When I hear...

Inspired by Apirana Taylor's visit to Russley School and all his wonderful musical instruments, stories and songs... and his poem 'Haka' we wrote our own sound poems.

We listened for the sounds in our everyday life; the 3pm bell, the cheering crowd at a basketball game, a laugh, a snore... and the sounds in nature; thunder, rain, waves, tui.

We thought about the feelings and emotions these sounds evoked and came up with some surprising metaphors to describe them.

Here are a few of the best:

Speed Car

When I hear the engine roar

I want to jump in

and drive away

as fast as a second going by

it is a cheetah with nitrous

it is the washing machine spinning                

it is the drums in ‘Loaded Diaper’

it is a one year old baby screaming

Gggggeeerrr!

by Thomas Pugh

                                                     

STEP DAD SNORING

When I hear the snoring of my stepdad

I feel like the room is going to fly away

it makes annoyed when I try to go to sleep.

It is an earthquake

It is lightning and thunder

It is a tiger roaring.

It is the wind blowing through the trees.

By Holly Sanders-Young

                                                     

The Beach

When I hear the waves

I feel it in my mouth

It makes my mouth salty like McDonald’s chips

It is the crashing of the drums

and the humming of the flute

It is the growling of the T-Rex

THUMP CRASH BANG!!!!!

                                                                             by Tamati Te Aho  

                                                      

The Big Shake

by Cameron Lonie

When I hear the RUMBLING

I see it in my head

Memories of 2011

I feel really red

So much mayhem around me

It makes me curl up into a ball

like a little armadillo hiding from its hunter

It is the chitter chatter chatter of the people’s teeth

that spent a night under the rubble

Waiting Waiting Waiting…

                                                     

THE BUZZER BEATER

When I hear the crowd

It makes me feel great

It makes me shoot the ball

like a meteor in the hoop

It is a boom box

It is the script

by Josh Sangster

                                                     

Thunder

When I hear the thunder

I feel threatened

It makes me slowly fade

It makes me feel fast

It is a striking bullet  

It is the trampling of an elephant pack

It is fast as flowing water

Rumbling grumbling mumbling

By Raevyn Hohaia

                                                     

Waves

When I hear the waves

I feel free

It makes my heart race

It makes me feel like I’m in my dream

It is a rhinoceros crashing into the walls

It is the thundering of the Haka

It is my heart pounding

It is the gust of wind cracking the tree

It is a thunder of an explosion

Crash! Smash! Slash!

By Raevyn Hohaia