Two tiny poems of mine, ‘Fishes’ and ‘Butterfly’, are republished this month in Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, An Animal Poem For Every Day of the Year, a new anthology by Nosy Crow.

Here are the words of my two, a cinquain and a haiku respectively:

Fishes

Fishes
Tiny, shiny
Flashing, dashing, diving
Glimpses of ocean mystery
Teasers

(Originally published in The Poetry Store, Hodder Children’s Books)

Butterfly

On wings flake-fragile,
petal-frail, you somehow sail,
mile after long mile.

(Originally published in Let’s Recycle Grandad, A & C Black)

 

Poems on this page: copyright: Kate Williams

For many children, starting back at school is no easy matter, especially after a long break. For some, it’s the social side that poses the biggest challenge – until they meet someone else in the same boat. Once you have that ‘someone’ to go around with, you’re OK, and this poem reassures children (and their parents) that there’s always someone out there, ready and waiting to form that key bond.

My poem, ‘Break time’, is published in Poems about You and Me, Wayland, 1998 – poems chosen by poet Brian Moses. Here’s the poem, and the book cover for reference:

 

Copyright: Kate Williams

As the Olympics are usually around this time of the year – July-August, I thought I’d jump in with an Olympic poem.

As a teenager, I represented my school in the ‘Long Jump’ category of athletics… briefly. Of course, the tiniest wrong move could disqualify you, as I discovered after travelling for hours with my team to compete against a posh school hundreds of miles away. There I performed three jumps, and they were – you’ve guessed it – three ‘no jumps’.  All with a toe a fraction over the take-off line. Great. Oh, well, at least they didn’t disqualify me from tucking into the school’s delicious tea afterwards!

Anyway, those ‘no jumps’ inspired this sad little poem, published in When Granny Won Olympic Gold, A & C Black, 2012, anthologist: Graham Denton. (Please click to enlarge.)

Copyright: Kate Williams

These two poems of mine are published by The School Magazine, Australia, in different issues.  Please click on images to enlarge.

Illustrations: Matt Ottley

The magazine has also made a noisy video of the second poem, ‘Downpour’, which you can watch here.

I’ve typed the words of the poems below, for clarity.

Hoping I’ll have reason to post more fine weather poems soon!

Lightning

Dart
Arrow
Zigzag
Line
Symbol
Message
Warning
Sign
Thrill
Shiver
Leap
Dash
Chill down your spine
before the great
CRASH!

Downpour

Rooftop-slapper
window-smacker
streaking from the sky

Shopper-splasher
parcel-trasher
making people fly

Traffic-soaker
engine-choker
forcing cars to brake

Barging, charging, roaring by
blue sky in its wake

Copyright of both poems: Kate Williams

This little poem, ‘What is Summer for?’, hasn’t been appropriate for this particular summer up till about now, but as lockdowns – and the weather – start to lift, I’m hoping it’ll have some relevance now. Here it is, in Wayland’s anthology, Poems about Seasons, anthologist Brian Moses, illustrated by Ellie Jenkins. You’ll also find season-themed poems there by many other writers:

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To order the book from me, please see Books to Buy page.

Summer writing and art ideas and resources for school or home:
(click to view)

Summer’s day sea poem frame
Summer tree colouring sheet
Sunshine similes
More related resources for 3-11 yr-olds

Happy summer times!
Kate

Resources: creepy-crawly poetry-writing + art for school & home:

Here’s a last-minute post for Insect week. Being as flutter-brained as an insect, I forgot about it until today. This bunch all come from my book, Wildlife Poems (2009, now out of print). Incidentally – or insect-entally – the little illustrations are mine too.

Lady-Birdy 

Speckledy-dotty,
dottledy-specky,
freckledy-spotty,
spottledy-frecky,
metally-bright,
petally-light,
whoopsy-daisy
beetly-thing.
(I should confess that first two lines were invented by one of my sons, when aged 3.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and the Wasp

Mike’s like – Yikes!
And the wasp’s like – Zzzzz!
And I’m – Get on y’ bike, Mike!
But Mike’s like – How?
And the wasp’s like circling
And Mike’s doing swipes,
And I’m – Just get cycling, Mike!
But Mike’s like – OW!

 

 

Life Sentence

The mayfly may
fly for one May Day.

 

 

Drifting, Drifting

Drifting through the air,
legs a-dangle,
skirting nettles, gorse, brambles,
just drifting.

Drifting in your path,
legs a-tangle,
brushing your knee, arm, hair,
just drifting.

Silver-grey as the evening light,
half in, half out of sight,
thread-legs, web-wings, pin-thin body,
just drifting.

You can wave, clap, shout, jump,
run at the thing with a stick,
but the daddy longlegs has never a care,
a-sail in the fairytale August air,
just drifting.

 

 

Butterfly Friend

Tiny gift-wrap bow
lifting, drifting, lifting

sky-high
meadow-low
sky-high

lifting
drifting
lifting

lifting me
over the hedgerow
over the rainbow
over tomorrow

 

 

Kate Williams

Butterfly haiku frames & guidance

Bonanza of creepy-crawly rhymes & frames

Colouring sheet

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It’s a windy day here in south Wales, perhaps with you, too? As I clipped away at the garden hedge earlier, the gale tugged at my clothes and stirred my hair up, and set my cuttings flying before I could sweep them up. I felt rather like the wind-teased narrator of this old poem of mine, published in The School Magazine back in 2013, with illustration by the talented Cheryl Orsini:

Kate Williams

 

The Tree on the Hill

 

The tree on the hill is my friend:
he greets me night and day.
Whenever I take a glance, he’s there.
‘Hi!’ he seems to say.

And he’s my calendar:
he guides me through the year.
When his emerald crown turns gold,
I know that winter’s near.

And he’s my entertainer:
he’ll dance for me, and sing.
He hums me tunes and fairy-tales
and waltzes with the wind.

He houses birds and beetles,
and shades the summer flowers,
and shelters moles and mice and voles –
he’s princely with his powers.

And still he stands, as ever,
my brave and noble knight,
still, but far from ever:
tonight’s his final night.

That tree’s my inspiration –  
top tree of the town,
but he’s a blight to the building site:
tomorrow he comes down.

Kate Williams

Today, with all our windows open, the sun pouring in and sounds of sleepy, locked-down life drifting gently in, I recalled this old poem of mine, ‘Lazy summer sounds’, published in Australia’s The School Magazine back in 2013. The lovely picture, by artist Cheryl Orsini, brings it to life.

Incidentally, ‘an aeroplane’ per day is about all I’m hearing at the moment, though our village is below a key flight path from the UK to the USA, and what traffic there is on our normally popular route through the valley, purrs by very dreamily indeed.

What summer sounds are drifting through your windows, this lush but locked-down May?

 

And in bigger print:

Lazy summer sounds

An aeroplane, yawning sleepily,
traffic, purring dreamily,
bike wheels, whirring aimlessly,
footsteps, shuffling sluggishly,
tall trees, sighing languidly,
a bumblebee, droning dozily,
a fat frog, croaking drowsily,
an old dog, padding listlessly,
a deckchair, clicking comfortably,
iced drinks, chinking festively,
voices, humming lazily,
laughter, lingering luxuriously…

the town clock, clanging crisply, briskly,
counting the hours away –
counting for no one,
for nobody’s listening:
nobody cares today.

Kate Williams

 

Hi!

I’ve been making up some silly, 4-line rhymes for kids (and big kids like myself) during the lockdown. Well, we’ve got to do something to keep smiling while we’re all shut away, haven’t we?

Lots of these so-called Funny Rhymes are available in print at my Tes shop, if you fancy a browse any time.  Meanwhile, here are three random ones to listen in to.

More readings – of all sorts – coming soon.

Kate