Poetic Expression Challenges
July Challenges
With the focus being on the Garden's 6th Birthday Bash, our first mini assignment was to write a short rhyme (4 lines or so) beginning with the words "When I was a little girl in ___(your country)___ "
When I was a little girl in Aussie land
I'd simple dreams for grown-up plans,
Yet still I was content to be
Alone somewhere where I could read.
For when I was a little girl
Reading and writing were my world,
And now I'm grown my dreams remain
To read and write still every day.
© Christina
3rd July, 2006
Our second mini for July, in keeping with the Garden's theme of celebrating our parts of the world, we wrote a diary entry about a happy memory of growing up in your home town. I wrote two - one serious and one a more lighthearted comical one.
~ The Girl and the Wooden Spoon ~
Dear diary, oh what memories
of my childhood
They bring such laughter to us now
of when I was bad, or good.
Though I was a shy and quiet child
I still had a little zest
When I would teeter on the brink
and put my mother to the test!
I remember having such a time
pushing the boundaries
For mum was always serious
when my brother and I would tease.
Then at the end of her rope
she'd open the kitchen drawer
And take one of her wooden spoons
and I'd run out the door!
But she'd always catch me in the end
and my punishment was nigh
But then I'd grab the wooden spoon
and break it on my thigh.
Frustrated mum could only watch
as each wooden spoon I broke
And tossed them down the gaping hole
that graced our patio.
So how was she to punish me
but even then I knew
With a little smack on my butt
she sent me to my room.
And there I played contentedly
in my own little world
With my dolls, or reading a book,
this shy and quiet girl.
And you know what, dear diary,
when they took that patio down
Those wooden spoons were still there
buried in the ground.
© Christina
14th July, 2006
~ My Greatest Wish ~
Dear diary, why did I have to grow up
for life wasn't all that bad
Now in the faded picture where
fond memories are to be had.
Closing my eyes I can recall
snippets of my youth
The happy times, the good, the bad,
and the wish to grow up soon.
And yet the fondest memory
of my childhood days
Was the time when Grandma came
to visit each Sunday!
She would bring lots of goodies
for the both of us
While deep inside the greatest thing
she gave us was her love.
Oh how I would look forward
to the end of every week
Knowing that Sunday would bring
my grandma just for me!
Then as the years soon passed us by
and I left behind the years
With the memories of my youth
and those I treasured dear.
For I was in such a fervent rush
to grow up that I missed
So much more I could have had
for dreams which I now wish.
Dear diary, I see clearly now
each moment was a gift
And if I could have it again
I'd change my greatest wish;
My gran has long since left this world
but I now know she left behind
Childhood memories stitched with love
and a love that was always mine.
© Christina
14th July, 2006
For our third mini for July, our assignment was to fill in the blanks of the following poem lines with a description of your COUNTRY/STATE/CITY. **Blank spaces are in bold**
What I love the most about Australia
Is its beauty with a harsh history
Every day we enjoy vibrant birdsong
In the evenings we paint stars to see.
© Christina
16th July, 2006
Our Fourth mini was a little learn-a-word assignment, to write a poem using the word "whimsical".
WHIMSICAL: lightly fanciful, full of whimsy or caprice; subject to unpredictable change
~ Butterfly Flutterby ~
Butterfly flutterby
upon whimsical wings
Dancing with nature
such delight she brings
Wistful and carefree
in flutterby leaves
A fanciful creature
she floats on the breeze.
Butterfly flutterby
has not a care
Her gossamer beauty
delightfully rare -
Butterfly flutterby
so invisibly
Awakes to the morning
so whimsically free.
© Christina
25th July, 2006