As I was in the valley at the time, and lived next door to the KV School which my three children attended, I knew most of the children featured. Of course, they are now mothers and fathers of their own children, and some no longer live in the valley.
Since there are many poems in the booklet that I thought appropriate to publish in the Voice, perhaps a couple could appear in each issue, which will take several months of submission. The foreword to the booklet just about sums up the wonderful minds and lives of children aged from 5 to 12 in their own world, so I have reproduced the following from the book.
“When our children pick up a pen to draw, or a brush to paint, we witness art in its purest form. That splatted dandelion is an orchid, the stick person is someone dearly loved, the spiked blob, a brilliant moon. When children write poetry they paint pictures with words, brushing in that same raw honesty. As we grow older these primitive pictures fade and poetry loses its colour, its essential truth, and more often its simplicity.
The poetry of our children’s world is irreplaceable.
In this collection of poems by the children of Kangaroo Valley, the child in you will live again, refreshed by the beauty, tragedy, and humour of a child’s world, painted in words.
It is also a tribute to our teachers at Kangaroo Valley Public School and the parents who encourage and inspire our children to write poetry.
We hope you enjoy the collection of poems.”
Sadly, Julie Meddows passed away a couple of years ago.
Bruce Preston
Beau Carrigan (7)
House Building
BANG BANG BANG
Goes the hammer
SAW SAW SAW
Goes the saw
OUCH..OUCH..OUCH..
Goes dad
Nigel Jackett (9)
Dinosaurs
The mighty Tyrannosaurus is a giant
A giant as can be
Compared to the little Ankylosaurus
Who likes to eat bushes and trees
The Stegosaurus, who is related
doesn’t like meat, they hate it
Try out the Triceratops, it’s a vegetarian
And that’s the lot
Brigette Ross (11)
Feelings
On a warm sunny day on a summers eve
Feelings rush through like rapids
Feelings like rainforests, warm tropic lakes,
Rowing in Paris on a perfect spring day
On a yacht in the Mediterranean sailing for Greece
Feelings of happiness relaxation, no grief
On a cold winter’s morning
By the flaming log fire,
Feelings come through like ice
Feelings like being in cold arctic winters
On glaciers on snow
Feeling that aren’t particularly nice
Feelings come to everybody
Feelings of grief
Feelings of boredom, sadness, some brief
People have feelings and some you can’t stop
So try to hide them because they’re not top
