as QA have given you a ‘pass’.
And your character can now be changed, by material science at its best,
To make you stronger, withstand heat and shock, and be made ultra-thin
But I wish that people knew you better, not as a product, but as our guest.

 

Handle Me With Care 
by Sukarma Thareja & Celia Berrell

Sea-shore sand and potash, soda,
made my common sturdy solid.
Crafted since Egyptian times,
my structure is non-crystalline.

My recipes of compound chemicals
make me practical and beautiful.
Sometimes heat-resistant, durable,
always totally recyclable.

Many of my forms are brittle.
Shattered shards of glassy needles
hurt and harm.  They stab and tear.
So handle me with care.  Beware!

 

Aliens in the Atacama Desert 
by Celia Berrell

This desert is dotted
with dark green glass
that came from an alien …
space rock blast!

Punching through air
so incredibly fast,
pressure, heat, friction
became so vast
the silica sand
on the desert below
melted to glass
as that comet explodes.

These alien minerals
scattered the scene,
which seems to have made
those glassy shards green.

OUR FRUIT & VEGGIE-VERSE

Science Rhymes grew a collection of YOUR SCIENCE POEMS about the fruity facts and leafy love we have for our fruits and vegetables, to celebrate this year’s SCIENCE WEEK (14-22 August).  Thank you to everyone who shared their poems.  Please enjoy our harvest of tasty poetry!

22 Delectable Fruits and Vegetables by Michayla
(St Peter’s Catholic College, Tuggerah, NSW)

I love these fruits and vegetables.
In great abundance they flourish.
Nourishing and delectable,
our Earth they have embellished.

Their juice trickles down our chin,
with flavours so divine.
Plump fruit with flesh so thin,
a taste like wine refined.

Beneath the earth those vegetables grow,
dug deep into soil and grime.
Nourished in the darkness below,
their roots and soil entwined.

Animals feast on these delectables,
spreading their seeds far and wide.
They grow and ripen, as they are able,
to tempt the creatures where they abide.

With fruits and vegetables life can flourish,
singing with their sweetest scent.
They help make Earth healthy and nourished,
so creatures and humans are well content.

 

Do your cabbages and other brassica vegetables sometimes taste a bit … bitter?  That will be the flavinoid (flavour chemical) kaempferol!

21 The Properties of a Cabbage  by Sophia

As I watch my cabbages grow and grow,
the hungry caterpillars add to their woes.

Then they sprout and then they’re picked.
For dinner they’re cooked and taste perfect.

Not all the cabbages grown for our dishes
are sweet and mild-tasting, just what one wishes.

Their taste’s from the chemical kaempferol
which doesn’t affect our cholesterol.

Whether eaten as sauerkraut or boiled with sprouts
some of their vitamins get cooked out.

If it’s boiled in water the chemistry changes.
Some soluble vitamins go down the drainage.

I’ve detailed their properties, please don’t ignore.
Go eat some cabbages, cooked or raw!

 

20 Glorious Potato  by Alma
(Pennant Hills Public School, Pennant Hills NSW)

I push the veg around my plate,
Where do they come from?
Who grew, who ate?
I open my mouth to ask my Mum …

But no! Instead, I shall consult a book.
I know where to go,
I know where to look.
My eyes grow wider, aha! Aho!

Growing below, deep down in the soil
Storing-up sugars from the Sun,
starchy tubers, hard to spoil.
But where do they really come from?

South America’s their native land.
By boat potatoes went
to USA, to Ireland.
A food that’s so convenient.

Mashed, fried, roasted, boiled,
Hark! This veg, let it glow,
We’ve all been spoiled
by the glorious potato!

 

19 Amazing Fruits  by Soha
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

Fruits are so sweet
Make you jump into the air
With lots of colours

Fruits make you dream
Eat them with their shiny skin
Unable to resist

Fruits are the key
To make children more happy
To give them a treat

Fruits are the way
To sweet fructose cheer
It is happiness

Fruits are delicate
Leave them out too long
they will turn very sad

So, eat sweet fruit now!
It’s the way to be good
They are the juice of life

 

18 Fruit and Veggies  by Jacqui
(Pennant Hills Public School, Pennant Hills, NSW)

Before you begin your day
pick up some fruit and eat away.
Apple, peach and watermelon,
banana, mango and lemon.

Lots of veggies taste good too,
as a snack or in a stew.
Carrots, peas, lettuce and more,
veggies are awesome, so never ignore.

Apples are juicy with a crunch,
bananas are great, just to munch.
Fruit and veg are so nutritious,
not to mention that they’re delicious.

So, before you begin your day,
pick up some fruit and eat away,
When fruit’s your thing and you’re feeling hungry,
just don’t eat the ones with mouldy fungi!

 

17 Save Our Planet  by Braxton
(Brisbane Boys’ College, Toowong QLD)

The ocean is moping,
the reef is weeping,
the air is in pain
and we are to blame.

We can save them by using
sustainable electricity.
Stop burning coal,
and those fossil fuels.

Stop cutting down trees,
be more caring please.
This is how we do it,
how we
         Save Our Planet!

 

16 Tomato Decisions (Limerick)  by Gabrielle
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
It’s true they’re juicy and edible,
have a great tangy taste,
which can make pizza paste.
A collectable fruit for a festival!

 

15 Watermelon  by Corina
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

A watermelon grows from the ground.
A succulent gourd that’s green and round,
it tastes so juicy, sweet and fruity,
one of Earth’s beauties,  the best fruit around!

 

Grapes are an example of a soft fruit that WANTS to be eaten!  That way, its seeds are dispersed far away from the parent vine.  So don’t feel sad for the grape eaten by this little ape.

14 Grape on a roll  by Emily
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

Here comes a rolling grape
caught by a hungry baby ape.
Falling freshly off the vine,
this outcome is so NOT divine.
Let’s hope another rolling grape
gets to make a great escape!

Grapes are the perfect shape to pop in your mouth!  These ready-wrapped berries contain water, sugars (glucose and fructose) and organic acids (tartaric, malic and a little citric).  But berries naturally contain seeds don’t they?  So how can we grow seedless grapes?

13 Grapes and Crepes  by Lucy
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

I love to eat grapes,

they’re a wonderful shape.
Some juicy and sweet,
while some are sour.

They’re my favourite thing
to eat with crepes.
Perhaps that’s why

I love to eat grapes.

 

12 Mango Stars  by Amelie
(Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA)

Do you know how much I love mangoes?

I love the way mangoes grow on trees.
I love eating mangoes in a breeze.
I also love mangoes when they’re squeezed.

Unripe ones can be very hard.
Those mangoes end up in my pickle jar.
But every mango is a star!

Have I mentioned how much I love mangoes?

 

Here are three Haku poems by students from Mary MacKillop College, Kensington SA.

 

Have you ever heard of a cumquat?  It’s orange’s tiny cousin!

 

10 Cumquats and Wotnots  by Diane Finlay

Did you ever
tango with a mango
or mince with a quince
peel a lychee by the sea
or kiss a ‘blue’ berry?

Can you really
make rhymes with limes
or mix melons with lemons
blow GIANT raspberries
or get stuck in a strawberry jam?

Did you ever
scare a pear
or grapple with an apple
watch peaches on beaches
or discover plums have bums?

Can you really
tie cumquats with wotnots
feed grapes to apes
put a pawpaw on a seesaw
or be mean to a nectarine?

Did you ever
can-can with a rambutan
see grapefruits in suits
take kiwis to Fiji
or wonder why this rhyme began?

 

9 Apples  by Toni Newell

An apple a day keeps the doctor away,
Is a saying heard over the years,
But is there any truth to this?
Or just a slogan of profiteers?
Apples are beneficial,
Low cholesterol, sodium and fat,
However, eating them in excess,
May damage tooth enamel in fact.
Apples are acidic,
But are rich in vitamin C,
Also contain lots of fibre,
plus pectin, vitamins A and B.
Like anything else, another saying,
Everything in moderation,
Follow this saying and you will see,
The benefits of your gustation.

 

There are good and not-so-good vegetable smells …

8 Notorious asparagus  by Celia Berrell

Notorious asparagus.
A vegetable that’s good for us,
is packed with healthy vitamins
for energy and body cleanse.

Yet infamous asparagus,
you sometimes make a fool of us.
Your spear-like shoots, a delicacy
when eaten, give us smelly pee.

Asparagusic acid means
our urine smells a queasy green.
But fructans (carbs) within these plants
help do away with stinky farts!

 

7 The Versatile Potato  by Toni Newell

Potato is a favourite,
Can be cooked in many ways,
Roasted, boiled or mashed,
Baked in foil, in stews or braised.
My favourite is the chip,
French fries, wedges, straight,
Potato gems, potato cakes,
All worthy of the dinner plate.

Chips that come in packets,
Just to name a few,
Chilli, chicken, salt and vinegar
In different shapes and sizes too.
Such a versatile root vegetable.
20% starch, 80% water,
Contains antioxidants, vitamins B6 and C,
Magnesium, potassium and fiber.

Potatoes when they’re harvested,
Are alive, then in a dormant state,
They can be used to reproduce,
Which in itself is great.
Between 80 and 100 days,
A crop should be mature,
Can even be grown in a bucket,
Which is a great idea I’m sure!

 

6 Pungent Garlic  by Sukarma Thareja & Celia Berrell

My cousin is an onion!
I’m allium sativum.

My whitish bulb’s
found underground,
between the stem
and roots you’ve found,
growing segment cloves within
containing lots of allicin.

Some properties of allicin
even work like penicillin,
warding off some illness guys
like E coli and some fungi.

My sulphur compounds
you’ll know well
from garlic’s pungent
taste and smell!

 

5 When is a Fruit a Fruit?  by Toni Newell

Did you know that cucumbers,
and tomatoes are a fruit?
For they internally house,
the seeds from which they shoot.

We think of them as vegetables.
Their position on the shelves
with eggplants and zucchinis,
all being a fruits themselves.

It’s sometimes our perception,
the way some fruits are served,
mistakes them for a vegetable,
when hot, not raw/preserved.

Often it seems obvious,
an apple, orange, pear,
watermelon, cantaloupe,
all fruits which we can share.

It can get complicated,
by botanical classification.
Just observe what’s being served,
and gain an appreciation.

 

Three thousand years ago, celery seeds appear to have been used to make ointments and other medicines.  Back then, this wild herb from the parsley family was stringy and bitter.  But by the 17th Century, tastier versions were being cultivated.

4 Celery (Acrostic)  by Barbara Smith

Crunchy fresh
Emerald pale stalks
Lightly fragranced
Each juicy mouthful a
Ready-made meal
Your very favourite.

 

Can we tempt you with a Carrot?  As well as being a taproot vegetable, we use the word carrot (and the phrase carrot on a stick) to mean tempting or persuading someone to do something for a reward that’s just out of reach!

3 Healthy Orange Carrots (Pantoumby Toni Newell

Carrots grow under the ground,
Now yellow, white and purple seen,
Their fernlike leaves above are found,
They are high in beta-carotene,

Now yellow, white and purple seen.
Carrots contain lots of fiber,
They are high in beta-carotene,
They are an illness fighter.

Carrots contain lots of fiber,
May be eaten cooked or raw,
They are an illness fighter,
Roasted, boiled or in coleslaw.

May be eaten cooked or raw,
Their downside? Hardly any!
Roasted, boiled or in coleslaw,
Their benefits are many.

 

2 Carotene Carrot  by Jeanie Axton

There stood a carrot
on my plate.
It looked up at me
and said “Please wait”

before you take
your very first bite
Can I mention
I help your sight?

My carotene,
a nice bright colour,
will make you strong
like no other.

Vitamins and fibre
I’ll give to you,
so pick me up
and start to chew.

Consider the goodness
I contain.
Come back and eat me
again and again!

 

Sunflowers are loved for their fabulous flowers, sustaining seeds & oil and their amazing ability to face the direction of the Sun.

1 Sunflowers  by Sukarma Thareja & Celia Berrell

Look to the east
to greet the dawn,
then face the west
when twilight’s drawn.

Youthful blossoms,
left to right,
follow the Sun
from dawn to night.

Lopsided growth
on night-time stems
then turns their faces
east again.

Heliotropic flowers
when young,
move their faces
to follow the Sun.

 

 

Ice Flowers & Dr Jim Carter

Do you live somewhere that’s really cold in winter?  Dr James R Carter is Professor Emeritus, Geography-Geology Department, Illinois State University.  He studies beautiful ice formations in USA.  In 2017, he gave us permission to share some of his rare photos to accompany a poem about Ice Flowers, written by primary school student Evie  – which was also shared on the Australian Children’s Poetry website.

We are delighted to learn that Dr Jim Carter has now written his own poem, inspired by Dr Seuss!  If you have any fantastic photos of ice flowers of this nature, you can contact Dr Carter at Illinois State University by email at jrcarter@ilstu.edu.

Ice Poetry  by Jim Carter

Oh, it’s mighty cold today.
Why did the Lord make it this way?

Hmmmm, the ground crunches when I walk by
So I bend down to find out why.

Look at those needles shining so bright
Clear ice, glistening in the light.

But my nose reminds me what I must do
Dress right for a cold sky so blue.

Properly attired, I set out to see
What other forms of ice there may be.

Are those white flowers at the base of a little tree?

No, it’s ice on the stems of plants quite tall.
They had white flowers last fall.

Wow, that ice presents a lovely face
And it’s only one of many in this place.

A wavy ball of ice nestled in brown.
Camera out, I kneel on the ground.

How have I missed such ice for years?
As I marvel my eyes produce tears.

Perhaps from their beauty
… but probably from the cold.

Oh, there’s ice on what was a puddle.

In layers of perhaps two or three
With leaves underneath and some lying free.

Another presentation of ice seldom seen
Gosh, nature is neat, even when it’s not green!

OCEANS OF POETRY

Thanks to everyone who submitted a poem about the Sea to share. We are celebrating, National Science Week with our OCEANS OF POETRY from EVERYONE – not just school students.

Here is the final wave of poems:

Pacific  by Callum
(Adelaide Botanic High, SA)

Crystal clear waves dance on the surface
Crashing and tumbling as they go.

Falling upon the shore,
And moving to and fro.

Beneath the shifting landscape
A storm is brewing,
A bountiful home for life,
A system self-renewing.

In the Abyss
Rests a memory of innovation.

A gentle giant gone amiss,
A reclaimed salvation.

This place of elegance,
Is also a place of power,
Moving millions of tons
In a fraction of an hour.

Grinding away at the cliff,
Stealing the rock and sand.

Crash and smash, swish and swirl,
Whisking away the land.

How alluring is the sea,
With all its quirky features.

It’s nature’s tidal dance,
And a home for many creatures.

The ocean’s beauty,
Now returns to the deep
Where it lives and it thrives,
And can finally sleep.

 

 

How wonderful oceans can be!  by Madeleine
(Iona Presentation College, Mosman Park, Western Australia)

Oh, the oceans, how wonderful they can be!
A deep world full of mysteries, so let’s go on and see.
Two thirds of our Earth is covered by seawater,
Full of creatures, some larger some smaller.

Artic, Southern, Indian, Atlantic and Pacific,
The oceans that surround our countries, are so terrific!
They help to keep the climate steady,
And to keep them healthy we must all be at the ready.

Unfortunately, the ocean is full of the wrong stuff,
Full of litter, because people don’t care enough.
People don’t get how wonderful the ocean could be,
If only they understood, it needs to be litter-free.

The ocean is a place like no other,
Full of creatures who interact with one another.
They live and create a miraculous place,
That we as humans should appreciate!

Oh, the oceans, how wonderful they can be!
A world full of mysteries, deep under the sea,
There, now you have it, I’ve presented my case,
The oceans truly are a wonderful place!

 

Deep Blue Ocean  by Luca
(Sandringham East Primary School, Victoria)

Orcas live in the ocean
They have white and black coloured skin
The beautiful ocean is their home
Where they sleep and play and swim.

 

Ocean Waves  by Anna
(Sandringham East Primary School, Victoria)

Waves are floating free
in the big dark sea.

Sharks are looking for their prey
and fish are swimming away.

Dolphins are having fun with the waves
and making lots of shapes.

The Sun is rising fast
and the kids are having a blast.

 

Deep Blue  by Imogen
(Sandringham East Primary School, Victoria)

Deep and peaceful
the ocean laps against the sand
Blue fish and coral,
the waves meet the land.

Bright light on water
whirls through my head
I wish I was there
and not in bed.

 

The Ocean From a Dolphin’s View  by Kaushika
(Parramatta High School, NSW)

As I dived underwater I came to a halt,
What I saw, wasn’t just water with salt,
What I was viewing was spectacular scenery,
Colourful corals and amazing anemones,
As I moved further along, a colossal fish,
Seemed to be having krill as his dish,
But the creature I saw was a mammal, like me,
A whale that weighed tons, I know you’d agree
Colourful fishes, in all shapes and sizes,
Wherever I looked was a sea of surprises,
From purple to blue and orange to green,
Some large, slow but agile, or miniscule, lean,
Other sea creatures I found in that spot
Were clown fish inside their anemone cot,
Unlike sea grasses, all corals are animals,
Who would have thought …
Elegant and admirable!
Like what Mr Columbus has once said
“The sea will grant each man new hope,
and sleep will bring the dreams of home.’’
This gorgeous place is home to me.
I swam back to my dolphin family.

 

My Unexpected Voyage!  by Vinaya
(Parramatta High School, NSW)

Sea water rippled through my fingers,
As I stared at a crab that slowly lingered.
I have lost my way, like some people do,
I have lost my way under ocean blue!
Anemones, seaweeds, reefs, and corals
Produce a magnificent show of florals,
Filled with many fish as well,
Fish with bright colours and fish that swell.

I gasped at their sight as some seaweed drowned.
While others decided to float around.
Fish swifted by, corals swayed side by side.
And that’s when it struck me!  I realised.

I’m lost on our treasured Great Barrier Reef!
Phew! At last! A sign of relief!
But now, I want to remember a lesson,
Our world is suffering, this I must mention
and we are the cause. Yes, we! Me and you!
Our reef is a victim of spoilage too.
We need to act as the cops of the ocean;
It’s up to us all. We must take action!

I learnt this lost under ocean blue
And somehow I hope that you did too!

 

Océan  by William
(Bonnyrigg High School, NSW)

The Ocean covers three-quarters of the Earth
Our mother – the place of our birth
But our thirst we cannot quench
Down in the Mariana Trench
Down where the pressure is crushing
Down where the creatures are rushing
Their beacons in the blackness for all to see.
The wide dark land for me!

 

Sea-Creature Action  by Fin
(Footscray Primary School, Victoria)

Sharks kill
Urchins spike
Jellyfish sting
Sea snakes bite
Dolphins Jump
Hermit-crabs shuffle
Crabs pinch
Turtles nibble
Whales migrate
Otters Dive
Penguins catch fish
Happy, alive.

 

The Greatness of Sand  by Sonam
(Chevallum State School, Sunshine Coast, Queensland)

Oh Sand, oh Sand, how soft you are!
On my feet, I feel you like a cushion.

Oh Sand, how wide, you are,
You hold my toes and you hold the ocean.

Oh Sand, how strong you are,
Cooked in fire to make my glass bottle.

Oh Sand, how fun you are,
I pile you up to make my sand castle.

 

Movement in the Forest  by Jeanie Axton
(Australian Children’s Poetry contributor)

 Seahorses stand upright
hiding in the blades
as the current passes

Rock fish
dart in and out
staying close to home

Feet expanding
the Sea stars move slowly
in search of urchins

Jellyfish squeeze
propelling forwards
pushing out jets of water

Nibbling algae on the holdfast
crabs scurry
protected by the forest

Through the gnarled seascape
Sharks zigzag
stalking angry Seals

The Giant Kelp Forest
a nursery for the young
a protector of sea life

Standing tall
a marine fortress

 

Sea Urchin  by Toni Newell
(Australian Children’s Poetry contributor)

Sea urchins aren’t fish,
They’re an invertebrate,
They are omnivores,
Sea floor their real-estate.

They come in many colours,
Mainly round and spiky,
Sensitive to light and touch,
The hedgehog of the sea.

They move around slowly,
But on their underside.
Are five paired rows of feet,
Which within the spikes hide.

Amongst their predators,
Are crabs, wolf eels, sea otters,
Trigger fish and humans,
A favourite food of lobsters.

Sea urchins may look frail,
With long spikes extended,
A vision delicate and beautiful,
As nature had intended.

 

The Turbulent Sea  by Madonna George
(Yeppoon, Queensland)

The angry sea, a storm in the night
shaking the corals and clams with fright,
stirring the sand and scattering shells
until waves subside, and all is well.

 

 

Published 6th August 2020
Drifting past, is a raft of ACROSTIC poems by Year 1 and Year 2 students from Sandringham East Primary School, Victoria:

LIGHTHOUSE  by Harvey

 

BLUE OCEAN  by Scarlett

B lue whale
L ively fish
U nder water
E ndless waves

O n a rocking boat
C rabs scurry
E ating seafood
A shipwreck on the sand
N ever want to leave

 

Coral, That’s Us  by Adeline

C reatures underwater use me as food,
O ver in a submarine you can still see me,
R eefs, we are in,
A nimals, we are not plants,
L ook at me, I am coral.

 

OCEAN  by Isla

O n the rocks snappy little crabs scuttle.
C olourful coral grows in a rainbow of colour.
E xcited divers learn about sharks.
A ll the interesting fish glide through the water.
N ature is different down this deep.

 

OCEAN by Rose

cean waves lapping at the sand.
urious creatures investigating new foods.
choes bouncing from the bottom of the sea.
stounding, amazing, light blue water.
oisy boats whizzing around like crazy leopards.

 

SHARK by Shivaa

S ea lions swim underneath the cold arctic water
H ands of people lay on the sand
A sting from box jellyfish can kill
R ockpools have starfish that we can spot
K iller whale can eat sharks

 

Shades of Blue by Faith

O pen seas
C reatures big and small
E ndless waves
A mazing coral reefs
N othing but shades of blue

 

published 31st July 2020:

A Turtle Meditation  by Lucas
(Calvin Christian School, Kingston, Tasmania)

Drifting away, feeling free,
I float over waves as calm as can be.
No worries in life can trouble me
away from the shoreline, upon the sea.

 

In and Out  by Fraser
(Calvin Christian School, Kingston, Tasmania)

High tide and low,
Changes every half a day,
This poem is about,
The ocean so if I may,

I’ll tell you about tides,
And all that they do,
Hopefully people will learn,
As well as you,

Like most things on earth,
The tide goes in and out,
So the whole galaxy can hear you,
You should probably shout,

The truth is that the moon makes,
The water rise and fall,
There is no exception,
It happens to all,

Pattering against the shore,
Waves come and go,
This is because of the tide,
Both high and low,

It sweeps boats out far,
Or fills an empty bay,
High and low tide happens,
Twice every day,

The tide is made,
Because of the moon,
Its gravity pulls water,
It’ll happen again soon,

Thank you for listening,
Making this has been fun,
Although no regrets,
Know that I am now done.

 

Amazing Oceans  by Charlotte
(Sandringham East Primary School, Victoria)

Oceans, oceans everywhere
Calm and rough, you never know.
Billions of creatures call it home
where dolphins and colourful coral grow.
Amazing, unbelievable, cool.

 

Pinniped Seals  by Isobel
(West Footscray Primary School, Victoria)

A seal is grey, fat and furry
It has big dark black eyes

It lives in the deep, dark blue ocean
Where it’s cold, icy and quiet

It dives into the water
Twirling, twisting and swaying

Flipping its flippers and fin-foot
happily kicking and playing.

 

Sea Creatures Rhyming Acrostic by Class KJ
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

Octopuses gliding slowly in the sea
Crabs crawling sideways in fear
Eels making body waves to set them free
Amazing sea creatures for us to see
Narwhal’s pointy tooth is like the top of a tree
Shrimps have tiny black eyes with which to see

 

The Deep Sea  by Tara
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

The corals swish back and forth
The fish swim side to side
The murky sea is flowing
The waves go up and down
The crabs are clapping

 

The Mysterious Ocean  by Zakaria
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

The mysterious ocean
reminds me of a blue potion.
Beneath, lurks lots of creatures
with exquisite and unique features,
Above the surface we see crashing waves
that create salty foam which slowly fades.
The lower we go, the more curious we grow
to learn what really lurks deep down below.
No longer a bright blue potion,
but now a very dark ocean!

 

Secrets of the Sea  by Taylor
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

As I journey to the sea
I smell the fresh breeze close to me
Walk down to the beach and take a seat,
I feel the sand underneath my feet.

Looking out to the sea
The energy of the waves is calling me.
I dive into the ocean blue.
Will I discover something new?

Looking down beneath the sea
I see a crystal as blue as can be.
Picking it up, I already knew
The ocean is coming home with me too.

 

A Deep Blue Problem  by Elianna
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

We are killing our marine life out there
And sadly some people don’t seem to care.
Our pollution wraps around necks, tails and fins.
Those animals suffer and no one wins.
Creatures are dying from ocean pollution
We really do need a lasting solution.
So use less plastic and think of my rhyme.
We can save our oceans, one piece at a time.

 

True Beauty  by A’isha
(Sherwood Grange Public School, Merrylands, NSW)

In the light of day …
Its waves convey an icy chill
Through foaming spray,
While thunderous waves
Rush to the shore,
Then peacefully roll away.

As the Sun goes down …
The ocean receives
The burning Sun, about to leave.
Then gradually comes the night,
Devouring that glorious, glowing light.

 

published 21st July 2020:

At the edge of the Ocean  by Falak
(Barton Primary School, Cranbourne West, Victoria)

The waves whisper in my ear,
Calling me to the soft sand.
The water sweeps over my feet,
And surrounds where I stand.

 

Ocean’s Drift  by Ibrahim
(Barton Primary School, Cranbourne West, Victoria)

We are the ocean
where life was first chosen.
But now it rains plastic
which isn’t fantastic.

Put yourself in our seas
and see how it feels.
We’re starting to choke
and this is no joke.

We’d like some respect.
Want to see the effect.
Please be the solution
and not the pollution.

 

Going Home  by Clara
(Ripponlea Primary School, Melbourne, Victoria)

The skies were grey,
The sea was blue.
A stormy night
for the sea below.

The fish go home,
clams say goodbye
and turtles turn
to sleep and hide.

An octopus lay
in its comfy cave,
wondering if
its friend was OK.

It could hear her voice
loud and clear …
even though
it has no ears.

 

Pretty Little Starfish  by Toni Newell
(Australian Children’s Poetry contributor)

Pretty little starfish,
Colourful and great,
You’re really not a fish,
But an invertebrate.
You have a central disc,
Five arms typically,
Within the central disc,
Prey’s digested organically.
You’re sensitive to light,
Touch and temperature,
Your anatomy’s advanced,
Larger bait you can procure.
Enzymes help to digest,
Some of the bigger prey,
And due to this ability,
More food is on display.
Depending on your species,
Your lifespan will vary,
Ten to thirty odd years,
Of predators be wary.
You are the star of the sea,
Few others can compete,
Your shape known globally,
That’s very hard to beat.

 

published 21st July 2020:

The Cuttlefish  by Cheryl Polonski
(Tarlo, NSW)

The cuttlefish is wrongly named, it’s not a fish at all.
It’s family is cephalopod.  Now that’s a better call.
His cousins are the nautilus, the octopus and squid.
He has 8 legs, 2 tentacles and mouth that he keeps hid.

He is the only cephalopod with cuttlebone inside.
It’s porous structure filled with air, helps cuttlefish to hide.
A gas tank that’s nearby it, to adjust the buoyancy,
allows him to position, just right where he wants to be.

They all, intelligence display, on testing in a lab.
But what amazes me the most?   Their camouflage is fab.
Their texture they can even change, papillae do this job.
The muscles make the skin poke up in nodules and knobs.

 Chromatophores are ink-filled sacs with every colour known.
Their muscle-driven camouflage can make them look like stone.
When flexed, their striking colouring and patterns do express,
perhaps to hide from danger, or a female to impress.

So when the mating season comes, we see just what they’ve got,
displaying mottled patterning or fancy stripe or spot.
Bright colours now, of every hue will burst forth on their skin.
Fluorescent, neon, flashing lights, create a visual din.

But when two males compete for her, they have a mighty spar.
Non-violent shows light up the sea, to see who’s up to par.
Sometimes while this is going on, a small male will sneak in
and fertilise the female’s eggs.   The big boys then don’t win.

Then off she goes to lay her eggs in underhangs and cracks.
But she will go away to die and won’t be coming back.
They do not eat in spawning time, their bodies soon grow weak.
Producing all their progeny is when they’re at their peak.

And when the little ones burst forth, from in their eggy home,
they look like little adults. On the ocean floor they’ll roam,
until next year when they return, to propagate their race.
They are the rock stars of the sea and they have earned their place.

 

A Fish Called a Seahorse  by Toni Newell
(Australian Children’s Poetry  contributor)

Breathing through gills,
Seahorses are fish,
They live in salt water,
Change colour at wish.
Long snake like tail,
Helps them survive,
Holding onto sea weeds,
Reproduction can thrive.
Babies called fry,
Are born by the male,
They’re small and complete,
Understandably frail.
They are not nurtured,
But left on their own,
To fend for themselves,
Their future unknown.
Possessing long snouts,
They suck up their food,
Quite often copepods,
Larval fish they include.
They possess two eyes,
Which behave as four,
Each sees independently,
Meaning they can see more.
Their heads resemble,
That of a horse,
It’s why they are called,
A seahorse of course.

 

The Crab  by Toni Newell
(Australian Children’s Poetry  contributor)

Walking sideways on the sand,
Which is what we crabs do,
Looking at the ocean,
Appreciating the view.
Peeking from our tunnels,
When it’s safe to roam,
Skittling across the sand,
Leaving our safe home.
Finding small morsels,
Bought in by the sea,
When we’ve had enough to eat,
We return back cautiously.

 

Ultra-black Fish  by Sukarma Rani Thareja
(Associate Professor Retired, CSJM Kanpur University, India)

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
hide in plain sight in the deepest sea.
So how does it work, this trickery,
their magic invisibility?

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
have melanin, just like human skin,
but pigment structures found within
are packed so tight –
like a gumball machine –
that almost all light gets trapped right in.

By taking a lesson from fish-skin designs
we could make-up a pigment, right shape and size.
The blackest of blacks would be our prize
for material science that tricks human eyes!

 

published 12th July 2020:

Friends of the Ocean  by Lavanya
(Kambrya College, Berwick, Victoria)

The bottle that you’re drinking from,
Is making all our oceans glum.
Alike, the cling-wrap on your sandwich,
Now that is seriously savage.

Today in your lunchbox, tomorrow in the seas!
All of them are crying out their pleas!
” THE GRIEF! THE GUILT! THE MISERY!”
” SEA-TURTLES ARE NOW HISTORY!”

Our plastics, chemicals, and negligence
Have prodded our guilty consciences.
Sea-life worldwide at death’s door,
This stretch of blue will be no more!

Starvation and food scarcity,
And don’t forget turbidity,
Chemical poisoning too,
Problems, these are only a few.

Disappearing are our food resources,
Pollution killing our small sea-creatures,
vital components of marine’s food chain.
Is Sea-life crying out in pain?

But the ocean is our mother, and we are its children.
We’ll be friends of the ocean and no longer villains.
So, SHARE THE SEA! SHARE THE SHORE!
For it is ours to nourish for evermore.

The Curious Unknown  by Elizabeth
(Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Kensington, NSW)

The waves crash against the rocks
stumbling about like a teenager,
never knowing when to stop
those tireless tides of flows and knocks.

Carrying others everywhere it goes,
carefree about where it will lead.
A resting place or back for more?
With curious currents – who knows.

Mysteries of the deep adore
diving into endless questions,
searching for new answers,
surfacing each time with more.

Starfish  by Deborah Kennelly
(Currumbin Waters, Queensland)

A Star fell from the sky tonight,
into the sea, still shining bright,
was washed by waves to the shore,
a shining light, it was no more.

Life is change – nothing stays the same
and so, a Starfish it became.
Left like treasure from sea to land,
now shining in the morning sand.

The Shell Graveyard  by Deborah Kennelly
(Currumbin Waters, Queensland)

I walked along a windswept beach earlier today,
where broken, battered seashells lay strewn along the way.
Some were smashed completely, whilst others just a bit –
a shelly graveyard stretched for miles made up of this shell grit.

Then sighted partly buried, a perfect shell was found
among the broken pieces laying all around.
I wondered how it survived the same journey from sea to land
and how it now just rested unbroken in the sand.

Are we just like the seashells strewn across the shore –
swept along by currents from Life’s ocean floor?
Are we just chosen randomly as victims every day
as Life directs the set and scene, or do we create the play?

Some of us are broken bad, while some just dents and knocks,
still other hearts have hardened when smashed against the rocks.
And like the wind that blows the waves on relentlessly,
some won’t relinquish their belief that they’re scarred eternally.

I watched as storm clouds gathered and threatened from up high
and wondered where the sun had gone, deserting our blue sky.
If only we would stop and see the pattern causing strife,
and know that we create the change for light to fill our life.

It’s like we’re always fighting and battling some new storm.
In defiance we stand against the wind and wonder why we’re torn.
The battleground is littered with broken hearts and more
and confusion still reigns supreme as to what it is all for.

Coastal Reverie  by J. R. Poulter
(Australian Children’s Poetry & Word Wings Publishing)

Waters rush,
Waters surge,
Seagulls sing
A mournful dirge,
Sands sift,
Clouds drift …

We stand
Upon the shore,
Watching waves run
And pelicans s-o-a-r!

Sea Breathes  by J. R Poulter
(Australian Children’s Poetry & Word Wings Publishing)

Sea breathes in
Ripples running,
Wind flowing
Across its face …

Breathe in!
The blood tide responds
Drawing you down
Liquid as soul or thought.
Breathe out …

Sea wash, salt cleanse,
The fingers of the land,
We stand and fill our lungs
And cool our feet
Deep in wet sand.

Rhythm of the Sea  by Jen Rhoderick
(Wattle Glen, Victoria)

Waves roll and crash endlessly, a rhythm so calm,
heartbeat of the ocean, it’s drawcard – it’s charm,
The warmth from the sun, as it shines on my skin,
The squelch of the sand, as I dig my toes in,
The rock pools, a treasure, of uncharted sights,
A crab or a mollusc, a shell- such delights,
Expanses of water, shades of green and of blues,
So many colours and magnificent hues,
The seaweed discarded, thrown up in the night,
A squark from a seagull, hovering mid-flight,
The line where the sky joins up to the sea,
A horizon of hope for dreamers like me,
So full of respect and admiring such charm,
Ensuring the wildlife
Will come to no harm,
Look after what we have, what we love and adore,
Protect all our oceans for evermore
So that one day, you too, could say you were here,
Laying on a beach, or standing on the pier,
Waves roll and crash endlessly, a rhythm so calm,
Heartbeat of the ocean- it’s drawcard, it’s charm.

The Sea  by Rosemarie Galea
(In memory of those lost at sea)

A sleeping giant, when it’s calm,
caressed by sand and swaying palm.
A raging monster rears its head
when wind and rain by night are led.

It swells and roars, it foams and crashes.
Against shore and ship it loudly splashes
then, as if by some strange hand, it stops.

When morning light again appears
the giant has wiped  away its tears,
and all is well in the world.

 

published 4th July 2020:

Ocean’s Eye  by Andrei
(Georges River College, Peakhurst, NSW)

My journey has begun.
To home I say goodbye,
I bid farewell to the sun
And seek the ocean’s eye.

As the Southern winds blow,
my boat begins to sway,
I question, should I go?
Or is it safer to just stay?

My stomach begins to rumble,
The ocean’s beauty I crave,
I try to walk but stumble,
And capsize from a wave.

The seabed approaches me,
Or so I really think,
I step onto a squid which flees,
And leaves a trail of ink.

The water gets colder,
My teeth start to chatter,
The pressure gets bolder,
My lungs get flatter.

I ignore the chill,
And search for my boat,
I mistakenly gasp
And krill fills my throat.

I accept my fate,
Surely I’m done
But as though to debate,
I’m saved by someone.

So happy to be fine,
I can say that for sure,
But since I’m alive,
Why not try once more?

On planet Earth, dear Ocean  by Sukarma Rani Thareja
(Associate Professor Retired, CSJM Kanpur University, India)

You are a source of power and strength.
Linking with our atmosphere,
creating climate’s balances
or shaping coastlines by yourself.
You are a fundamental force
of nature’s fine fragility.

You resonate our consciousness;
you fascinate with siren songs.
Your watery wings make homes for life,
sustaining hungry humankind
who use your every turbulence
to calculate and understand.

Many are in love with you.
From arts to oceanographers,
inspired by vastness, nature, science
that draws our need for truth,
a pledge to keep you safe and clean
for future generations.

Dreaming Seas  by Margaret Pearce
(Australian Children’s Poetry  contributor)

The silver lake across the sea
flung by a lavish moon
Is edged with a misty darkness
Whispering a lullaby tune
for more quiet depths of peace
As the chill star spangled sky
Covers the remotely dreaming seas.

The Digital Tide  by Margaret Pearce
(Australian Children’s Poetry  contributor)

Early morning the waves of information are sure and
slow
Safe for toddlers in the shallows of technological
flow
Romping through the foam of unsupervised
delights
While practicing their control of the predatory
bytes
The technology rises to break on discarded
sites
Teenagers surf the Facebook depths and internet
heights
The waves swell higher, heavier with knowledge and
speed
Balancing on the technological edge the experts keep
their lead
And the unskilled, swamped by megabytes are dumped
humiliated
Under the incurious memory of cloud and the alien
educated.

 

Too Many Jellyfish  by Celia Berrell

Could you eat
some future dishes
made with lots of
jellyfishes?

Crunchy noodles
salad, sushi
jellied ice-cream
(slightly chewy).

Many fish
that fed on jellies
ended-up in
human bellies.

Has this caused
an ocean muddle
full of too much
jelly trouble?

If fishermen
could earn a living
only going
jelly-fishing

other fish-stocks
might grow back
and get the oceans
back on track.

Moon Poems

2019 marks 50 years since humans first landed on the Moon.  Below, we are sharing Moon Poems to celebrate.

I am the Bleeding Moon  by Kaya
(Whitfield State School)

When day turns to night,
I peek over the mountains,
As quiet as a still night.
I am the bleeding Moon.

Dogs howl,
Nocturnal animals scatter in fear,
Creatures scuttle.
I am the bleeding Moon.

I come every couple of years,
I float proudly above the clouds,
Full-faced in sunset’s lingering light.
I am the bleeding Moon.

Flash, snap, flash,
Crowds of people look up at me,
Like a throng of paparazzi.
Flash, snap, flash.

A soufflé of clouds
Brush against my blood-red, rusty face,
The I slowly,
Slowly,

Snuggle into a sleepy pillow
Of dark thunder-clouds covering my crimson face.
I wait patiently to return
And totally eclipse your night again.

I
Am the bleeding Moon.

 

Full-Moon by Jaryn
(Whitfield State School)

Oh Moon, full-Moon, you’re rising high,
a shiny coin in night-time’s sky.
Very mindful of your phases,
displaying all your different changes.
Sometimes thin and sometimes bright,
full-Moon is like a ball of light.
The Moon is weird in every way,
and that’s why I want our Moon to stay.

 

The Moon and our World by Jarrod
(Whitfield State School)

The Moon shines
as hounds whine.

People joke it’s only cheese
glowing through the fluttering leaves.

It spreads over our homes like a towel
as majestic wolves begin to howl.

Along with one-sixth gravity
it fascinates society,

giving surfers tidal waves
that swirl inside a crystal cave.

When astronauts walked on its surface,
humans had reached their furthest.

 

One Big Step for Me  by Ruby
(Whitfield State School)

Gathered round old televisions
or listening to radio stations
witnessing that “one big step”
fifty years ago.

Moon:
rising and falling,
controlling the tides,
radiant and bright
though never alight.

Your dusty black land
with rocks, shards of sand,
highlands and craters
makes Moon’s unique textures.

There’s still so much to learn
so, to the Moon we will return.
I wonder …
will I ever get a turn?

 

Silvery Moonlight  by Georgia
(Whitfield State School)

The silvery Moon
shines softly at night,
giving us peace
and bright white light.

Sleepy children
off to bed,
stories read
to fill their head.

Kittens nuzzle,
puppies cuddle,
under the silvery Moon
they’ll huddle.

Moon,
as elegant as can be,
circles the sky
so far from me.

 

Earth and Moon  by Amber
(Whitfield State School)

Moon’s silvery light across the water.
In the night she’s silver in colour,
reflecting light from the Sun.
That’s not all, there’s more to come.

No oxygen, no air,
Neil Armstrong was the first one there.
He wore an extra-special suit,
expensive as diamonds and loot.

If Earth’s a fishbowl full of water,
a cheeky fish that’s filled with laughter,
floats around our sea of space,
orbiting Earth.  Her favourite place.

 

My Moon by Nithya
(Minaret College)

The Moon and stars
play all night.
When Sun comes,
Moon disappears.

Moon and Sun fight,
Moon steals sunlight,
and that’s how it
glows in the dark.

 

My Satellite Poem by Lavanya
(Glendal Primary School)

We see it in the spacious sky
as if it floats so very high
reflecting light that grows so bright,
we sometimes cover our eyes.

Huge craters and flat plains called seas,
we sometimes gaze, amazed at these.
This is the Earth’s own satellite.
Our Moon, for everyone to see.

 

Dragons at Mt Molloy

Bearded Dragon  by Pepita
(Mount Molloy State School)

Its beard goes black when it’s angry.
It’s scaly and smells a bit tangy.
It runs really fast on its long hind legs
and waves its hand when it begs.

Australian Bearded Dragons can make themselves look scary by puffing out a flap of skin under their jaw. They can be seen communicating with each other from a distance, bobbing their heads and bodies up and down. And when they concede defeat, they give a little wave with their forearm!  Some people think they make Oddly Cute Pets too.

Insect Poems

The Boxing Mantis by Nika
(Trinity Beach State School)

A praying mantis is green
so it blends-in to help it hide.
It has big, brave bulging eyes
that never ever blink.

They eat other insects
and juicy green leaves,
but luckily for us
they don’t eat people.

They have four long swaying legs
and two strong punching legs
that bend-up by their chin
so they look like they’re going to
PUNCH YOU!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insect Limerick  by Pamela Koltunicki

There once was a bug named Tattoo
who loved rolling big balls of poo.
One day, pushing faeces,
he saw the same species,
and yelled, “you’re a dung beetle too!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scavenging Achievers  by Sukarma Rani Theraja

I was asleep
when a copper-coloured beetle touched my feet.

Strongest insect that fondly eats
our planet’s daily waste.
Rolling, digging and tunnelling dung,
it sings songs of life with balls of dung.
Forwards and backwards into balls,

Rolling, rolling spheres of manure,
picking-up seeds at every turn.
Moving, dispersing and fertilizing
seeds on-the-move by rolled dung balls.

Digging, digging to bury those balls.
A store of moisture, a harvest of food.
A safe abode and nursery,
brooding babies, all-in-a-ball.

Tunnelling, tunnelling, spreading that dung,
repeatedly changing the texture of soil.
Porosity, quality, germination
all get better where dung beetles dwell.

Egyptians and Adivasi knew
the values of these scarab saviours.
So keep these achievers in the loop,
revere those scavenging beetle troops,
cleaning up our planet’s poops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Science Hall of Fame

This collection of poems is shared by their creators to celebrate National Science Week 2018 (11-19 August), its theme of GAME CHANGERS AND CHANGE MAKERS, with aspects of science that have inspired and fascinated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Click on the blue “Game Changers” writing below to find out more about the scientists in this poster)

Game Changers

Dr Sukarma Thareja from India began, by reminding us that famous figures, such as Thomas Edison, didn’t necessarily shine when they were at school! Haywood Ho Hei tells us how one of science’s the most impressive theories, Quantum Mechanics, was almost abandoned by its originator (Max Planck), until it was taken on by those around him. Science and discovery can take incredible diligence, focus and hard work, while at other times, it just happens accidentally. And talking of accidents, not all scientific endeavours have been for the greater good. Introducing the South American Cane Toad to Queensland Australia was simply a catastrophe!

An Ode to Stephen Hawking  by Rowen
(Woodville High School)

Stephen Hawking, a brilliant mind!
Very clever, successful and kind.
One of our best scientific pioneers
with one of the most glittering careers.

Incredibly gifted throughout his time,
a theoretical physicist in his prime,
he became a role model to many young people,
but sadly one day he was rendered near-feeble.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease
his health declined in small degrees.
But he didn’t give up, no, he pushed ahead,
although his peers thought he’d soon be dead.

He kept living on, yes, he cheated death
until March 14th when he took his last breath.
His students, and theirs, talk of him in a way,
that connects with us all, every hour, every day.

They say this great man was one-of-a-kind.
Stephen Hawking enshrined that brilliant mind.

 

Calculators  by Georgia
(Whitfield State School)

Those magical math-multiplying machines:
what would we do without them?

We’d sit in a maths test, yawning, so boring
all the way to tomorrow morning!

If doing sums you ever fear,
don’t worry, calculators are here.

But what is inside; what are they really?
A special machine that tells answers clearly.

Now that we’ve got them, what to we do?
Trust them completely – their answers are true.

 

Lucky Galileo  by Imogen
(Whitfield State School)

Renaissance astronomer Galilei
showed that the Earth revolved round the Sun.
Defying the views of the holiest place,
some Catholics wanted him burned at stake.

Instead, he’s imprisoned in home-arrest
where Bubonic Plague wasn’t a pest.
This “Black Death” caused headache, fever and chills
then lymph glands, like boils, began to swell.

Safe from disease, his life was enhanced.
Protected from getting boils in his pants!

 

Clever Ada  by Coby
(Whitfield State School)

Ada Lovelace liked music.
And she was also good at maths.
She wrote a guide, “Flyology”.
She’s a dreamer from the past.

At a ball, she met Charles Babbage
whose incredible machine
was called “The Difference Engine”
and only ran on steam.

This was the first computer that
the world had ever seen
and Ada wrote its programs.  She’s
the world’s first Coding Queen!

 

 

Meeting E.T. At Cairns Aquarium  by Kaya
(Whitfield State School)

This porcupine fish can change personality.
From small, shy and cute, to puffed-up all-angrily.
Oh, E.T. you have such big eyes,
they make it so hard to say goodbye.
I wonder, have you met E.T?
If not, I think you’d better see me!

This porcupine fish melts hearts every day.
A Diodon Globefish and species of ray.
Oh, E.T. you have so much love to share,
In Cairns Aquarium, we can’t help but stare.
If all you go, please say hello.
Oh, E.T. I love you so.

 

Aqua  by Jade
(Whitfield State School)

Aqua is the colour of waves on the ocean
when blue skies and sunshine are passing by.
Aqua is the sound of water crashing.
Its power and strength we can’t deny.

Aqua is the smell of the salty ocean
where sodium chloride will spray and spin.
Aqua is the taste of the briny sea
touching and tingling against my skin.

 

Superior Saturn  by Charlie
(Whitfield State School)

Saturn’s the sixth planet from the Sun
and my favourite in our galaxy.
With its nine astonishing icy rings
that orbit and hang due to gravity.

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon,
found by a Dutch Astronomer
which later led Christiaan Hugens
to become really popular.

According to to Doctor Kevin Baines,
Saturn rains tons of diamonds each year.
It would be fantastic to take some home …
as a special prize souvenir!

Saturn’s name came from Roman mythology;
Titan was named from the Greek.
Those wandering stars we now know as planets
like gods, never lose their mystique.

 

Beautiful Moon  by Moco
(Whitfield State School)

I am the beautiful moon.
Silent, silver, cold.
I’ll stop my orbiting soon
because I’m growing old.
My temperature in Celsius
is minus one-seventy-three.
For humans, that’s the deadliest.
Too hard to live on me!

 

Cane Toads  by Ruby
(Whitfield State School)

I came here in 1935
filled with excitement about my new life.
Dropped off in Gordonvale’s sugar-cane fields
to end all your cane beetle strife.

My tough warty skin oozes poison.
My webbed feet are quite unusual.
But at least being poisonous stops me
from being anyone’s juicy meal!

I quickly adapt to your weather.
Your cyclones don’t really bother me.
Instead I just find a new shelter
and relentlessly grow my family.

In numbers, we grew and we grew and grew.
Reaching the Northern Territory.
And before many scientists really knew,
we’re in W.A. – and not sorry!

All because of a silly mistake
which scientists wish they could reverse.
Let’s hope no one brings in a Mexican snake.
That could make things a whole lot worse!

 

Max Planck Quantum Mechanics  by Haywood Ho Hei
(Victoria Shanghai Academy, Hong Kong)

Thou, in the world of unseen men,
at a time of sunshine and feathered pen.
You, a bright lad, thought beyond what we saw,
for what didn’t exist – would leave all in awe.

When a miniscule item, thought to be at the limit,
there’s still something smaller, leaving no answer.
Days of researching: past all that inhibits
with possible leads to a cure for cancer.

From the width of a one-dimensional string
to the hottest possible Farenheit,
Max Plank discovered what no Earthling could see
and what was there to show the light.

He once thought that all this would be disapproved.
It was only a theory after all.
From what he thought lost, wrong as he’d been,
when about to drop it, others took up the ball.

 

Haywood has been fascinated by physics since he was very young and loves to dig deeper and deeper into the tiny quantum world, especially about how we can use these discoveries well.

 

Young Thomas Edison  by Sukarma Rani Thareja & Celia Berrell

Childhood illness and ear infections
left young Thomas hard of hearing.
His teacher thought he couldn’t learn
and three months later, sent him home!

Fidgety Thomas was prone to distractions
which didn’t help his early learning.
But once his mother had taught him to read,
Tom devoured books at greatest speed.

Did deafness assist his concentrations?
Did curiosity banish his fearing?
His science experiment on a train
started a fire – Tom’s in trouble again!

An entrepreneur of many inventions
the name of Edison kept appearing.
Batteries, cables, and household light
were just some of Edison’s dreams-come-right.

 

Saving the System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saving the System
by Reinhold Mangundu

The system is life; this system provides.
Such system collapse is people’s demise.
So what are we doing with unthinking minds?
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s desperate signs?

Bleached coral reefs; no fishing, no work.
Unemployed poverty mustn’t be shirked.
Less copper, less diamonds: they’re closing the mines.
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s depleted signs?

Our Earth’s system needs us to save, not plunder
her life-giving riches in all their wonder.
So let’s save the system. Let’s roar out her worth!
And join in becoming Guardians of Earth.

Reinhold Mangundu is an environmental activist in Namibia and youth advocate.