Archive for the ‘Your Science Poems’ Category

Just in time for Christmas …
Merrissa Sorrentino shares her latest poem:

Twas The Night Before Christmas
(Chemistry Edition)
by Merrissa Sorrentino

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the lab
not a beaker was burning, nor lid left uncapped.
Our goggles were hung in the cupboard with care
in the hopes that St Mendeleev soon would be there.

The chemists were nestled, all snug in their coats
going over molecular formula notes.
The Professor in glasses reciting compounds
had just finished jotting the last of them down

when outside the door there arose such a clatter.
I sprang from my desk to see – what was the matter?
We raced down the hallway in a quantum-like flash
dodging the test tubes and measuring flasks.

The light of the fluorescent tubes up above
gave a lustre as bright as my chemical gloves
when what, to my wandering eyes, should appear
but a Chemist with Eight Elemental Reindeer!

Faster than light, these elements came.
He whistled and shouted and called them by name:

“Now Bismuth! Now Carbon! Now Krypton and Bromine!
On Copper! On Cobalt! On Xenon and Fluorine!
From out of the hallway and into the class
they formed an unusual luminous gas.

Like heat that emerges within a reaction
their atoms were striving for more interaction.
So off with their lids, the elements flew
with a gift for the lab, and St Mendeleev too.

And then in a startle, I heard from the hall
the clinking of pipettes and glass-mixing rods.
As I drew in my head and was turning to look
St Dmitri appeared with his chemistry book.

He was dressed all in white, from his head to his foot
but his coat was all tarnished with ashes and soot.
With a bundle of research files flung on his back
he looked like a student who’s ready for class.

His eyes – how they peered – as he looked all around.
His cheeks – were as pink as a Lithium compound.
Through the beard on his chin, in Titanium white
the smirk on his face conveyed utter delight.

The stub of his pencil, he held in his hand
as a sign of a very intelligent man.
And with it, he granted us wisdom and knowledge
which quickly began to envelop the college.

He spoke of a dream where elements took structure
like a symphony of atoms, and he, the conductor.
When arranged on the table in front of us all
he gave us a wink, then was gone from the hall.

He went in a flash as he called for his Elements.
Away they all flew in a cloud of intelligence.
But I heard him yell out – before fading away …

“HAPPY RESEARCH and to all, a good day!”

Celebrating World Space Week (October 4-10):

A Journey in Space  by Frances
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

I have a dream to go to space
because space is an amazing place.
In space, stars shine like little lights.
I’d love to touch their mighty heights.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four …
We’re going to leave this Earthly floor.
Three-two-one, we’re blasting off.
We’re going to space!  It could be tough.

Flying through Earth’s thin atmosphere
we’re finally in space – we’re finally here!
Looking back, what do I see?
Mercury, Venus and Sun face me.

Moving on to miraculous Mars,
zoom and see a heap of stars.
Flying into the Asteroid Belt …
mind those little rocks don’t pelt.

Flying through the asteroids
each one’s a challenge to avoid.
I see the king of the Milky Way
where Jupiter’s colours swirl and sway.

Saturn’s beautiful rings of ice
can freeze us all in just a trice.
Next we fly past Uranus
then Neptune, blue and serious.

And now it’s time to go back home
as I need to search on Google Chrome.
I must find out about all space.
Yes space, the most amazing place.

Our Solar System  by Annabelle
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

There I travel, it’s awfully dark.
Then I see a great gleaming spark.
Our Sun’s a bright  star, I should say
as I continue to lead the way.

Mercury’s circling close to the Sun.
I wouldn’t believe it could be much fun.
What traps heat, has thick clouds and hot base?
Venus!  The second planet in space.

Earth has nature, life and seas
and hasn’t gone past fifty-eight degrees.
Maybe there’s water, maybe there’s not.
Mars is mostly red dust and rock.

With swirls and twirls, what’s far from small?
Jupiter, Yes!  It’s the biggest of all.
That great red spot, a perpetual storm.
If you go in there, you will get torn.

Swirling gases and liquid patterns
make their home on gas giant Saturn.
Bits of ice scattered in Saturn’s rings.
Too cold for a penguin, even with wings.

Uranus ice giant, seventh from the Sun.
It also has rings: seventeen not one.
Neptune is such a beautiful blue
like a splendid sea and a cosmic zoo.

My journey has sadly come to an end.
But now I get to see my friend.
There is one space feature I did not list.
A super-special, sparkling bliss.

Our star is extremely hot indeed
turning and burning at very high speed.
One last glimpse into great bit space.
Oh what a beautiful marvellous place!

Overpowering Space  by Paloma
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Planets floating in space
Responding to gravity’s reach
The Sun controlling every movement
Freedom is no longer available in space.

Do we all dance to the Sun’s command?

Mars, Saturn, Jupiter
Pluto, Neptune, Venus
Mercury, Earth, Uranus

Moons pulled by their planets
Some forced to follow their ruler
Scattered with hollows and craters
Unique landscapes with every turn

Rings, mountains, gas
Volcanoes, canyons, ice caps
Soil, desert, seas and lakes

Satellites uncovering secrets
Asteroids making their mark
Before their time comes to an end
This is what we call the overpowering space.

Moody Venus  by Seby
Trinity Anglican School – White Rock

The second planet from the Sun
spins so slowly, never done
covered in clouds of white and brown
like Goddess Venus wearing a gown.

Underneath her fluffy clouds
she’s hiding many muddy mounds.
Rain-clouds drop burning sulphuric acid.
Venus is never peacefully placid!

A Date with the Sun  by Shamna
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Space has so many glistening stars.
From Earth, they are extremely far.

Our Sun is one of these fiery spheres
with fuel to last five billion years.

Then our Sun will explode one day …
probably on the second of May.

Adventures in Space  by Andrew
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Space is an awesome place.
I couldn’t say it’s a place I’d embrace.
The hottest sphere is the starry Sun
and I know our System only has one.

The closest planet to Earth is Mars
shining red against the stars.
With further to travel, Mars appears
to orbit our Sun in two Earth years …

while sunbeams shoot like giant swords.
Can they stop us from getting bored?

Wonders of Space  by Georgia
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

The mountains of Pluto are cold.
To climb them, you’d need to be bold.
Poor Pluto’s too small
and not very tall
rejected as planet we’re told.

The Sun is extremely hot.
It orbits our planet  –  NOT!
Let’s fly to the Sun
it will be lots of fun
and remember the course we’re to plot.

Uranus rolls on a tilt.
So cold, it would make the plants wilt.
Such icy-cold air
in its thick gassy layer
you’ll need a ten thousand mile kilt.

Saturn has more than one ring.
Perhaps it has more than one king!
Saturn’s quite big
made of gas you can’t dig
but kings will love beautiful bling.

Jupiter has swirling storms
though its surface is not very warm.
How to inform us
this planet’s enormous?
You’ll have to wait ten hours ’til dawn.

Venus glows bright in the night
and still shines in dawn’s early light.
She looks like a star
as from Earth, it’s not far.
Our neighbour’s a sparkling sight.

Earth is third from the superb Sun.
Our home – it’s fantastically fun.
With hot and cold water
for summer and winter.
And now my space poem is done!

Dark-Dark Space  by Sean
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

The Sun is so hot
like a big round pot.
It’s a fiery ball
getting ready to fall.
It’s incredibly bright
giving Earth lots of light.

While dark-dark space
is the blackest place
it’s scattered with stars
and planets like Mars.
Our Sun has eight planets
and four contain granite.

Mercury: closest one
orbiting round our Sun.
One side’s too hot
while the other is not.
We know it is there
but it hides in Sun’s glare.

Venus: a guiding light
close to Earth, seems so bright.
Planet of pock-marked rock
pounded by meteor knocks.
Clouds hide her bumpy ground
while Venus spins around.

Earth is a place with life
where man can have a wife.
Thirty percent is land
five percent’s made of sand.
Earth’s liquid water
helps make it less hotter.

Mars is a rusty red
just like my old bed-spread.
Famed for its volcano
largest of all we know.
Plus, there’s two tiny moons
Man hopes to visit soon!

Our Terrestrial Planets  by Daniel
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Planet Mercury: the closest one
to our luminous life-giving Sun
can be so cold and really hot.
It’s the smallest planet of the lot.

Whose day is bigger than its year?
Whose atmosphere is never clear?
A neighbour, shining in the night.
Watch as Venus takes her flight.

The Earth is twenty-nine percent land
when from a satellite it’s scanned.
It’s the only one of which we know
where life and people live and grow.

Mars is the second smallest planet
of the terrestrials made of granite.
The outermost and furthest one
orbiting round our big red Sun.

Counting the Gassy Giant Planets  by Brant
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Jupiter: fifth away from the Sun
the Solar System’s largest one.
Jupiter has three  rings of dust
plus clouds of yellow, brown, white and rust.

Saturn is sixth away from our star
with thousands of icy rings stretching far.
Saturn has lots of hydrogen gas
but not much helium – alas.

Seventh: Uranus spins on its side
and has a rocky core inside.
Its atmosphere is quite extreme.
Landing a space craft would NOT be a dream!

Eighth, blue Neptune has six faint rings
made of gas and dust and things.
Its winds are nine-times stronger than Earth’s.
But what’s the point … if there is no surf?

Space Dots and Spots  by Aiden
Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Jupiter has a gassy red spot
but from Earth it only looks like a dot.
The biggest planet to orbit the Sun,
if size was a contest, Jupiter’s won!

Neptune’s moons are extremely cold.
Thirteen are tiny; bit Triton is bold.
Neptune’s winds are chilly and high.
They’d blow your skin off and then you’d die.

The Sun is so dazzlingly bright and hot.
After you looked, you’d see only dots!
The Sun is our giant, life-giving ball.
One day it will die and all life will fall.

Down here on Earth, if you look to the sky,
you might see two pretty doves flying by.
But if you were floating around in space
you might see two meteors having a race.

Circling Our Solar System  by Xavier
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Lost in space, looking for Mars
I’m dizzy from seeing millions of stars!

Dwarf planet Pluto’s orbit runs far
as it takes it away from our central star.

Makemake in the Kuiper Belt
is hanging around where Pluto dwelt.

Neptune was named as the god of the sea.
We’ll find other god names in planets we see.

His brother Uranus orbits close by.
This planet was named as the god of the sky.

Saturn’s ice rings are shining bright.
Its sixty-two moons dance to the right.

Jupiter harbours a big red dot
which we’ve no idea how it got!

Ceres is found in the Asteroid Belt
being bumped around at quite a pelt.

Venus is called our evening star.
The steamiest hottest planet by far.

The green and blue planet Earth is our home
where millions of creatures are free to roam.

Mercury circles close to the Sun
which means it has not water that runs.

This brings us down to the final one.
The hear of our Solar System – the Sun!

SHE is the reason why we are here.
Let’s hope our Sun doesn’t disappear.

The Dwarf Planet Pluto  by Tilleah
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

I think that’s planet Pluto!
Pluto’s very small, so …

does it orbit round our Sun
or does it orbit another one?

I wonder if we’ll ever know
if we were wrong about Pluto.

There’s lots of dwarfs, just like you.
Smaller planets just like you

whose orbits go so very slow
far away from Sun’s warm glow.

Spacey Science  by Emily
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Let’s go to see some gassy giants
and learn a little spacey science.
Jupiter has a cool red dot.
A pretty stormy Earth-sized spot.

Saturn has some icy rings
like harp-strings singing to a king.
Blue Neptune doesn’t have a tune
but cares for fourteen tiny moons.

The Solar System  by Giaan
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Let’s travel through our Solar System
taking off like a powerful piston.
First let’s travel to the Sun
a star with lots of helium.
The Sun sparks up so burning bright
it’s like a giant electric light.

Next let’s pass the rocky planets.
All of them contain some granite.
Earth is where we love to live.
It’s where we all can eat and give.
Mercury, Venus were first on our list
but I like Mars the last one best.

Let’s go to the planet that has a big ring.
That gassy wonder is truly king.
First we’ll fly past Jupiter
and hope we don’t get stupider.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
are all like gassy balloon cartoons.

Now let’s talk of the Milky Way.
That sweep of stars like a curved highway
with asteroids, comets all zooming above.
But the Milky Way is the one I love.
And here we are, one in a million
or maybe even a billion trillion.

Singing Rings  by Ella
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Our Solar System everyone loves
with its planets and asteroids circling above.
Mars is known as the rusty red planet
and just like Earth, it is full of granite.

Wonderful Jupiter has faint rings
but sadly those rings don’t seem to sing.
The Sun is our star and brightest of all.
At the end of the day, did you see it fall?

Galaxy Wisdom  by Abbey
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

There are many Solar Systems around
some are big, others small and round.
The Milky Way is our galaxy space
where planets never stay in one place.

Our shiny Sun might be amusing
but its solar flares are very confusing.
Beyond our bright blue atmosphere
they can damage satellites every year.

The outer gas planets are really massive
and bloated by their mix of gases.
Earth is small but far more dense.
Our rocky planets make much more sense.

Dwarf planets might be super-small
(just like my friend who’s not very tall).
There’s five dwarf planets in our system
but they’ll soon find more – if you want my wisdom!

Saga of a Solar System Space-probe  by William
(Trinity Anglican School – White Rock)

Blasting off from our homeland Earth
Out to look for some brand new turf.
Passing by the red planet Mars
Out towards the unexplored stars.
Past Phobos and Deimos two irregular moons
The most dangerous stage of my voyage is soon.
NASA is happy the trip is a success
Should we travel on further?  The director says “Yes”.
Jupiter’s next, with its swirling storm
The marbled surface is far from warm
Bobbing and weaving and learning their pattern
Out of the Asteroid Belt towards Saturn.
Sampling the gas giant’s rings of dust
Using its gravity, gaining more thrust.
Then off-tilt Uranus, with crystals of ice
Mission Control says “those pictures are nice”.
Most planets are named after gods of Rome.
My journey has taken me far from home.
My mission is over.  I’ve run out of fuel.
Now all this knowledge you’ll learn in school.
Finally, Neptune.  The end of the line.
Since I blasted off, I’ve had a wondrous time!
Down through the atmosphere Crash! Bang! Boom!
Plummeting down to my freezing cold doom.

Our theme for this year’s National Science Week was WATER.  Evie’s poem, accompanied by Dr James R Carter‘s photographs and website link featured in Australian Children’s Poetry.

Ice Flowers by Evie
(Whitfield State School)

Such complexity and beauty
In a simple form
But only cold conditions:
Winter and Autumn.
The sap in the stem escapes
Thin cracks will form
Then water is drawn
It touches the air
Ice petals will form.
That is how an ice flower is born.

Ravishing and rare
Not found everywhere
Of course green plants can create
Yet also on wood, a fence or a gate
Where water comes through the gate’s pores
The forces push this delicate cause.

So tempting to touch
But wait, don’t rush
Ice flowers will break.
Don’t make the mistake
Instead snap your lens
For the longest keepsake.

Destructive Floods  by Charlie
(Whitfield State School)

Life needs water to survive.
It’s nature’s way to give and provide.
But floods can cause rivers to rise and rise.
Like tears that well-up in our eyes.

Flooding water’s might and power
can crush us like a flimsy flower
and cut its way through rocky land.
Beware flood’s harsh destructive hand.

But floods can have a positive side.
Spreading water far and wide.
Giving plants a long life-span.
Helping heal the dried-up land.

Water Worldwide  by Jonathon
(Whitfield State School)

Cascading into Consciousness by Sharon Davson

 

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.

Dripping Icicles  by Jimin
(Whitfield State School)

 

Icicles shimmering, clear and cold.
Icicles glistening, standing out bold.
They hang in all sizes from short and long.
Brittle and fragile, but also strong.

 

When icicles melt, then puddles will form
when winter is done and the weather turns warm.
Dripping in rhythms and plopping in rhyme
they’ll come back again … another time!

Dewy Dewy Droplets  by Coby
(Whitfield State School)

Dewy, dewy droplets
sitting on my chair
condensing little water bubbles
from the humid air.

Shiny, dewy droplets
catch the morning sun
scattering sunshine everywhere
from each and every one.

Dewy, dewy droplets
cold upon my feet
trickling into water streams
from my body heat.

Diamond, dewy droplets
on a spider’s thread
strung in tiny teardrop shapes
spread rainbows on my bed.

Fragile Icicle Flowers  by Hannah
(Whitfield State School)

Ice Flowers made of H₂O
don’t need the Sun for them to grow.
Ice Flowers form at the base of some plants.
It seems they appear simply by chance.

When soil is moist and night air cold
capillary action takes a hold.
As water rises from the earth
it freezes, making flowers birth.

Ice Flowers are shining bright
as the mystical moon casts its light.
Each tiny icicle curves and squiggles,
creating those flowery waves and wiggles.

Winter Wonders  by Hannah
(Whitfield State School)

Up you look, up you look.
Identical icicles all in a row,
Watch them melt.

Down you look, down you look.
See super shimmering shiny snow,
All around.

Six-sided crystals in H₂O
Where white winter wonders
Feel “Ho! Ho! Ho!”

A Solution for Life  by Sukarma Rani Thareja & Celia Berrell

I am water.
I am in your cells.
I am your friend, not your enemy.

Two hydrogen atoms
and one oxygen atom
make up my molecule.

Two hydrogen bonds between molecules
are my special feature,
benefitting all life’s future.

Though I can be recycled,
you pollute me faster than
I can be cleaned by nature.

In my purest form
I deliver health and happiness
to humans, animals and plants.

But unclean water
delivers death and sickness
with no choices; without exceptions.

So please save me from pollution.
My gift is then life.
The best possible solution.

Be Like Water  by Moona Perrotin

Water flows, it dissolves and lubricates.
Water holds the world together in a cycle
of rain, ice, snow and river flow.

As mist it rises, as fog it conceals.
It can form clouds and rain down
gathering in streams that flow into the sea.

Lakes create abundance via edges of reeds.
Muddy ground brings forth fish, tadpoles
and insects that feed the birds.

Lake water seeps into the surrounding land.
Creating fertile ground and attracting animals
to drink from the same water source.

Water can bring peace, or be reason for war.
Water reflects the heavens or is tumultuous
like hell.  Water is life-giver.

When too hot the sun shines
water is versatile.
Be like water, alive!

David J Delaney has published four poetry books and has been published worldwide.  He loves travelling around Australia, sharing his enthusiasm for the country’s landscapes in verse. He has also gained significant recognition for his pieces about War Veterans.

Ocean Life  by David J Delaney

Cooling breezes whisper
rustling leaves that talk
weathered trees of history
where crustaceans walk

Crystal ocean rolling
shades of blue and green
vibrant coral colours
paint a living scene

Mother Ocean’s stories
moonlight shadows swell
gentle waves are speaking
hidden tales they tell

Vessels, rocking, thrashing
stronger winds now wail
heaving closer daily
ancient people sail

Virgin sands they’re walking
in this morning dew
feasting seafood’s freshness
toasting life anew.

Kristin Martin writes funny poems for children.  When she heard we were seeking science poems about water, she kindly offered to share her poem about the Water Cycle.

A Water Drop’s Adventure  by Kristin Martin

I’d like to be a water drop
that’s what I’d like to be.
I’d float with other water drops
out in the wide blue sea.

Until, one warm and sunny day
I’d rise into the sky.
You might say I’d evaporate
but I’d say, I would fly.

I’d fly with other water drops;
we’d soar in bath-warm air.
But soon we’d cool, and we’d condense.
So what?  I wouldn’t care.

I’d be together with my friends.
We’d be a big white cloud!
We’d look majestic in the sky.
I’m sure I would feel proud.

The wind would push us tenderly
across the sea to land.
I’d watch the water far below
lap gently on the sand.

But soon we’d reach the mountain range
and float up far too high.
The air would grow too cold for clouds!
We’d have to say goodbye.

Our cloud would have to break apart.
Each drop would meet their fate.
You’d either say we’d fall as rain
or we’d precipitate.

Once on the ground I’d trickle down
until I found a creek.
That creek would carry me towards
the bottom of a peak.

Our creek would merge with other creeks:
a river we would be.
I’d float with other water drops
out in the wide blue sea.

My journey would be at an end
I’d be where I’d begun.
But I could do it all again!
Now wouldn’t that be fun?

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

Mother Earth  by Reinhold Mangundu

Green and gorgeous, healthy and pretty
loving and caring, she made us happy.
Pittering-patter, fell rain on leaves.
Green and bushy the grateful trees.
Flipping their wings, birds sing their salvation
to Mother Earth, the best creation.

Now hold her close
and share your connection.

Celebrating World Space Week (4-10 October):

Dr Sam Illingworth is a senior lecturer in Science Communication at Manchester Metropolitan University and regularly writes poetry (including rhyming verse) about the latest science news! Mars rover Curiosity has been drilling holes in Mars rocks and its findings suggest that an ancient Martian lake evaporated, leaving deposits that eventually became like veins in the rocks below.

The Veins of Mars  by Sam Illingworth

Your crater stands abandoned in the dirt,
As thirsty dreams evaporate for good;
Beneath your dusty surface pressures spurt,
Leaving behind deposits in the mud.
They burn you with their sulphate-silic blood
And your horizons change beyond repair;
Then groundwater appears like a lost flood,
leaving behind pure sulphur in your lair.
We cut you with a knife and steal without a care.

Space extremes  by Marcus
Trinity Anglican School

The planets are spinning without a sound
as gravity swings those comets around.
While meteors smash and bash our planet
made from iron and rocky granite.

The core of the Sun’s fifteen million degrees
while Uranus has the coldest freeze.
It’s a race of extremes out there in space.
And the race in space is at a pace.

Poor little Pluto  by Isaac
Trinity Anglican School

Poor little Pluto
blue and sad.
But while he is sulking
he’s secretly mad.

“I’m not a planet!”
Pluto cried.
He just didn’t make it
although he had tried.

He circled the Sun.
Round and round.
A tick in that box.
He nearly was crowned.

Next test was simple.
He was small
but had enough gravity
to stay in a ball.

Here comes the problem.
Five large moons:
Charon, Styx, Kerberos
and secretly Troons.

Poor little Pluto
blue and sad.
These are the reasons.
I guess it’s too bad.

Celia adds:

Moons cause a problem.
There’s five in the mix:
Charon, Styx, Kerberos
Hydra and Nix!

Sparkling Sun  by Myuri
Trinity Anglican School

Sparkling Sun:
shining and fiery it bubbles and swirls
with dark cold patches while others around it
continue to twirl.

Mini Mercury:
smallest in the family, fastest runner
with extreme mood swings from a wintery cold
to a sizzling summer.

Violent Venus:
boastfully beautiful, this sparkly sister of Earth.
Cloaked by clouds, two planets comparable
were Venus and Earth.

Excellent Earth:
our Goldilocks planet, not too cold and not too hot.
Thankfully our happy home
in which we trot.

Mysterious Mars:
with a little help from some Techy-smart gnomes
in a few hundred years

this could be our new home!

Jumping Jupiter:
dancing with gases, it whips and whirls.
While its many moons spin
this giant ball swirls.

Stunning Saturn:
seven super rings made from dusty ices.
Spinning like a sparkling halo
her beauty entices.

Unique Uranus:
tilted on its side, the coldest light blue.
Discovered with a telescope.
Could we live there too?

Native Neptune:
dark navy blue, it’s running round lazily
far from the Sun
the second coldest in our family.

Peaceful Pluto:
the most famous dwarf planet, floating through space
this tiny ball of ice yearns to be a planet …
but had no case.

The Moon’s a Sickle  by Tom
Trinity Anglican School

The Moon’s a sickle
curved above the evening Sun
in a drowsy day.

When it rises
its beauty fills the land with joy
and owls come out to play.

If you look up at the Moon
you’ll see a kangaroo
engraved upon its face.

Some say it’s made of cheese
but I’d say not!
It’s a ghostly pretty place.

Meteor  by Robin
Trinity Anglican School

A meteor shower came storming
when planet Earth was forming.
One was nudged by larger rocks
and pushed off-course with bumps and knocks.
Eons later, back to Earth, that meteor would be coming.

When roaming dinosaurs were about
they ruled the Earth.  There was no doubt.
That meteor was not their friend.
With no warning of their nearing end
there was a most humungous crash, which wiped them all out.

Now when I look up to the sky
I wonder if that’s how our race will die.
Or will we work out a clever way
to deflect that meteor far away.
Before it comes whooshing by, anything is worth a try!

Four Gassy Planets by Kira
Trinity Anglican School

The biggest planet of them all
looks like a big stripy ball
with sixty-seven circling moons
Jupiter is … a gassy balloon.

Saturn has such startling rings.
I wonder if those rings can sing?
Made from many icy rocks
broken into tiny chunks.

Uranus is the coldest planet.
It says so on the internet!
This planet’s rolling on its side
and fifty thousand kilometres wide.

Is pure blue Neptune a ball of ice?
They say it’s gas, which would be nice.
The farthest away for us to view …
perhaps it’s blue all the way through.

Terrestrial Planets  by Tammy
Trinity Anglican School

Today I’d like to share with you
a little of my wisdom.
Some, you’ll know, some may be new
about the Solar System.

The planet closest to the Sun
is Mercury.  An iron ball.
It has no moon to look upon.
It’s rocky and terrestrial.

Venus is a steamy planet.
Its moons, the Sun has pushed away.
Clouds are made from sulphuric acid.
A third-of-a-year is a Venus Day.

Is Earth the only liveable planet?
It certainly is the next in line.
Liquid water will permit
our life-forms, which is fine.

Finally, a small red planet.
You guessed it.  It’s called Mars.
The last of the planets terrestrial.
Surrounded by the stars.

Exploring the Solar System by Jordi
Trinity Anglican School

Out in the depths of lonely space
some planets are humongous.
Compare their size to asteroids
and they’ll look like spores to fungus!

Mercury is the closest in
and also the hottest planet.
It has a heavy iron core
then lots and lots of granite!

Jupiter is the largest
with a hurricane red blister.
It also has no surface
(so that’s where I’d send my sister!)

Uranus is the coldest
and its name has made it famous.
It’s easy to make fun of it …
so poor, poor Uranus.

Pluto is the tiniest.
And to Pluto I would say
“You’re not a dwarf planet to me …
Honestly, you’re okay!”

My Planet Haikus by Tayla
Trinity Anglican School

It orbits quickly
around our majestic Sun …
Mercury of course!

Then there’s our sister.
The bade Goldilocks planet …
that’s steamy Venus.

Here is quite nice
if you need a little spice …
Earth is our planet.

I love the next one.
It’s flying among the stars.
It’s just planet Mars.

Here comes Jupiter.
The gargantuan planet.
It is enormous.

Sparkling Saturn
with circling icy rings.
The second largest.

It’s a pale light blue.
Do you think you can guess who?
Floating Uranus.

Blue Neptune is dark.
That’s not because it is sick …
And it’s NOT a Smurf!

The Solar System is Cool  by Louis
Trinity Anglican School

The Solar System is cool.
It spins round the Sun like a spool.
Sun gives light to the planets
their moons and the comets.
Our Soar System is cool.

The Asteroid Belt is sweet.
This ring of rocks won’t stay neat.
Some visit the Earth
(we’re not sure where they birth).
The Asteroid Belt is sweet.

Saturn’s rings are very pretty.
They look a bit like confetti.
They’re made of ice-dust
and ground rocky crust.
Saturn’s rings are very pretty.

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!

Including poems about light to celebrate the International Year of Light and National Science Week.

Twinkling Stars by Harmonie
Whitfield State School

Flickering starlight in the night.
Impossible to miss.
Although it seems natural
it wasn’t always like this.

A star is oh, so far away.
Immensely far from here.
Before that light can reach our eyes
it passes through our atmosphere.

Different densities of air
can change the view of starlight’s place.
Its light is interrupted here
compared with outer space.

The twinkling light of a far-off star
is only an Earth-bound view
as stars themselves don’t twinkle.
And now you know that too.

Bright Shiny Rays by Coco
Whitfield State School

What’s never murky or blurry
and couldn’t be foggy or dreary?
What’s ever so bright and full of colour
happy to shine on a polished mirror?

It’s light, illuminating our world
in glimmers and gleams both new and old.
Refracting, reflecting and being absorbed
light gives us life, and light is adored.

Bioluminescence by Harmonie
Whitfield State School

In the deep dark seas, a light shines bright –
from what, we do not know.
A white-lit glow in dead of night
holds terrors far below.

An anglerfish’s light will show
its jaws, thrust open wide.
And smaller fish, struck by the glow
swim foolishly inside.

How does its light, as bright as day
occur so naturally?
If you don’t know, then I’ll explain
and then we all will see.

Some luminous bacteria
(their light is hard to miss)
are helping deep-sea anglerfish
via symbiosis.

The female angler has a spine
on which bacteria sit.
Their microbe-hostess doesn’t mind.
In fact, she’s proud of it!

Bacteria provide the light
that lures the angler’s food.
And in return those microbes will
get shelter from the gloom.

The two live out connected lives.
Both working hand-in-hand.
Until the fish, without a fight
is caught and brought on land.

Light Duties for a Photon by Ava
Whitfield State School

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!

Moon Light by Tayler
Whitfield State School

Peering through the misty gloom
the light that shimmers from the moon
is never that of its own
but simply a reflection shown
of light-waves from our sunny Sun
beaming over everyone.

Rainbows by Tehya
(Whitfield State School, Cairns)

Rows of ripe colour spread through the sky
They look so extraordinarily high
Sometimes vibrant and crystal clear
But often faded and not so near.

When rain clouds clear, the sun shines bright
Then raindrops are dazzled by the light
Which first refracts, then reflects on each drop
As a spectrum of colour bursts with a pop.

Some think that rainbows hold magic and mystery
Myths about gold were believed throughout history
Races on rainbows?  Now that can’t be right
It’s simply the wonderful science of light.

Decoding Bursts of Light by Moona Perrotin

Do we see reality as it is?
A third of the brain’s cortex is engaged
in vision.  The eye has a retina with 130 million
photo-receptors but there are even more

neuro-receptors.
They construct what we see
out of the arrangement of the bursts of light
trapped by the lens in our eye.

Reality exists without us watching.
If our neuro-receptors construct a good likeness
of that reality, it will enable us to survive
better than others of our species and it will be biased
towards our specific needs.

Light is information.
Fitness for purpose is the outcome of evolution.
Fitness for purpose means to interpret usefully
the interface between reality and me.

Things are preceptional symbols only.
Reality is far more complex and fluid
than the crude icons we name as things.
Reality is energy, vibration, light,
is consciousness realised.

Bush Fire  by William
Trinity Anglican School, Kewarra Beach

The fire roars across the land.
The ash is like dusty sand.
Motor cars burn and rust.
Family memories turn to dust.

When lives are at stake, no-one’s civil
running from the blood-red devil.
Oh!  Oh, no.  What an awful sight.
The flares, the flares, diamond bright.

Then, when the rain pitters down
the earth colour is a dim dark brown.
They’re safe at last, the rain is coming.
They’re safe at last, from all the running.

I Want To Be A Scientist  by Phoebe
Redlynch State College

I want to be a scientist
Observe the world around
I want to be a scientist
Not a boring old clown.

I want to make smart guesses
Hypothesising things
Doing cool experiments
And wearing lab-coat strings.

I want to be a scientist
That studies Earth or Sky
Recording all my data which
Will answer what and why.

I want to be a scientist
Who has a famous name
Receiving Nobel Prizes
So that will be my aim.

The Wondrous Human Body by Sascha
Redlynch State College

Rarely do we think about how the human body works
And instead we live our lives unaware of all the perks.
Each and every organ combined with every nerve
We’re made up of eleven systems, each unobserved.
When we’re sitting down, we hardly stop and realise
How we breathe, digest and perspire, all to our surprise.
Little do we know about the digestive system.
We simply eat the food that appears in our vision.
Did you know these molecules absorbed by our bloodstream
Are all a part of the systems which work as one large scheme.
Every time we breathe out, exhale or perhaps have a sigh
The carbon dioxide is released, do we ask why?
The deoxygenated blood needs to be replenished!

Refraction by Brea
Redlynch State College

If you
shine a light
through a curved lens
the path your light takes
also bends. This trick is called
refraction. Speed of light
changing from one
substance to
another.

Erbium Haiku by Emily
Redlynch State College

Erbium and tin
are both metals, but carbon
is more abundant.

Human Homeostasis by Jessica
Redlynch State College

I never knew about my body.
To me, it was all very foggy.
But now that I have studied science
I no longer need any guidance.
Homeostasis is the key
As it controls stability.
Involving all the body’s organs
To regulate our fluid portions.
The kidneys are the most important.
They help to keep our insides constant.
Their roles are really quite simplistic:
Stop the body going ballistic!
They regulate the body’s water
Keeping mineral ions in order.
They also move out extra waste
While glucose, proteins, stay in place.
Overall, I’ve become a genius
Since I’ve proved this marvellous thesis.
It’s simply an essential basis;
Human life needs homeostasis.

The Moon by Alistair
Redlynch State College

Midnight
Floating high.
Later on
The morning sky.

Volcanology by Zayli
Redlynch State College

Do you want to know
what makes a volcano go?
First you add some bi-carb soda.
And inside the same container
you put in some vinegar.
Shake, shake, shake
pour, pour, pour.
Whooooaaaa.
Watch it bubble
it bubble, it bubble.
This is what it looks like
when you replicate a volcano.
You take acid & base.
Watch out when
they touch.
Whooooaaaa,
Watch it bubble
it bubble, it bubble.
The bi-carb base tries to
neutralise the acidic vinegar.
They react, making carbonic acid
which fizzes out carbon dioxide gas.
And now you know what
makes a volcano go!

Tired of Science? by Lia
Redlynch State College

Do you like science? Science to me
is Newton’s apple-tree gravity.
Albert Einstein’s crazy equation;
Earth’s seasoned tilt and day rotation.
It’s when Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon;
How penicillin’s no longer immune.
The theory of evolution;
Starting a carbon revolution.
Organisms still developing;
Why the dinosaurs were threatening.

I think it all started with big bang theory …
but now I’m feeling incredibly weary!

Three States of Matter Haikus by Bailey
Redlynch State College

Solid:
A solid has a
fixed volume, as well as shape.
Molecules compact.

Liquid:
Fixed volume, no shape.
Most certainly a liquid
has fluidity.

Gas:
Fills any space with
no volume, no shape.
It must be a gas.

The Spectacular Solar System by Tahlia
(Trinity Anglican School, White Rock)

Neptune is furthest away from the Sun.
It’s extremely cold but still seems like fun.
It has faint, faint rings
and other cool things
like weighing more than a tonne.

Uranus is a giant ball of gas
which has a mega, mega mass.
It is number seven
and looks like heaven.
It would be a dream to go past.

Saturn is the second largest.
Its radiant rings are the best.
It is very cold
and I have been told
that it is way, way better than the rest.

Jupiter has dusk and dawn
ever since the day it was born.
It has a red dot
called the great red spot
which is a huge, huge wind storm.

Mars is a cold, cold desert.
However, it could be pleasant.
With rust in its surface
to mine for a purpose
we’d soon have a fabulous present.

Only Earth is a planet with water
which takes up just more than a quarter.
With heaps of things living
dancing and singing
some creatures are taller, some shorter.

Venus is so very hot.
In size, it’s like Earth quite a lot.
It looks bright at night
like an LED light.
Is 400 degrees hot or what!

Mercury has almost no air.
No human could breathe over there.
It is awesomely dry
like a cloudless blue sky.
I think I’ll learn more stuff to share!

Our Gas Giants by Bea
(Trinity Anglican School, White Rock)

There are four gas giants.  Jupiter is one.
But to stay up on Jupiter would be no fun.
Its Earth-sized core is extremely hot.
But its freezing clouds are certainly not.

A bit further out lays the beautiful Saturn.
It’s yellow and grey with rings forming patterns.
When seen through a telescope, Saturn appears
like a shiny round head with a pair of ears!

Uranus is next.  It’s the coldest around.
Like a marble rolling along the ground
it orbits our Sun, side-ways on.
Winter lasts 42 years long!

Then far, far away is a mysterious place.
Methane gives Neptune its stormy blue face.
So there, now you have it.  They’re gas planets four.
They’re the furthest ones out.  But there might be more.

These giants are cold.  The sun reaches barely.
Made of gasses and dust, could life survive?  Scarcely!

Space And Beyond by Charlotte
(Trinity Anglican School, White Rock)

Did you know that we live in a curious place?
The universe, which you know as Space.
There are trillions of planets like Earth and Mars.
Also billions of suns which we know as stars!

Now in the Space is the Milky Way.
Our Sun lives here, which we see every day.
At six thousand degrees on the outside, our Sun
would turn you to ashes in 1-2-3 done!

Last but not least is Earth, our home.
There may be life on Earth alone.
But nobody really knows that’s true.
I think it’s a fact, but how about you?

The Fantastic Solar System by Taliah Rose
(Trinity Anglican School, White Rock)

What planet is grey and yellow and has rings?
I believe it is famous for its icy flat rings in several groups of strings.
Have you guessed this planet yet?
Are you part of the Saturn set?
When you look high in the sky, it sparkles with bling.

Venus is the second hottest planet of them all.
It is the second farthest from the sun and is quite tall.
It’s yellow too.
You would need 38,000 km of kangaroos.
It’s also the same size as Earth, the only place you use phone calls.

Mercury is the closest to the hot exploding bright Sun.
I would go there just for fun.
Did you know its atmosphere has almost no air?
You couldn’t possibly get there unless you got dared.
I’m sure it weighs more than a ton.

Have you ever heard of the black hole?
It’s rather scary when you’re told.
It sucks you in
and stretches your chin.
But don’t be scared.  It’s wrinkly and old.

Terrestrial Planets by Lucian
(Trinity Anglican School, White Rock)

The Solar System is filled with planets and stars.
Especially terrestrial planets like Mars.
There are also gas giants like Saturn.
And the Milky Way has a dotty pattern.

The Sun is so very scorching hot.
If you landed there you would fry a lot!
Mercury is very small
and it almost has no air at all.

Venus has clouds that reflect sunlight.
Creating a light in the night that shines bright.
Earth is our planet and home which we live on
with a moon that weighs more than fifty tonnes.

Looking like it’s covered in rust
there’s a rocky clump of blood-red dust.
Fourth from the Sun, it’s the planet Mars.
And after that, it’s off to the stars!

There’s an environmental thread through these poems.

Rainforests by Ava
Whitfield State School

Rainforests: beautiful, lush and green.
Bursting with wildlife, a treat to be seen.
One bird starts to chirp an amazing song
then all other birds start to sing along.
A shiny green tree-frog has climbed a tree
as bush bees fly round very happily.
Owls and bats roam in the night.
They’ll not let prey escape their bite.

To figure out their current location
bats use precise echolocation
while owls can see in very low light.
Their vision’s right for sight at night.

And when the night turns back to day
diurnal creatures start to play.
And once the birds begin to cheep
nocturnal creatures go to sleep.

Rainforests: beautiful, lush and green.
This place full of trees is a treasured scene.

Oceans by Sian
Whitfield State School

Beautiful oceans, sparkling blue
so many creatures depending on you.
But sadly pollution is taking them down.
Our oceans fine beauty is starting to drown.

It’s not just pollution that’s causing some harm
but also the atmosphere getting too warm.
As icebergs start melting the sea levels rise.
Pollution solutions we need to revise!

Kelsey May is a spoken word poet and literary student at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan USA.   Her first book of poems and essays is titled Adrift.

You&aGlobe  by Kelsey May

Let your fingers explore the wonderful
crevices of the globe, sitting aside pen holders,
paper cups, things made of the earth. Your fingertips
smile at the notion that they can “see”

such wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sahara Desert,
Atlantic Trench, all while lifting a mug of cocoa
to your lips, adjusting the volume on
your shuffled playlist.

The leaves will brush up against
the windowpane, then kissing their glossy skin
to the lightsource like insects. Do plants ever feel

cold? You’ll shudder a glacierwide dread, counting
your blessings that you aren’t spending the night
beneath a bridge. But that would never have been

you anyway. Your fingers will find the Pacific Ocean
and think nothing of the plastic island as big as Texas.

Linda Poon is an undergraduate at the State University of New York (ESF) where she is studying ecology. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat and piano.

Cellular Life by Linda Poon

Isn’t it beautiful
that we are made of cells?
So simple, yet so complex
so small and yet so powerful.

Busy inside us
replicating, dividing
regenerating
growing at a rapid pace.
Supplying us with energy.
Giving us life.

So simple, yet so complex.
A myriad of cells
interacting with other cells.
All united in one.

Merrissa shares her love of physics, chemistry, astronomy and everything mysterious with her two daughters.  Her passion is creating glow-in-the-dark jewellery with her husband at Clover 13 in Texas USA.

All’s Fair In Earth’s Gravity
by Merrissa Sorrentino, Grand Prarie

Here is a lesson you won’t learn in class.
A gravity concept that leaves out the mass.
So pull out some paper and start taking notes.
There’s a moral inside that is getting my vote.

Gravity acts on us all as the same.
It doesn’t point fingers or play silly games.
We all hit the ground with the same exact speed
if we fall the same height.  No-one gets in the lead.

The black and the white, and the shades in between
are treated as equals.  The way it should be.
Light as a feather or heavy in weight
nobody comes in a second too late.

The good and the bad, the large and the small
they all become weightless when in a free-fall.

It doesn’t have favorites, or need to choose sides
a fact that can be easily verified.

The point of this lesson should be crystal clear.
I think that you know what I’m getting at here.
Stripped of our differences, one thing remains.
Deep down inside, we are all just the same.

Farther into the unknown
by Merrissa Sorrentino

Life is the question.  The answer, a riddle
But somehow we always get stuck in the middle
A complex emergence encrypting the code
The farther we wonder into the unknown.
Is it hidden somewhere in our “junk DNA”?
Or deep in the wrinkles inside of our brain?
Does gravity hold the answer inside?
Twisting and warping our view of space-time?

We sift through reality, lacking adhesion
Searching its matrix with no rhyme or reason
With each door we open, two more may appear
So answers become complex and unclear.
Uncertainty certainly plays a big role
By setting a limit on what can be known.
I assume this is how the rabbit-hole deepens
Just as we thought we were close to completion.

Including poems from a Creature Features presentation at Mt Garnet; Volcanoes for Science On The Oval; Sunshine from Cairns Junior Eisteddfod; Mitosis, Synaesthesia, Quantum Reality and prehistoric monsters!

Kinrara Station is about 110km south of Mt Garnet where Robyn can be found mustering cattle.  She submitted this poem for a Creature Features Poetry Quiz.  Do you know what this animal is?

Puggle Puzzle
by Robyn O’Brien

My spiky hair is like your nails
but I only have a tiny tail.
My nose is long and covered in dirt
but unless you’re an ant, you won’t get hurt.

Some say my name is quite extreme.
I belong to the family Monotreme.
A single egg hatched in ten days.
Born blind and hairless, in a daze.

After I’m born, they call me a Puggle
and in Mama’s pouch I love to snuggle.
My hairy spines grow in three to four weeks.
Then snuggling mother could cause some shrieks!

Ché lives and works on a station in remote northern Queensland and participated in a poetry session I held at Mount Garnet State School in August 2013.  I loved Ché’s poem about the biggest flower in the world – Rafflesia arnoldii.

Flies In Utopia
by Ché Damant

The jungle is where I silently sit.
Flies and bugs all around me flit.
From far, a beauty beyond compare.
But get too close?  You shouldn’t dare.

My scarlet flesh is ripe and raw.
Its putrid smell will rot your core.
But carrion-flies I will torment.
They just adore my deathly scent!

Blowing Up A Riddle by Harmonie
Whitfield State School

I’m an underwater mountain
In the middle of the sea
And if you want to scuba dive
It’s possible you’ll find me.

When boiling magma gets too hot
Too hot for me to bear
I blow my top and I erupt
Sending ash into the air.

But when I am doing this
Magma has a different name
It’s known as lava, even though
The two things are the same.

When magma is still underground
It makes my insides rumble
When it’s bursting out as lava
My outsides start to crumble.

If you haven’t solved this riddle
I’m a mountain that might blow
So better heed my warning signs
For I’m a VOL-CAN-O!

Sunshine by Harmonie
Whitfield State School

Sunshine is an ingredient
In most nature recipes
Like beautiful coloured blossoms
On a jacaranda tree.

Sleeping in the winter
They are woken up by spring
And as the purple colour forms
You’ll hear birds start to sing.

A recipe for beauty
Always contains the Sun
And when it comes to nature
Sunlight is number one.

When a butterfly shows its colours
There’s just one thing it needs
Coz it’s nothing like a flower
Or some itty-bitty seeds.

Now here is the ingredient
And this the butterfly knows:
Sunshine is the only thing
That makes its colours show.

Another nature recipe
Is photosynthesis
All plants must use the sunlight
When they are doing this.

Nothing on Earth would be alive
Without photosynthesis
Because the plants make oxygen
And we need it to exist.

And yet another recipe
Is energy from sunlight
Which everything on Earth uses
By day, if not by night.

We use the Sun’s energy
For more than just its light
But the Sun’s not powered by batteries,
That cannot be right!

If you have solar panels
Then you would use the Sun
It would be your power source
That’s how your lights would run!

But the best thing about sunlight
Is how it makes me feel inside
To me, when the Sun is out
The world is open wide.

On those perfect sunny days
We like to have some fun
But there’s someone we ought to thank
Yep, that’s right  –  the Sun!

Greg Crowther is Acting Assistant Professor in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington in USA.  His web pages include music scores, videos and lyrics he’s created about science.  Here’s some science lyrics Greg has written about cell division.

Mitosis
by Greg Crowther

Mitosis is a process (mitosis is a process)
by which a cell divides (by which a cell divides).
A sequence of four phases (a sequence of four phases)
by which it must abide (by which it must abide).

CHORUS:
Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase
(prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase)
Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase
(prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase).

Now prophase is the first phase (now prophase is the first phase)
the chromosomes appear (the chromosomes appear).
In metaphase they line up (in metaphase they line up)
at the middle of the sphere (at the middle of the sphere).

CHORUS

The chromosomes are split up (the chromosomes are split up)
as anaphase goes by (as anaphase goes by).
And telophase then seals ’em (and telophase then seals ’em)
in brand-new nuclei (in brand-new nuclei).

CHORUS

Laura lives in London, England and shares her experiences with having Synaesthesia (where two or more of our senses – sight, sound, touch, taste, smell – respond to a stimulus most of us would only identify with one sense).

This Thing Called Synaesthesia
by Laura Hindley, UK

“That smells like Beethoven!” I excitedly exclaimed to my class at school.
To which they sniggered, poked fun and continued to be cruel.
I, of course, knew what I was talking about completely
and gritted my teeth whilst forcing myself to smile sweetly.
The object of controversy lay ever so still on my wooden desk.
Gleaming with yumminess, very soon to become a crumbly mess.
The Christmas Pudding still emanated a classical tune
with which Handel and Bach would have both been over the moon.
Misunderstood by most people who witness my quirky senses and thoughts
little do they know how the miscommunication in my brain renders me rather fraught.

Oh how my life would be much easier
if I didn’t have this thing called Synaesthesia.

Just the other day I had a friend round to my house for tea.
I asked “Does your chip butty taste like circles?  Or is that just me?”
Since a look of pure confusion passed across his animated face
I quickly took back my tangled remarks with a great amount of haste!
He told me that his sandwich only tasted of bread and chips
followed by a request to teach him how to taste shapes and even give him some tips.
I explained that my brain was just wired in such a way
causing my sense to cross over, with me unable to have any say.
The astonishment in my friend’s face made me feel like a super-hero!
Not the loser from school who felt like a complete zero.

Now my life is becoming much easier
Because I have this little thing called Synaesthesia.

I’ve become quite a celebrity within my school it would seem.
Especially when I say that Mrs Munro’s lessons sound like the colour green.
Instead of laughing at my condition, children stand rooted to the spot, amazed.
They’re asking me questions repeatedly.  I’ve become quite a craze!
I excitedly skip to school every morning with new stories to tell my friends
of how my Mum’s chicken curry tastes like a rectangle with pointy ends.
I feel sorry for the children who pine for my super-powers
and pretend that they can taste sweets when looking at flowers.
This is a gift that I would definitely never wish away again
for I wouldn’t be as happy with my life if I had a different brain.

Why did I ever want my life to be easier?
I’m blessed with this little thing called Synaesthesia.

Merrissa shares her love of physics, chemistry, astronomy and everything mysterious with her two daughters (including this poem about Quantum Reality).  Her passion is creating glow-in-the-dark jewellery with her husband at Clover 13 in Texas USA.

Quantum Reality
by Merrissa Sorrentino, Grand Prarie

When we start peering deep inside the tiniest of things
far beyond what human eyes are capable of seeing
the sub-atomic world defies the laws of entropy
and particles begin to act with uncertainty.
If we measure one’s velocity, position or its mass
it causes other magnitudes to become less exact.
A photon for example may just simply disappear.
The act of observation makes its outcome more unclear.
A particle of light can also double as a wave.
A duality that’s sure to leave you scratching at your brain.
It comes down to this.  Of the view we once had;
what wasn’t now is, what is will soon pass.
Physics and light-speed, black holes and time.
All of these seem to be intertwined.
Like the fabric of space bent around a large mass
the gravity of this can be hard to grasp.
It will make you go mad, then beg for some more.
That’s what all those crazy equations are for!
Will we ever find a theory for all?
One that unites the large with the small?
Or will it continue to boggle our minds?
Forever entangled between space and time.

American published poet Kevin D Taylor has written a sonnet inspired by Alfred Tennyson’s The Kraken – only Kevin’s poem is about a real monster that lived during the Cretaceous Period.  Around 100 million years ago this formidable reptilian predator swam in the seas whilst dinosaurs roamed on the land.

Find out more about the fossil Kronosaurus queenslandicus at the Australian Museum’s website.

Kronosaurus
by Kevin D Taylor

Through outspread spans of oceanic murk
While from him every fearful fish-form flees
Intrepid, to where lessers dare not lurk
Descends the ancient monarch of the seas.
Leviathan surpassing all for size
At whose first glimpse the craven pale will dread
He casts the shadow of his regal head
Across the fluid realm that is his prize.
Concourses of molluscan creatures fill
His potent jaws as masticated fare
And mingle with devoured crustaceous krill
Seized in the death grip of his agile fangs.
In depths unfathomed timelessly he hangs
Skulking and watching with an icy stare
For who is next to be his captured kill?