Poems Web sites

Poem Web sites

If you like any of the poems below you may cut and paste them to a Word document and print them out.

Freedom by Ben Shenhar (aged 10)

Freedom is the
Sensation of
Roaming into the wild
And following your heart's
Desires

Freedom is a pigeon
Kept in a cage and
Set free into a vast
World with
Unlimited journeys and
Opportunities.

A butterfly
Sprouting out
Of its cacoon
For you see
When one opportunity
Is no longer there
A new one comes

And when something
Is too good
Believe in it, for
Only people who
Believe in their
Dreams actually
Get to see them

So if you believe
In freedom
It will come
Just wait.......

The Charge of the Kid's Brigade by Holly Slack and Katie Warren

Half a lesson, Half a lesson, Half a lesson over
All in the land of daydreams
Charged the tired thirty.
"Come back class, get away from that door," she said.
Back into the classroom of torture
Plodded the tired thirty.

"What were you doing down there?"
"It's not half three yet!"
But of course she knew there would be a leader.
Theirs not to be suspicious
Theirs not to name names
Theirs not to ask why
All in the land of daydreams
Sat the bored thirty.

Education to the right of them
Homework to the left of them
Teacher in front of them
Thrown and flicked
Stormed at with pencil and paper
Into the jaws of chaos
Into the mouth of fun
Yawned the shattered thirty

Black and White by Hannah Griffin (aged 11)

Dedicated to my brother who I love dearly

Black and white gowns,
Walking down an aisle
All he can think of
Is how he is doing
What beholds to the next step
My brother
Walking to his graduation
Of loyalty
Work
And trust
My brother
Walking down an aisle
And the rest can think
He made it,
And that leads me
To tears
The times where we would only talk about graduation,
Has actually happened,
Everything he and I had expected happened,
Only,
I didn't expect myself to be sad,
For my brother,
Is growing,
Into a man,
A man with no more worries,
And only mistakes at hand,
My brother had pride in the end,
And begging,
For his power
Is only the begging.
When they threw their hats in the air
My brother,
Was there.

The Teachers Jumped Out of the Windows

The teachers jumped out of the windows.

The principal ran for the door.

The nurse and librarian bolted.

They're not coming back anymore.

The counselor, hollaring madly,

escaped out the door of the gym.

The coach and custodian shouted

and ran out the door after him.

The lunch ladies threw up their ladles,

then fled from the kitchen in haste,

while all of the students looked puzzled

as staff members scurried and raced.

We'd never seen anything like it.

But, still, it was pretty darned cool

to see all the staff so excited

to leave on the last day of school.

--Kenn Nesbitt

On New Year's Day

On New Year's Day a year ago,

I started off the year

by making resolutions

that were probably severe.

I said I'd save my money,

as this seemed so very wise.

I vowed I would improve my health.

I swore I'd exercise.

I stated I would do my homework

every single day.

I'd brush my teeth religiously

to ward off tooth decay.

I'd eat my fruits and vegetables

and keep my bedroom clean.

I'd treat my sister kindly

though she's often very mean.

My resolutions lasted me

about a half a day.

I promised I would keep them

but I broke them anyway.

So now I'm fat and penniless.

My homework's overdue.

My sister's mad. My teeth are bad.

My room is messy too.

And yet I think I may have found

the best of all solutions,

and this year I've resolved

to not make ANY resolutions.

--Kenn Nesbitt

· AUTUMN LEAVES

SWEEP the leaves together,
Yellow, brown and red,
Let us make a bonfire
Now that they are dead.

Chestnut leaves and beech leaves,
Ash and lime and oak,
Fir-cones and pine needles
Kindle into smoke.

Leaves that all the summer
Gave us cool and shade--
What will be left of them
When our bonfire's made?

Only death-like ashes,
But from this same dust
Suns one day will fashion
Life anew, we trust.

· OLE LUK-OIE

A PICTURE hung beside my bed,
Wherein the boat was painted red,
And in the blue sea and rusty frame
From day to day were just the same,
Till one night Ole Luk-Oie spread
His big umbrella o'er my head.

And then like magic swift and strange
Within the picture came a change--
It seemed as if the sea took breath,
The clouds awoke, as though from death,
The fisherman bent to his oar,
And the small boat drew near the shore.

The waves foamed white upon the sands,
Some children ran and clapped their hands,
And little ships from far away
Came sailing towards the painted bay;
All this and such-like wondrous things
Ole Luk-Oie's umbrella brings!

· PRETTY MOUSE

PRETTY mouse, I like to see
Your sparkling eyes look up at me!
Did you leave your home so snug
That I might see you on the rug?

I almost think you came to play
Because I'm not quite well to-day;
You cannot speak,--I'm sure it's true,
And it was very kind of you.

You need not start so, silly mouse,
There's not a cat in all the house!
Besides, you see, I've shut the door,
So you can run all round the floor.

Come hither, and a morsel take
Of this most delicious cake.
You won't--what do you mean to say,
Twisting your nose in that way?

Page 27

You don't believe the cake is nice?
I'm sure it's much too good for mice!
What, you won't taste it! Well, then, don't,
But I shall eat it if you won't.

Ah! now the crumbs are falling fast,
So you've changed your mind at last,
And hither run in scrambling haste,
That you may have a little taste.

But, mouse, I'm quite ashamed to see
You eating crumbs so greedily!
If you go on so fast, you will
Most certainly be very ill.

You've had enough--you're going back
To your small home behind the crack.
Why are you taking that large crumb?
No doubt to give your children some.

Dear mouse--then see--I'll give you more,
Here's a large crumb before your door.
There now--pull harder--pull it through,
And call your friends to feast with you.
E.K.

· THE RAINBOW

CAN that fairy place be found
Where the rainbow touches ground?
Will you tell me, driver, pray,
Is it many miles away?

Somewhere there must be a spot
Shining like a coloured blot,
Pink and purple, blue and green,
Like a transformation scene.

What must all the cattle think
When the grass and flowers turn pink?
Woolly sheep, what do you do
When the daisied field shines blue?

Happy must those children be,
Who the rainbow's end can see,
Who can play and dance and sing

· THE TRAIN

"I PAUSE," said the train, "As the Signalman bade--
I pause in the dark: is my Driver afraid?
Alight all inside me, my passengers read
Or sleepily nod, when I tremble with speed.

"My Driver upstanding keeps watch through the dark--
Does he notice me throwing out spark upon spark?
Does my Driver indeed see just as I do,
And spell the new names of the towns we pass through?

"Great eyes glare upon us, green, yellow, and red--
Strange shapes in the banks our night fancies have bred!
My skin is of iron, my nerves are of steel,
But how does my warm-blooded man-driver feel?"

· A RETROSPECT

O GOOD old days of highwaymen,
Of outlaws hid in moor and fen,
Of elf or goblin in the glen,
When dragons crawled and men were men!

How sad it is to sit and know
That we can never backwards go!
Time in its solemn even flow
Forgets the arrow and the bow--

Forgets the days of sword and shield--
How one would rather die than yield,
At tourneys how the trumpets pealed,
And horse and rider plunged and reeled. . . .

The moonlight still is pale and wan,
The same sun shines that's always shone,
Yet all these things are past and gone,
And won't come back for thinking on.

Daddy’s Making Dinner

Daddy’s making dinner
I’ve seen it all before
French fries black and burning
And meat loaf on the floor

Daddy’s making dinner
The sugar bowl just broke
Fido ate the gravy
The house has filled with smoke

Daddy’s making dinner
But I’m not one to moan
Soon he will surrender
And go pick up the phone

Daddy made the dinner
Today’s my lucky day
Dinner’s in the trash can
And pizza’s on the way!
--Jeff Mondak

That Awful Falafel Waffle

My Mom is on a health food kick
Last night we ate a tofu brick
But nothing else makes me as sick
As that awful falafel waffle

Organic this, organic that
With not one single gram of fat
I’d rather eat a baseball bat
Than that awful falafel waffle

With powdered sugar? That’s a joke!
The syrup’s made from artichoke
With just one bite my front tooth broke
On that awful falafel waffle

I need some meat, and Dad does too
We sure can’t stand granola stew
But we must leave no trace or clue
Of that awful falafel waffle

Mom’s not looking, so here’s our chance
We’re off to eat those fries from France
And guess what’s hidden in my pants?
It’s that awful falafel waffle!
--Jeff Mondak

The Toy Box Ate My Brother

The race was on to get a toy
And Thomas was the winner
He beat me to the toy box
But he ended up as dinner

The toy box ate my brother
‘cuz he made a tragic blunder
He entered with a head-first dive
And quickly got pulled under

He kicked his feet and called my name
While our toy box drooled and slurped
I knew dear Thomas was no more
When that toy box loudly burped

No toy box can be trusted
So I make this solemn promise
I’ll rid the world of all of them
In memory of poor Thomas

I know you must be frightened
So I will help you, girls and boys
Just ship your toy box off to me
--along with all your toys!
--Jeff Mondak

Free Turkey

Thomas got some purple paint

And green and yellow, too

He now has rainbow feathers

And he’s living at the zoo

Tommy keeps on dieting,

He’s thinner than a stick

Tom just bought a magic act

--a disappearing trick

Tomas learned to fly so high

He joined a flock of geese

Tom-Tom moved to Ecuador

Or maybe it was Greece

Turkeys who’ll give thanks this year

When it’s Thanksgiving Day

Are not the ones at dinner,

But the ones who got away!

--Jeff Mondak

A Reindeer Holiday

Dancer

The romancer

Dated dear deer Doris

Troubadour Blitzen

Wrote some hits and

Dasher helped with the chorus

Comet

Didn’t want to bomb it

So he used his phone-a-friend

Reliable Prancer

Knew the answer

Cupid’s heart was on the mend

Rudolph

Played a round of golf

The vet was “fixin”

Artful Donder

Sat to ponder

The paint that he was mixin’

On Christmas Eve

I do believe

Those reindeer sure can fly

But they were having fun

In the Florida sun

When I saw them last July

--Jeff Mondak

Perseverance

On Halloween I looked so scary

My fangs were sharp, my face was masked

The neighbors saw me wild and hairy

And gave me candy when I asked

A headless pilgrim one month later

Knocked on every neighbors’ door

And soon a reindeer-eating gator

Scared the neighbors even more

On New Year’s Eve I started screaming

As my new neighbor made a toast

And when the groundhog woke from dreaming

He saw his shadow…and a ghost!

At Easter time a rabid rabbit

Spread horror up and down the street

I had to feed my candy habit

So I kept saying “Trick or Treat”

The fireworks were loudly crashing

When Frankenstein joined in the fray

From house to house I kept on dashing

I even worked on Labor Day

For twelve full months now I’ve spread terror

With howls and screams and pranks and stunts

So please explain my neighbors’ error

--they only gave me candy once!

--Jeff Mondak