Awa Nui Poetry

Waipuna-ā-rangi

Waipuna-ā-rangi represents…

the breeze flowing in my face like a fan

clouds rolling in like cotton candy

ua flooding the drains like a swamp

water splashing in my socks making them moist

lightning flashing in the distance in the blink of an eye

thunder banging in the distance like drums 

ua nganga smashing on my legs like mini golf balls

hukarere splatting on the ground like spitballs

WEATHER!!!! 

Billy B | year 5

ua = rain | ua nganga = hail | hukarere = snow

Fading Sun autumn sun darkens blue aqua ripples spiky tuatara trembles by Madison H | age 10 | year 6

Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the Wishing Star

 

One day I wish to be an Astronaut

but the acceptance rate is only 1%

and American astronauts have to be able to read Russian.

 

On the moon a year is 27 days, 

Wow, time does go fast.

 

I wish to be in a space station 

floating around looking down on Earth 

like it’s a giant bouncy ball.  

 

If I went to space I would look at some stars and planets 

and watch then drift

around. 

 

I would grow taller because sometimes your body can stretch.

If I go to space I would only go for 6 months or less.

I think I would love it because there is wifi. 

 

When I go to sleep I will have to get strapped to a 

wall and slide into a sleeping bag in a small room.

 

It would be hard for me to walk around 

because of the 280 pound space suit. 

 

I wonder how astronauts go to the toilet?

 

 by Chelsea K | Age: 10

Swoosh!

 

I dribble the ball down the court 

I run past james

hey he yells - gimme the ball

sweat wets my hair

my chest is pounding

I jump

I shoot 

swoosh! - the ball swishes through the hoop

it hits the floor 

I celebrate 

I hear my team celebrate

I taste my dry lips 

I pat my team on the back 

 

by Arlo H | Year 6

 

great white shark 

 

triangular dorsal fin like a dorito

pectoral fins as flat as the ocean 

tail as long as a snake

 

nostrils as dark as a spiders eye

teeth as sharp as piercing needles

cartilage as bendy as my ears

 

great white shark 

breaching 

like an acrobat

 

By Benji H | age 9 | year 5

untitled

Calm ocean is gliding across the horizon 

as the colourful sun sets down it turns to pink

a tuatara looks at a tree full of nests

There’s a rock that sit on water

as the day zooms by 

the clouds fly by

By Rua | Year 6

Collective Noun Poems

Collective nouns are words that are used to describe a group or collection of things or people. Some common examples are:

• a herd of cows
• a flock of sheep
• a school of fish

But have you heard of some of these rather unusual collective nouns?

• a prickle of hedgehogs
• a rhumba of rattlesnakes
• a glaring of cats
• a nest of rumours
• a shiver of sharks
• a rascal of boys
• an unkindness of ravens
• a melody of harpists
• a skulk of thieves
• a tuxedo of penguins
• a wisdom of wombats

We each picked a collective noun, then used it as a springboard for a poem. Our aim was to include a line with an adjective to describe part of the object/animal/person and a line with an action - including a strong verb and perhaps adding in a simile or metaphor.

Enjoy these wonderful poems created by our Awa Nui writers:

A cloud of flies, 

white purple wings

buzzing like vibrating phones.

- by Shan D

A nest of rumours,

whispering tongues,                      

sneaking ear to ear

- by Haeum

A bike of bees

wings fragile like china plates

floating in the wind like leaves

- by Benji

A murder of crows 

razor sharp beaks

soaring like specks of dust 

caught in the wind

- by Leon

a squabble of seagulls with shiny but hard beaks fight for food like a rascal of boys

- by Lily Tasker

A huddle of walruses sharp white tusks skimming through the water

- by Sara